Screen Babble podcast: Hijack, five by five, The Bear, and There She Goes – episode 32

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. This week, however, Kelly is still recovering from Glastonbury, so we’re joined by friend of the podcast Katie Conaglen to help shepherd things along.

As ever, we begin by discussing what we’ve been watching recently. Steven has been working his way through Wes Anderson’s back catalogue in preparation for Asteroid City – Katie, who is the subject of several of Wes Anderson’s films, had lots to say about that. Meanwhile, Alex has started on the second series of Halt and Catch Fire, checked out a few episodes of the David Tennant/Jessica Hynes comedy There She Goes, and (much to his own embarrassment) watched The Flash. Katie also brings us forward to the future with a few thoughts on The Bear Season 2, which she’s already watched ahead of its UK premiere in July.

This week, it’s an Idris Elba themed special, as Alex takes a look at the new Apple TV+ thriller Hijack. How well does the series handle its real time plot? Would it be better as a binge watch – or even a tightly plotted movie? How handsome was Idris Elba when Alex met him the other day? And, most importantly, how will any of us ever go flying again?

Our Idris Elba themed podcast continues as Steven brings us back to the future by revisiting five by five, a series of short films produced by Elba for BBC Three in 2017 as an introduction to new talent. How many of the stars of five by five have gone on to bigger and better things? Is there something a little Linklateresque about it all? And was it a better choice for the podcast than Before We Die?

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 #32 here…

Where can we watch this week’s shows?

• Hijack is available on Apple TV+ from Wednesday 28 June
• five by five is currently available on BBC iPlayer
• The Bear will be available to stream on Disney+ from Wednesday 19 July
• Wes Anderson’s films are currently available to stream on Disney+
• Halt and Catch Fire is available on Channel 4 online

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