Succession, Sky Atlantic, 12th August
The first series of this comedy drama about a super-rich, media-owning American family and the power struggle to succeed its patriarch Brian Cox gained a cult following when it aired last year. Its creator Jesse Armstrong (Peep Show, The Thick of It) had previously scripted an unproduced film about Rupert Murdoch and his family. With playwright Lucy Prebble also on board, Succession is more than satire. Its delicious characters include Matthew Macfadyen’s fawning son-in-law.
The Great Hack, Netflix
Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim’s examination of last year’s Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which the political consulting firm harvested the data of millions of Facebook users without their consent, zeroes in on one of the hottest topics of the age—the weaponisation of personal data. It focuses on a number of individuals, including a design professor who sued Cambridge Analytica, but most interesting is the whistleblowing senior employee Brittany Kaiser, who defected from the company, and will publish her story later this year.
A Confession, ITV
The latest drama from Bafta-winner Jeff Pope, who co-wrote Hatton Garden, dramatises the case of Wiltshire detective Steve Fulcher (Martin Freeman), who in 2011 led the hunt for missing 22-year-old Sian O’Callaghan. His police interview of the man who turned out to be her murderer, Christopher Halliwell, also led to the discovery of the body of another woman, but breached guidelines on cautioning. Pope delves into the moral choice faced by Fulcher—who believed O’Callaghan might still be alive—with his customary respect for events. Imelda Staunton co-stars.
The first series of this comedy drama about a super-rich, media-owning American family and the power struggle to succeed its patriarch Brian Cox gained a cult following when it aired last year. Its creator Jesse Armstrong (Peep Show, The Thick of It) had previously scripted an unproduced film about Rupert Murdoch and his family. With playwright Lucy Prebble also on board, Succession is more than satire. Its delicious characters include Matthew Macfadyen’s fawning son-in-law.
The Great Hack, Netflix
Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim’s examination of last year’s Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which the political consulting firm harvested the data of millions of Facebook users without their consent, zeroes in on one of the hottest topics of the age—the weaponisation of personal data. It focuses on a number of individuals, including a design professor who sued Cambridge Analytica, but most interesting is the whistleblowing senior employee Brittany Kaiser, who defected from the company, and will publish her story later this year.
A Confession, ITV
The latest drama from Bafta-winner Jeff Pope, who co-wrote Hatton Garden, dramatises the case of Wiltshire detective Steve Fulcher (Martin Freeman), who in 2011 led the hunt for missing 22-year-old Sian O’Callaghan. His police interview of the man who turned out to be her murderer, Christopher Halliwell, also led to the discovery of the body of another woman, but breached guidelines on cautioning. Pope delves into the moral choice faced by Fulcher—who believed O’Callaghan might still be alive—with his customary respect for events. Imelda Staunton co-stars.
