Screen Babble podcast: Black Mirror, The Wire, Best Interests, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - episode 30

Screen Babble is your essential guide to everything on television, from the mainstream to the marginal. NationalWorld’s podcast producer Kelly Crichton, news and trends expert Steven Ross, and critic Alex Moreland discuss what is – and what isn’t – worth watching.

As ever, we begin by discussing what we’ve been watching recently. Alex has been watching the new series of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (good), while Steven has finally got around to watching Avatar: The Way of Water (not so good). Kelly, meanwhile, has caught up on a few different shows we’ve discussed in recent weeks, including Maryland and Poker Face, but her favourite by some margin was The Gallows Pole. We’ve also all seen Best Interests, and have lots of praise for Michael Sheen and Sharon Horgan. 

Next up, Alex takes a closer look at the new series of Black Mirror. What does Black Mirror look like in 2023 - has Charlie Brooker possibly outgrown it? Is it still a series about digital anxieties, or has it evolved to become something else? Which episode is likely to prove a fan favourite - and which episode will be most controversial?

Finally, Steven brings us back to future and revisits the first series of The Wire. It’s hailed as one of the best television series ever - but is it? How does it compare with the likes of The Sopranos and Breaking Bad? How well has it aged since its debut? And is there any relation between Alex and Wendell Pierce’s character?

Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for Steven’s Weekend Watch Mini-Babble, previewing all the best TV to watch over the next few days.

Listen to Screen Babble #30 here…

Where can I watch this week’s shows?

• Best Interests and The Gallows Pole are available to stream on BBC iPlayer
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is available on Paramount+ from Thursday 15 June, with new episodes airing weekly
• Avatar: The Way of Water is available on Disney+
• Maryland is available as a boxset on ITVX
• Poker Face is available on Sky Max and NOW TV
• Black Mirror is available now on Netflix
• The Wire is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV

Screen Babble: how to follow the show

• Screen Babble is available to download on all podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify
• You can join the conversation on our Screen Babble Facebook group
• If you’ve enjoyed the show or found it useful, we’d love you to give us a rating and review, as it helps us to reach more listeners.
• You can also follow our TV coverage on Twitter @NationalWorldTV - as well as @morelandwriter and @steven_jross and @kelc100 
• Do you have a TV question you’d like the Screen Babble team to answer on a future episode, or a recommendation of your own? Send it to kelly.crichton@nationalworld.com or alex.moreland@nationalworld.com