Backstage - TV & Film

Will Ferrell’s take on Eurovision has arrived with new Netflix film ‘Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga’. It’s got the songs, performances and costumes you’d expect but will it appeal to people who aren’t fans of the competition? There’s a new political comedy movie available on demand – ‘Irresistible’ stars Steve Carell and Rose Byrne as political nemeses vying to get their candidate...

Brace yourself - it’s a raunchy old week for the Backstage podcast this time around. Katie, Stevie and Bethany step back into 18th century Russia with Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult for miniseries The Great. Written by The Favourite co-creator Tony McNamara, the anti-historical romp through the court of Catherine the Great is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV. The Politician gets a...

In a crazy week for new releases, the team pack in as many shows as possible, and invite Bethany Minelle back to help spread the entertainment love. They kick-off with Spike Lee’s prescient Netflix movie Da 5 Bloods, about four Vietnam veterans returning to the field to exorcise some memories and while they’re at it, dig up some treasure too. Stevie’s been catching up with tattooed Saturday Night...

It’s a strong week for new releases, but the team start by chatting about a movie which has been dominating the U.S box office for weeks – sure there might not be a lot of competition at the moment, but Stevie reckons The Wretched is well worth a watch and he’s been chatting to its directors Brett and Drew Pierce. Claire is loving new teen spy drama Alex Rider on Prime Video, and it turns out that...

In what seems like an excellent bit of planning, but could well have been total coincidence, the team are reviewing three comedies on this week’s show… New Netflix series Space Force seems great on paper with an all-star cast led by Steve Carrell, but it seems to have a problem living up to its description as a comedy. BBC Two’s The First Team is the latest offering from the creators of The Inbetw...

Claire’s been chatting to (and singing at) Janelle Monae who’s joined Prime Video’s Homecoming for its second series. It’s a huge thumbs up for the new season of the Hitchcock-esque show and yet more proof that 30 minutes is a very good amount of time for an episode of TV. Bong Joon Ho’s Snowpiercer has been re-imagined as a series on Netflix. Jennifer Connelly is undoubtedly brilliant in it, but...

New Netflix show White Lines is a lovely bit of escapism, but is it too soapy for Katie? Claire’s been chatting to the show’s stars Laura Haddock and Danny Mayes who reveals what it’s like getting to DJ to a crowd of thousands. Also on Netflix is the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Interactive Special – it’s a choose your own adventure featuring a brilliant Daniel Radcliffe performance. Find out whether...

Stevie is feeling a whole lot better and re-joins Katie and Claire for a somewhat strange week of TV offerings. The team review the new Netflix show from La La Land director Damien Chazelle, who is continuing his love affair with jazz - an excuse for Stevie to practice his jazz hands, but perhaps a bit too jazzy for Claire. Mark Ruffalo puts in two brilliant performances in new Sky Atlantic drama...

TV critic and biscuit obsessive Toby Earle joins Katie and Claire to talk through this week’s new releases. There’s an extremely special guest star to help dissect Ryan Murphy’s new Netflix offering Hollywood, which puts a new spin on one period of Tinsel Town’s history. The bizarrely titled Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) gets the overwhelmingly bland rating o...

Stephen Dixon is back to help Katie and Claire check out the latest TV offerings while Stevie recovers from coronavirus and it’s a very wide ranging week. They start with the BBC adaptation of best-selling novel Normal People, Claire’s been chatting to one of the leads, Daisy Edgar-Jones, who admits she didn’t read the book until after she’d auditioned. Netflix’s big new action flick Extraction ha...

First off, a massive THANK YOU to every single one of you lovely listeners as we’ve now hit the magic million downloads. We think you’re all great, and have wonderful taste in podcasts, so a huge thanks to you all! On this episode – and while Stevie recovers from coronavirus - Katie and Claire are joined by Sky News anchor and committed Trekkie Stephen Dixon. They discuss the very bloody but brill...

It’s a different podcast this week as Katie and Claire have some serious news to bring you which will explain why there’s not been an episode for a couple of weeks. As well as that there’s a dive in to the latest documentary from Netflix which has been giving us all a welcome distraction from what’s going on in the world – Tiger King is under the Backstage spotlight, but is it really that good or...

The Backstage team have been inundated with requests for recommendations about what to watch while we are all stuck inside - so we thought we'd do a special podcast sharing our best tips on what movies, boxsets, and documentaries to catch up on! Claire, Katie, and Stevie talk through their favourite 80s films, must-see TV, and uplifting documentaries that will hopefully entertain us - and whoever...

It's a big week of TV reviews from Katie, Stevie and Claire. Julian Fellowes is the man of the moment with two new shows - The English Game on Netflix and Belgravia on ITV, but do football and period drama mix? There's definitely something Stevie is enjoying about one of the programmes but can anyone confirm when hipster beards were first invented? In solidarity with a fellow Spencer Katie's insis...

Dating shows seems to have reached new levels of bonkers-ness and Katie, Stevie and Claire are loving both Love Is Blind and Five Guys A Week. New comedy Feel Good divides opinion but the real winner of the week is Westworld which no one quite understands, but everyone loves anyway. Stevie's also seen new Alex Garland sci-fi Devs and reckons that's worth a watch as well. Claire's been chatting to...

The outrageously spelt Spenser Confidential has got Katie, Stevie and Claire laughing… though possibly not for the right reasons. There’s an interview with Sharon Horgan and Dame Kristin Scott Thomas on their new film Military Wives, based on the true story of a British choir. Spielberg has returned to TV with anthology series Amazing Stories on Apple TV… Is it amazing though? Find out with our re...

Paris Hilton is back with a Youtube cookery show and it’s bizarre but is surely going to boost sales of fingerless gloves. Find out why Stevie was made to feel pretty uncomfortable while watching new BBC show Noughts & Crosses – based on the book by Malorie Blackman. Katie’s got a new fave – it’s the latest Netflix offering from End of the F***ing World director Johnathan Entwhistle called I Am No...

Katie and Stevie welcome Bethany back to chat about some of the best things on TV now awards season is over. We unlock a secret or two in the fantasy world of Locke and Key, imagine a nightmare fuelled American where the Fourth Reich is on the rise and step into the equally violent world of the drug cartels of North America for the second series of Narcos: Mexico. Plus a whistle-stop tour of To Al...

Katie, Stevie and Claire have a rundown of the Oscars 2020, including who won what and why history was made. We hear from the winners and get the backstage gossip. If you like what you hear please subscribe, it would mean a lot to us. And feel free to get in touch with us backstage@sky.uk

It’s a massive pre-Oscars episode as Katie, Stevie and Claire go through the A-Z of the Academy Awards. It’s been a labour of love for Katie and you’ll never guess what she’s come up with for X and Z. Then Claire time-travels to the future to speak to Sky Cinema’s Oscar veterans Lucy Cotter and Alex Zane in Los Angeles to find out what they think we need to look out for this year. From arguments o...

Stevie’s psychic! He called Billie Eilish’s success at the Grammys and now he’s backing Parasite to win best picture at the Oscars. We do our best to review the movie without giving anything away. There’s a whole host of TV to chat about – find out what Katie, Stevie and Claire thought of the latest series of dark anthology Inside Number Nine, the return of Curb Your Enthusiasm, three new doco/rea...

Katie’s been trying to watch this year’s most stressful film while eating her breakfast - find out why Uncut Gems isn’t really morning viewing. Hear from Armando Iannucci who is the man of the moment with two new releases – the film The Personal History of David Copperfield and TV show Avenue Five – which both star Hugh Laurie much to Claire’s delight. Star Trek is back and it’s good news for fans...

It’s a new week so Katie’s got a new TV obsession – find out what kind of Prime Minister Robert Carlyle makes in new show Cobra. Sex Education is back and Claire’s been chatting with the cast about their most awkward moments on set. Stevie’s having a musical moment and has brought our attention to two new programmes, one of which reminds Claire of Homes Under the Hammer. Despite being so sunny, th...

Katie, Stevie and Claire have checked out some of the new shows which are coming your way this month. Hear what they thought of The Outsider, The New Pope and The Masked Singer. They also dissect what went on at the Golden Globes and talk through the Bafta nominations. Plus, there's an interview with Golden Globe winner Sir Sam Mendes about his war epic 1917. If you like what you hear please do su...

It's a Christmas-free zone on this week's Backstage as Katie, Stevie and Claire discuss new shows to get excited about including Dracula, The Witcher and the second series of You. Claire's spoken to Ben Hardy about working with Ryan Reynolds on 6 Underground and Greta Gerwig who claims Little Women was tougher to make than The Revenant. Plus hear from Marriage Story director Noah Baumbach as his f...