Must Watch reviews: After The Party
Every week, the Must Watch podcasters review the biggest TV and streaming shows.
This week, Hayley Campbell and Scott Bryan join Naga Munchetty to review ‘After The Party’.
It’s a drama from New Zealand starring Robyn Malcolm and Peter Mullan, about a woman whose world imploded when she accused her husband of a sex crime against a minor and no one believed her.
When her now ex-husband returns to town, her daughter pressures her to let go of her accusations and move on….
What do the Must Watch Reviewers think of 鈥楢fter The Party鈥�?
Scott Bryan and Hayley Campbell share what they think about 鈥楢fter The Party鈥�.
Naga: “Scott, Must Watch?”
This is a show that floored me"
Scott: “Absolutely. I mean, this is a show that floored me. My breath was taken away by the acting, the plot, every part of it, and I watched it in one complete sitting, which is a rarity.
“It's a hard drama. It's about Penny, a teacher, admired by her teaching staff and her students. She's got unconventional teaching methods. She then sees her ex-husband turn up at school and it completely knocks her sideways.
“And you're not really sure why to start off with. And then it turns out that a few years prior, she had accused him of a sex crime against somebody that they both know.
“And the whole thing, the whole sort of crux of this drama is about what happens when you've seen something and you allege something, but it is dependent solely on your own testimony that nobody else has seen.”
Scott: “It's also about finding justice when the criminal justice system either can't do anything or does not do anything.
“And it's also about dealing with another court, which is a court of public opinion, and essentially trying to convince other people.
“I found a lot of parallels with this and Happy Valley, just in terms of the absolute authenticity in the acting. You were able to capture the nuances, the way that they speak to each other, and feel so authentic.
“And the way that the pacing really hooks you in, in that final 20 minutes in the sixth episode…”
Naga: “Stop. Don't spoil anything.”
Scott: “My word, it is all good.”
Naga: “We had an email from Michael who gave us thoughts. He says, "Hello, my friends. I'm at a loss for words.
“Do you realise that finally the greatest show of 2024 has finally come to the UK? Talking of after the party, I saw it about eight months ago in New Zealand. I still think about it.
“I'm guaranteeing this will make your top 10 year-end list. It's simply sublime”.”
Scott: “I think it might.”
Naga: “Hayley?”
It's all about the grey areas between so many things"
Hayley: “I agree.”
“I think this was excellent. It's exactly the kind of dark show I like. It's complicated, it's complex and it's all about the grey areas between so many things.
“And I think it's very telling that if anyone has told you to watch this show, you've probably noticed that they don't say much about it.
“They just go, "Oh, just watch it." And I think they're absolutely right to. I've watched the whole thing, like Scott, and you don't know what happens until right at the end.”
Hayley: “And all through it, we've got this unreliable lead character we can't fully trust, and then at times she doesn't even trust herself. So, it's full of doubt and guilt and rage.
It's also incredibly skilled acting"
“And I also really love a show where a middle-aged woman is so willing to bear her soul to make a character work. It's the opposite of vanity. It's this real from-the-heart thing, but it's also incredibly skilled acting.
“And Robyn Malcolm played one of the women in the commune in Top of the Lake, which was one of my favourite TV shows ever. That also starred Peter Mullen as well, who's in this.
“So, I think if you love Top of the Lake, you will love this. There's something about darkness in New Zealand that I think is special.”
Scott: “Naga…”
Naga: “I watched the first episode with friends, and none of us bought into it.
“And I was really disappointed because I'm expecting great things and I am actually going to go and watch the second episode because I think the first episode kind of took us, it hints and nothing, but nothing concrete enough for me to want to watch the second episode and it's only because people have spoken about it and I love her, I love the lead, I love seeing an angry middle-aged woman, exactly as you said Hayley, who's got ugly sides to her and is flawed.
“I'm not interested in Peter Mullen's character to be completely honest at the moment. I like her conflicted character, I like the fact that she's a brilliant teacher, you know, her sex education to these kids is fantastic.
“And I'm not ruining anything. One of the kids has porn on his phone, she plays it or shows a picture of it, gives the kids a really good talking to about why sex should be good and not like this.
“And you know, she says thank you for saving me and saving your sex life, it’s a brilliant line. She’s the teacher you always wanted.
Hayley: “I think you'll end up liking it.”
Naga: “Okay.”
Scott: “I also think it's a show that needs to be seen in its completeness.
“By episode three, I couldn't resist not watching the rest of it in one go.”
Naga: “We’re saying it’s a Must Watch, yeah?”
Scott: “Absolutely on the list.”
You can watch all episodes of ‘After The Party’ on Channel 4 streaming now.
But before that, why not contact Scott and Hayley with the shows you’ve been loving, loathing or both on mustwatch@bbc.co.uk.
Must Watch is released as a podcast every Monday evening on 麻豆社 Sounds.
As always, we like to include your reviews - on shows you love, loathe or lament.
Message @bbc5live on social media using the hashtag #bbcmustwatch or email mustwatch@bbc.co.uk.
This week, the team reviewed Brawn: The Impossible Formula One Story and Elton John: Never Too Late.
Brawn: The Impossible Formula One Story
Hayley: “It’s not a Must Watch for me. I'm not a Formula One fan and I think this one is for proper enthusiasts, not tourists like me. It was too businessy and complicated for anyone who doesn't care about Formula One. But I do think it is a Must Watch for someone.”
Scott: “I think it's such a transition from Senna, which we reviewed a few weeks ago because we found that that was amazing with what it showed on the tracks.
“This I found to be the polar opposite in which I found it was too much in detail, going into business strategies, financing, marketing, engine sizes, small technical parts of cars that I genuinely did not understand. And actually, those bits, those sequences on the track were not as invigorating or as edge of my seat as I thought they were going to be. This is too geared towards the fans.”
Elton John: Never Too Late
Scott: “It is a Must Watch, but there are caveats.
“I absolutely loved that documentary because it was so comprehensive and so blistering and so honest. I've read a lot of autobiographies in my time and that was one of the rawest and I think most self-reflecting, kind of highlighting all of the lows, talking about how his life gravitated around sex and drugs and what what position in the chart his song was on, and basically how he said that he was trying to find happiness and he found it in all the wrong places.
“I was really hoping for something that was completely comprehensive that went from the start of his life to where he is now. It sort of felt that they kind of cut and showed certain bits. They spent quite a long time on John Lennon and one time when he appeared on stage alongside the Beatles, which I found fascinating, but I wish we had a whole picture. It is a Must Watch but I wish they tweaked the format slightly.”
Hayley: “I'm not an Elton John person. I wouldn't have watched this if we weren't reviewing it. But I did enjoy it.
“What I liked about this is it's basically a long explanation to fans about why he wants to stop touring. And at the end of it, you completely agree with him. He's finally at a point in his life where he has love and kids and he doesn't want to miss any of it. And you see how much he had to miss in order to do what he did. So, you just agree with him.
“It's Elton John so he's very earnest and serious but he's also incredibly open about loneliness and also what it's like living in a bubble and what it does to you. So, you get more of an understanding of him but also generally what it feels like to be up there on that stage for anyone which is complicated.”
Black Doves
Steve from Musselburgh wrote to us about ‘Black Doves’…
“I’ve just watched Black Doves and my best description of the show is “meh”! It doesn’t really know what it’s supposed to be and although Kiera Knightley may be a good actor, I just can’t see her fitting the role. As Hayley said, there is something weird about her smile, I keep expecting her to say “yay, jolly hockey sticks”. Doubt I’ll be watching the second series.”
Peter has a different opinion…
“Black Doves on Netflix has it all - thrills, spills and bucket loads of ironic humour. Great cast and set up for series two.”
Moonflower Murders
Ruthie let us know what she thinks about ‘Moonflower Murders’…
“I absolutely loved Moonflower Murders on 麻豆社, the sequel to Magpie Murders and based on Anthony Horowitz’s book. It is so clever with its ‘story in a story’ narrative and stars Leslie Manville as a publisher-turned-amateur sleuth. It definitely fits into cosy crime, hence my suspicion that it’s not dark enough for Hayley.”
A Man on the Inside
Allie recommends watching ‘A Man on the Inside’ on Netflix…
“The TV show I binged over the weekend was a sitcom on Netflix called "A Man on the Inside." It stars Ted Danson, whom I consider the perfect sitcom actor, as a retiree who becomes an amateur private investigator to solve a crime inside a retirement home. As you've talked about before, there's been a lack of quick 30-minutes or less comedies, but this is a breezy watch with eight episodes at 25-30 minutes in most of them. Despite that, it still manages to flesh out supporting cast and subplots to showcase those who have been put out to pasture, but still need purpose in their lives. I highly recommend it to those who are looking for a fun, quick, easy comedy watch.”
