Screen Babble podcast: Heat, World on Fire, Whose Line Is It Anyway, and 2023 Emmy nominations – episode 34

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. Both Alex and Steven have been on a bit of a Whose Line Is It Anyway? kick – should we be adopting some of their games for Screen Babble? Elsewhere, Alex has nearly finished with the third series of Halt and Catch Fire (though he’ll probably start to pace it out a little better soon). We’ve also got a little bit of discussion of the 2023 Emmys, with some of our predictions for who might be nominated, before Kelly shares her thoughts on recent watches Steeltown Murders, Then You Run, and Taboo.

Next up, Alex takes a closer look at Danny Dyer drama Heat, where everyone is keeping secrets and fire is fast closing in. What is Danny Dyer’s first big post-Eastenders acting role like? Is Steve McMullen Australia’s equivalent to Danny Dyer? And is it worth watching?

Finally, Steven brings us back to the future by revisiting World on Fire – a timely choice, given that Series 2 is about to begin this weekend. How well does it balance its ensemble cast? How effectively does it evoke World War II? How does it compare to writer Peter Bowker’s previous shows? And how quickly should you catch up before Series 2 begins?

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 #33 here…

Where can we watch this week’s shows?

• Whose Line Is It Anyway is available as part of a series of YouTube clip compilations (and on Amazon Prime)
• Halt and Catch Fire is available on Channel 4 online
• World On Fire, The Steeltown Murders, and Taboo are available on iPlayer
• Heat is airing currently on Channel 5, with episodes available to watch on catch up on My5

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
• We’re also on Instagram and threads as @alexmorelandwriter and @steven_jrossnationalworld
• 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 [email protected] or [email protected]