Screen Babble: how The Bear turned it around - and what ITV and Sky deal means for UK TV?
The times they are a changin’!
It might be the heart of summer, but blockbuster TV news waits for no-one.
In a potentially landscape changing move, Sky has agreed a deal to purchase ITV for more than £1.6bn. If approved, it would see the creation of the UK’s largest commercial broadcaster.
The Screen Babble crew - host Kelly Crichton and Matt Mohan-Hickson - have crawled out of their summer hibernation spots to discuss what this huge merger could mean. It is still very early days, but there is already plenty of speculation to sink our teeth into!
Plus in a rather huge twist, the ITV/ Sky merger could be the push of the first domino leading to a surprise return for The Great British Bake Off on BBC. Listen to the full episode to find out more!
Screen Babble wouldn’t be a TV podcast without touching on the final season of The Bear. While neither Kelly nor Matt have seen it to the very end, they have plenty of thoughts on its return to form.
The Disney Plus series has had its final service, wrapping up with its fifth season in five years. Now, that is what you call television! None of this waiting two, three years for new episodes.
Matt and Kelly discuss its early success, where it went wrong in the middle, and how it turned it around for the big dessert.
Finally, inspired by Matt’s recent trip to the dentist, the pair discuss comfort shows and what they look to watch when they need a pick-me-up.
Other programmes discussed include Shipwrecked: Nightmare at Sea on Netflix and The Mother of All Cons on iPlayer.
Matt also discovers that the show he’s been watching while recovering from wisdom tooth surgery is actually a remake of Doc Martin.