Small Axe
Across five feature-length episodes, Small Axe creator and director McQueen delves in the history of London’s Black Caribbean community. From the trial of the Mangrove Nine in 1970, to the Brixton uprising of 1981, the stories are diverse, yet share a common struggle.
Rather than something that happened accidentally, the show reminds us, progress was fought for by generations of Black Brits. And there’s still a long way to go. In a year which saw massive anti-racism protests across the UK, the show couldn’t have come at a more prescient moment. It lays bare the racism that was rife within society at the time – and forces us to consider how systemic racism prevails today.
Read our review of Small Axe‘s ‘Mangrove’ here.
The Queen’s Gambit
Writer and director Allan Scott had been unsuccessfully pitching The Queen’s Gambit for 30 years before it was picked up by Netflix. And on paper, you can see why – who would want to watch a show about chess?
But in reality, it’s gripping, moving, and at times, incredibly tense. Yes, it’s about chess (and not just as a backdrop), but the show also explores alcoholism, drug addiction and complex family relationships. Beth Harmon, the show’s troubled but brilliant hero, defies what we think a chess player should look like. Since the show aired, sales of chess sets have soared. Just like Beth, Allan Scott has defied all expectations – by making chess appealing to the masses.
Read our review of The Queen’s Gambit here.
With 2021 off to a bleak start – in spite of the vaccine-shaped light at the end of the tunnel – it looks like this year, at least to begin with, could be one defined by TV too. Already, Netflix’s raunchy eighteenth-century drama Bridgerton is making waves, and old favourites like Sex Education are set to make a comeback. But I can only hope that if and when I sit down to write a roundup of TV in 2021, it’s set against a much happier backdrop.
Words by Lilian Fawcett