It’s been a hot minute since the last monthly culture review and all has been very quiet on the Midnight Culture front. However Autumn is here and slowly but surely we are moving towards the sofa, the blankets and the chance to hunker down with some good content! There is a lot planned for Autumn/Winter here on Midnight Culture and I can’t wait to plug back in and bring you the best late-night movies, TV, podcasts and music. (Halloween and Christmas: PENDING!)
But first, here is what I have been loving this month!
Film and TV
Sex Education, Streaming on Netflix
Sex Education landed back on Netflix this month bringing us another series of teenage angst, self-discovery, love and relationships. After the groundbreaking and refreshing storytelling in the first two seasons, Season 3 had a lot to live up to and for the most part it delivered. The season opens with a classic Sex Education mega-sex-mashup-montage. It instantly brings you back into the sex and body positive world of the show and by the end of the montage we land on the seasons first ‘issue.’
The season introduces several new characters including new Moordale headmistress, Hope (Jemima Kirke) who comes in with a fierce but friendly approach that steadily descends into taking tyrannical control of the school. She brings in school uniforms and slowly strips away any sense of individuality from the students in an attempt to rid them of the label, ‘the sex school’. Inside and outside the walls of Moordale are some beautiful stories and as I try and pin down my personal favourites I keep remembering how many moments were just spot on. Some highlights:
- Eric’s trip to Nigeria and the queer community he finds hidden from view
- Learning more about popular girl, Ruby’s home life and seeing her vulnerability
- The introduction of Cal, the first non-binary character to feature on the show and their relationship with Jackson
- Lily and the aliens
- Our Queen, Aimee declaring that she and Maeve will be each other’s mums
- Madam and Adam’s dog show debut
Motherland, Available on BBC iPlayer and Netflix
I binged all three seasons of Motherland in a matter of days. With easy to digest 30 minute episodes, it is a perfectly-observed and uncomplicated comedy. The show centres around Julia, a mum on the edge, trying to balance her two children, home life and career. There is a particularly fantastic episode in the first series where she ends up having to supervise at a swimming birthday party ahead of a big meeting, cue: designer jackets being ruined and scabby plaster water.
All the recognisable parents are there: from the sweet stay-at-home dad to the glamorous Queen Bee mum who rules the school gates and local coffee shop. My favourite addition for Series 2 is the high-flying career woman who is there at every sports day, parties hard and somehow seems to have it all (played to perfection by Tanya Moodie). It is very specifically middle class which makes some of the dilemmas even more hilarious just because they are so ridiculous but if you are a parent or have ever gone to school, I think you’ll find something that feels relatable.
Married At First Sight UK, Available on All 4
I swore I wouldn’t watch this. I was absolutely not going to lose hours of my life watching this several nights a week… and then here we are at the vow renewals! I don’t know what it is about this show but it had me hooked. The weddings, the arguments, the challenges created purely for drama rather than harmony between the couples.
When Married At First Sight first started the couples really did get married and the premise was that the couples had been matched based on a very scientific compatibility test. The show lightly suggests that still happens but given how explosive and entirely incompatible some of the couples are versus how perfectly matched others are, I have my suspicions that now the marriages are not legally binding some of these couples are put together purely for the drama. We know that one, maybe two of these couples will stay together, the rest are just in it for the reality TV ride and we’re right there with them.
Spice Girls: How Girl Power Changed Britain, Available on All 4
This three-part series has everything I want in a music documentary: archived audition footage, talking heads from almost-band members who ‘have some stories they could tell’ and so much vintage behind-the-scenes footage that we’re completely submerged in the aesthetic and attitudes of the era. The Spice Girls and the notion of being in a girlband was such a defining feature of my early childhood, I remember studying the cover of the cassette tape for Spice and ‘Wannabe’ still hits me with a wave of nostalgia like nothing else.
The documentary not only examines 90’s culture through the lens of Spice Girl mania and the public antics of the group (like the famous lip-glossed kiss Geri Halliwell lays on Prince Charles) but it gives us an insight into how the women in the band advocated for themselves and have always done things on their own terms over the course of the last 27 years.
Podcasts
Are You Michelle from Skins?
Hosted by Skins alumni, April Pearson, Are You Michelle From Skins? explores what it is like to be recognisable for one very specific thing and the impact that can have on your sense of self both personally and professional. It was a series that started as a number of Instagram Lives over lockdown where April chatted to the likes of Thomas Turgoose and fellow Skins cast members, Dakota Blue Richards, Megan Prescott and Alex Arnold. These videos now all exist on YouTube where I heard/watched them for the first time. Series 2 was then released on Spotify and features stars like Aston Merrygold, Les Dennis and Antony Costa, as well as some more Skins alumni. As a massive Skins fan it is fascinating to hear what that period of time was like for the cast members most of whom were the same age as the characters they were playing and the impact that experience has had.
For more of my thoughts on Skins check out my episode on, The TV That Changed Me podcast coming in October.
*Also in true Midnight Culture fashion I have been re-listening to the unofficial, official Carrie: The Musical podcast, Out For Blood. Check out my April Culture Review for more on one of the best podcasts of all time!
Music/Radio
BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Greg James
I have been doing a lot of early morning driving this month and the thing that has got me through those 7am starts has been Greg James and the Radio 1 Breakfast Show. I have never spent much time listening to breakfast radio, normally because my commute would never last longer than 15- 20 minutes but having a 2.5 hour commute up the M1 gave me a new found appreciation for the power of breakfast radio. It is such a joyful, energising way to start a morning, there are games, interviews and funny bits of topical news all tied together by Greg James’ boundless enthusiasm and dry wit. My September highlights were Lizzo’s return to the breakfast show and the sizzling chemistry between her and Greg James and generally anytime Greg sings the ‘theme tune’ to Unpopular Opinion or Animal News. Big. Silly. Fun.
Stay- The Kid LAROI, Justin Bieber
I have had this song on repeat this month. It has an 80’s synthy vibe that I am really into and I like the echoing voices in the pre-chorus. It is pure pop but sometimes you just need a chart hit to get you through your emails on a Monday morning.
Amelie the Musical Original West End Cast Recording
Amelie the Musical featured on my blog last month when I went to see it after 18 months away from the theatre. To say I am now obsessed is an understatement, it is hard to think of anything else I have listened to this month other than the Amelie soundtrack. We’re at the point where my Spotify algorithm is struggling to pick anything else out for me! The music is stunning, the storytelling and characterisation still comes through on the recording which evokes the show beautifully. The show has closed in London (for now) so if you didn’t get a chance to see it I urge you to listen to the soundtrack for just a taste of the magic.
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