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Earth review: BBC tells terrifying story of our planet’s Great Dying

9 July 2023

This epic TV series kicks off with Inferno, the story of our planet’s biggest mass extinction. Host Chris Packham probes how Earth lost up to 90 per cent of its species in an event which began 252 million years ago

Best Interests,13-06-2023,2,(L-R);George (LENNY RUSH);Marnie (NIAMH MORIARTY),Chapter One Pictures,Sam Taylor

Best Interests review: Moving drama about life with muscular dystrophy

5 July 2023

Marnie is like any 13-year-old – except she has a severe form of muscular dystrophy. Best Interests is an empathetic drama about terrible choices, says Bethan Ackerley

Actress Amber Heard attends the 50 million US dollars Depp vs Heard defamation trial at the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Fairfax, Virginia, USA, 13 April 2022.

Depp V Heard review: Scary documentary shows power of social media

7 June 2023

An alarming documentary about the court case of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard shows how a powerful, untamed social media has the potential to undermine our justice systems

Prehistoric Planet 2 review: Attenborough returns to ancient Earth

14 May 2023

The second series of this show about Earth 66 million years ago is a joy to watch - but it inspires more than it informs. A little more science would have been nice

Silo review: With apocalypses everywhere, can a new TV show deliver?

10 May 2023

Dystopias are everywhere on TV, but for every gem there is one to forget. A new offering, Silo, starts from a great premise about a society forced to live underground, but does it really deliver, asks Bethan Ackerley

Wild Wet World and Torus review: Transmuting obscure worlds into music

3 May 2023

Giving musical voice to the deep ocean and to the complex shapes of geometry is a serious ask. But composers Cosmo Sheldrake and Emily Howard manage this tough brief with aplomb

Dead Ringers review: A triumphant reimagining of Cronenberg's classic

19 April 2023

Remaking a cult psychological thriller like Dead Ringers is a seriously tough ask. Amazingly, a six-parter starring Rachel Weisz as twin gynaecologists is a standalone triumph, says Bethan Ackerley

Wild Isles,16-08-2022,Sir David Attenborough,Sir David Attenborough, filming for Wild Isles series, next to Common puffins (Fratercula arctica), Skomer Island, off Pembrokeshire coast, Wales, UK, June 2022,?Alex Board/Silverback Films,Alex Board WARNING: Use of this copyright image is subject to the terms of use of BBC Pictures' Digital Picture Service (BBC Pictures) as set out at www.bbcpictures.co.uk/terms-and-conditions/. In particular, this image may only be published by a registered User of BBC Pictures for editorial use for the purpose of publicising the relevant BBC programme, personnel or activity during the Publicity Period which ends three review weeks following the date of transmission and provided the BBC and the copyright holder in the caption are credited. For any other purpose whatsoever, including advertising and commercial, prior written approval from the copyright holder will be required.

Wild Isles review: David Attenborough turns focus to UK and Ireland

14 March 2023

Wild Isles, a new BBC nature documentary, has spent a Planet Earth-sized budget a little closer to home. Some of its footage even managed to surprise the show's host, David Attenborough, despite all his experience, finds Bethan Ackerley

Hello Tomorrow! review: Selling holiday homes on the moon

15 February 2023

Apple TV+'s compelling new science-fiction offering is a retro-futurist piece, more 20th-century US social drama than technofest

We need to accept that deepfakes are here to stay in film and TV

1 February 2023

Last week saw the launch of Deep Fake Neighbour Wars, the first ever deepfake comedy. We need to start talking about the legal and ethical implications of this technology, says New Scientist's television columnist Bethan Ackerley