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There is a strange tendency by TV and film writers to transform the works of Agatha Christie into light romps and playful farces. Christie wrote stern, sometimes bleak murder mysteries wherein damaged and bitter people, acting on their darkest impulses, will bitterly take the lives of others. Only uniquely intelligent and observant detectives like Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot are able to see through the hate of human bitterness to get to the truth. Yet when the time would come to adapt Christie's works to the screen, many screenwriters felt that those tales should also be funny. Christie has gone on record with her dislike of adaptations for this very reason. Few, she felt, did her writing justice. Christie passed away in 1976, so she was able to see some of the films that her works inspired, and she was pretty unilaterally miffed at their existence. 

Christie, sadly, didn't live long...

Teenage pregnancy is an under-discussed yet highly contentious topic—the fear of social stigma, parental involvement, and concerns regarding childcare responsibilities are just some of the issues that come up in the course of any discourse on this subject. Given the present world scenario, where, caught in the ire of pro-life delusions, women have to literally fight for their right to bodily freedom and their rights as caregivers to their child, it goes beyond saying that the subject of teenage pregnancy opens up a can of proverbial worms. British miniseries, The Au Pair, deals with this matter and also integrates topical issues like medical corruption and human trafficking to shed light on real-life problems. The four-episode miniseries moves with a rapid pace, initially establishing itself as an identity thriller, only to reveal much sinister central crisis hidden underneath.

Spoilers Ahead

Why Did Stephanie Want to Ruin Zoe’s Life?

The...

In a departure from your regular pod programming, we’re giving out gnomes this week on the Pilot TV Podcast — specifically to our first guest this episode, Brian Tyree Henry, who joins James Dyer to chat all things rip and run with Apple TV+ crime thriller Dope Thief. [20:15 — 37:10 approx.] And while she didn’t get a gnome, the excellent Faye Marsay stopped by as well to talk mind-blowing one-shot drama Adolescence on Netflix and offer a few crumbs of Andor Season 2 intel to the Rebel in our ranks Jordan King. [1:03:25 — 1:23:27 approx.]

Either side of those ace guests, back in the podbooth James, Kay Ribeiro, and Boyd Hilton convene for another cracking episode in which this week's double dose of Big Boys inspired listener questions has the team considering memorable shots and lachrymose TV moments. Then, over on the news front, the team dig into a busy week in the world of telly...

Channel 5 launches its new thriller, “The Au Pair,” this Monday, and the seemingly perfect family at its center is about to experience a serious disruption. Zoe’s life takes an unexpected turn when her family welcomes a new au pair, a beguiling young French woman who seems to bring with her more than just childcare […]

The Au Pair: Series Premiere...

French production company Pernel Media is known for its factual TV output, from Legends of the Pharaohs, Ancient Superstructures and Rise of the Vikings to Ghettos in the Holocaust, Secret Gardens of Pompeii and The Real War of Thrones. Now, the Paris- and London-headquartered company is gearing up for a push into the traditional drama space with the launch of The Au Pair, starring Netflix’s Lupin actress Ludmilla Makowski and British screen icon David Suchet, famous for portraying Hercule Poirot, on Paramount Global’s Channel 5 in the U.K. in the coming weeks.

Pernel’s first drama sees Suchet, in his first TV role in years, play George, a diabetic man who moves next door to his daughter Zoe Dalton, portrayed by Sally Bretton (Death in Paradise, Beyond Paradise). Zoe seems to have it all, including a successful husband in Chris, played by Kenny Doughty (Vera, Stella). But...