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Anna Leszkiewicz is culture editor of the New Statesman.
We are gathered here today for the funeral of the word “empowering”, which finally passed into complete and utter meaninglessness on primetime television last night.
The programme matches prospective owners with dogs in need of a loving home – and hits all the same beats as First Dates.
Smith’s playful short stories reference #MeToo and Brexit but are at their best when they delve beyond the anxieties of modern life.
“I wasn’t known as just one of the singers in Little Mix,” she tells us. “I was known as the fat, ugly one.”
The drama asks sensitive questions about bias, the myth of the “perfect victim”, and who suffers at the hands of broken systems.
Immunity retains many of the qualities of her viral single “Pretty Girl”, but adds more intricate production, maturing lyrics and moments of surprise.
Written by Joe Gilgun and Danny Brocklehurst, the influence of Trainspotting and Shameless on Brassic is clear – but this working-class farce matures into something of its own.
From high tea to, um, "stories from Uni", this anglophile just can't get enough of our lov-er-ly stuff.
Written by Aisling Bea and starring her and Sharon Horgan as two sisters, This Way Up is quietly powerful.
The New Yorker staff writer is deeply and rightly pessimistic about our current era, but is alert to its seductive pleasures.
