Spring break: Culture worth catching this season

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0:06Today, put a spring in your step with our Critics' Guide to Culture Worth Getting Hyped For.

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0:56OK, it is officially spring. Q2, as the corporates call it. All that OTT light, blossom, green. It's basically nature's equivalent of yelling, cheer up, love, might never happen. And boy, do we need reasons to be cheered up right now. So we summoned The Guardian's TV, music and film critics to tell us what's what this season and what they found comforting when the world feels especially bleak. Try to stay calm, Jessie.

1:31Catherine Shoard:Buzz, you know me. I'm the definition of calm. That's not going to work. From the biggest blockbusters to the most out there indies. Are you serious? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. How to find a show that you won't regret streaming. I think Netflix has maybe killed the mood a bit because every few months they've now got a documentary along the lines of, remember that show that you used to really love? Well, guess what? It was super abusive. There was a lot of body shaming. We're not thin enough. We're not thin enough. We are actually going to switch your ethnicities. Baby girl, baby girl. And of course, who's going on tour and making music to remember?

2:18All that and the definitive guide to who the next James Bond will be. Sort of. From The Guardian, I'm Narsheen Iqbal. Today in Focus, a spring awakening.

2:38Welcome to Today in Focus. Catherine Shord, film editor. Alexis Petridis, our chief pop and rock music critic. and Hannah J. Davis, our TV critic. Thank you for being here. First question, Catherine, 2026, pretty much like every other year, is leaning hard into nostalgia and sequels and so on. So I want to talk firstly about one that I've heard of that is all over my feed, Devil Wears Prada 2. Where would you like to start? I am the new Petrie's editor at Runway. No, you are not. Yeah, we are all so thrilled. You know what's funny is you've changed. do you have? You're much more confident. Kept those eyebrows though, didn't you?

3:20Are you excited?

3:21Catherine Shoard:Tell me everything. Is it going to be any good? I was more excited before I saw the trailers actually. I thought the trailers looked a bit worrying. Why? Well, they didn't look very funny. There's this repeated joke in one of the trailers where Miranda Priestley, the Meryl Streep bitchy bitchy editor character, can't remember that Anne Hathaway was her assistant or that she called the Morn Emily, and that's meant to be just evidence of her bitchiness. It looks a bit like dementia. Who is this? Do you know her? Do I know her? I'm Andy Sachs. Andrea. She was one of the Emilys. One of the what? But if that's the sort of level of joke, that slightly gives me pause.

4:00Catherine Shoard:I mean, maybe it'll be good. You know, Kenneth Branagh's in it. That might be fun. Stanley Tucci's back. But something about it gives me the heebie-jeebies.

4:17Emily Blunt, she's having another moment. Is it so there, Catherine?

4:21Catherine Shoard:She took some time out after Oppenheimer and now she's back, back, back with Devil Wears Prada and Disclosure Day, which is a massive film for the late spring, early summer, which is Spielberg's new film. And it's a sort of E.T. Close Encounters thing, but bigger. What are you going to do? Full disclosure to the whole world. That truth will upend all established order across the entire world.

4:50If you do this, there's no one doing it.

4:52Catherine Shoard:And Emily Blunt plays a weather girl. She plays a weather girl that is sort of possessed, I think, by aliens and starts talking in a funny, stuttery sort of way. Good morning, Kansas City. Let's take a look at today. Let's Let's Today is Today's

5:19Catherine Shoard:It'll be good It's her and Josh O 'Connor and Colin Firth and Eve Hewson and people like that and it does look quite exciting and spectacular Sorry, this is a drama, not a comedy No, I'm doing a genuine question It's a drama, yeah So it's a drama about a weather girl that's possessed by aliens I think there's more to it. It's probably more of a worldwide conspiracy of aliens and them coming down, speaking through Emily Blunt's weather girl. But it isn't. I expect there's levity moments, levity adjacent. Levity moments. I love a film with a levity moment. Hannah, in the world of British TV series, what can we look forward to?

5:55There's some really good stuff coming up. So Richard Gad, who kind of broke through with Baby Reindeer, the big stalker, word of mouth thriller on Netflix back in 2024. He's back with a new BBC drama called Half Man. It stars him and Jamie Bell. Okay. Billy Elliot. From Billy Elliot. And they are... Poor Blake. They are... No, sorry. It's the first thing that came into my head. From the great body of work. From Billy Elliot, among other things. And they star as not blood-related brothers, but brothers in the kind of sense of the word and it's all about their story told over 30 years from the 80s onwards and sort of trauma and violence and apparently modern masculinity so kind of manosphere adjacent maybe as well which is quite of the moment so that sounds interesting and that is out in April The BBC also have Dear England which is a stage to TV transfer of James Graham's play about Gareth Southgate's revolutionary leadership of the England squad and it also stars Joseph Fiennes who played him on stage and who managed to capture his mannerisms in a very uncanny fashion.

6:57Dear England, I can't possibly hope to speak for an entire country, but I would like to share a few things with you as we begin this journey. Alexis, is there anything coming up in a similar vein you're not sure of how to sell? No. Like, it's supposed to be big. You're kind of not sure. It could be good. Maybe it isn't. The sort of big album, I guess, coming out of Britain, certainly, is Ray's second album.

7:36There's this sort of big backstory with Ray. Signed to a major record label, they treated her pretty shabbily. She kicked off, they dropped her, she self-released her album. It was incredibly successful. Since that's happened, she's obviously sort of really taken control of her own career. The album, in contrast to her last album, is an 80 minutes long conceptual work divided into four movements. It's essentially like a breakup. I'm really intrigued to see how it kind of flies with the general public because it's sort of demanding of listeners. They sit down and listen to the whole thing. Did you enjoy it?

8:16I admired it. You admired it? I admire it. No, I don't mean that. No, no. I think it stinks. There are really good songs on it. There's this line people always go, well, you know, if Bohemian Rhapsody was released today, it wouldn't be a hit because they wouldn't know what playlist to put it on so no one would get to hear it. And there is an element of sort of a Bohemian Rhapsody-ishness. That's interesting. In the sort of grandiosity of this record. It's incredibly bold. it's also called This Album May Contain Hope which if you look at the trend for 2026 awful album titles we had Harry Styles Kiss All The Time Disco Occasionally which sounds like something you'd see on a poster in someone's kitchen next to a sign saying it's Prosecco O 'Clock you know so yeah I don't think the title's doing any favours but hats off to Ray for going for it yeah absolutely she's really gone for it And on the subject of artist, multi-talented, doing different things at all different times, Riz Ahmed's back.

9:23As an actor, has he written a new thing, Hannah? He has a new series which has just come out on Prime Video called Baked, which is a kind of interesting proposition because Amazon MGM obviously now are the guardians of the James Bond franchise. And he has been granted permission by them and by Barbara Broccoli specifically to make this series about a struggling actor who is linked to the role of James Bond. I got stuff cooking. What have you got cooking? I can't tell you. This is top secret. Oh my God, Sharpa, are you going to be the next James Bond? Just an audition. James Bond is white. This is meta, isn't it?

9:59Is he playing that actor? He's playing that actor. Because he was tipped to be Bond at some point. So it's very, very meta. Any good? I think it is really good, but I almost feel like the Bond bit is the least interesting part of it. I feel like it's just kind of a way in, but actually it ends up being much more about race and identity and how there is this tendency to only have space in a room for one minority voice at a time. And there's this kind of recurring bit of him getting either confused for other actors or being, you know, replaced by them. Catherine, I mean, in real life, how many struggling actors or not struggling actors are trying to be Bond and who do you think is going to be the next one?

10:35Catherine Shoard:I think there's 20 or so on the short list at the moment, and it's quite a long list. But if I was going to place a bet on it, and I would do so very soon, because I think it will be announced very soon, I would place a very strong, heavy bet on Jacob Bellordi to do it. Obviously, he looks the part, you know, entirely, and everybody likes him and he's got sort of critical nous from the Frankenstein thing and he's not doing anything mysteriously for somebody so hot. His IMDb Pro page which outlines his upcoming projects is mysteriously cold. So he's done the new Ridley Scott film which is out later this year but nothing apart from that which is a bit odd.

11:12Catherine Shoard:Nothing in production. Yeah. And this would be quite exciting because he'd be the second Australian Bond. He'd be the youngest Bond ever. He's still white and he's still male. Yes, that's true. He'd be the tallest Bond, though. He's got to count for something, ever. So that's, I mean, I think he'd be quite good. Well, there's a lot of drama in James Bond, isn't there? And I would say there's been a lot of drama around a band called Kneecap. Ah, there we go. Nicely done. Kneecap's third album is set to come out. This is exciting. It is exciting. And I think it's got Kate Tempest on it, Rady Peet, who was on the last album, is from Lancôme.

11:48the very highly acclaimed and excellent Do Me Irish folk band. I think I'm interested to hear the kneecap album because somewhere in the kind of mix of all this stuff about Palestine and censorship and so on and so forth, the last kneecap album was really funny. You know, it was really witty about sectarianism in Northern Ireland, not normally a subject that gets played for lols. And they did it incredibly well. and how brilliantly entertaining kneecap are. It's produced by Dan Carey, who's a really good producer. There's a track on it called Cocaine Hill, which apparently sounds like Pink Floyd.

12:25Okay. Which is a sort of intriguing new sort of sonic move for kneecap. So, yeah, loads of people I know that have heard it have said it's absolutely brilliant. I never learn my lesson, and we've beat government's obsession. Walk out of town when I'm walking around, but I don't want her gaffling, I'm fessing. Calling me Skev the Whore, never heard that said before.

12:51I like it. We want things to be interesting. So, Catherine, A24. I say this because they're quite spicy and controversial in some ways.

13:01Catherine Shoard:I think they've moved into the kind of butter chicken level of spice now, to be honest. Do you want to explain A24 and then tell us about their transition to butter chicken? Well, A24 are the groovy, groovy American outfit that are partly a kind of thing you say on your dating profile. I love A24 films. Their most recent films are things like Marty's Supreme, which is their best, highest grossing film ever. Other films would include things like Midsommar, would include Hereditary and other movies not made by Ari Aster, like Civil War. They have an amazing background, and they're kind of an amazing outfit.

13:38Catherine Shoard:And they have a new film coming out called The Drama, which is quite a sort of buzzy film. And it stars Zendaya and Robert Pattinson as a couple who are about to get married and are very cool and hip and beautiful and happy. And then they're not because she says a thing and nobody knows what the thing is. All right, so before we got married, we did this thing where we said the worst thing we've ever done. Okay. I'll tell mine if we all do it. Promise? What did you do? This dog. Beer bottles and porn. You left in there every night. Yeah. That's the worst thing I've ever done. Okay, I, um... Are you serious?

14:18Catherine Shoard:I'm sorry, I, um... Emma, what the fuck? This is an example of a good trailer where you don't quite know what the thing is and then you're sort of thinking. And so one of the most groovy-sounding movies this spring is this in Batrooms, which is very complicated and I'm going to say it all wrong because I'm 400, but it's about the liminal spaces 4chan thing about mysterious rooms that look just charged with horror and mystery and sort of tacky and grubby and beige and also just very frightening. And this guy made a YouTube thing about them and it's been adapted and it sounds amazing and intriguing.

15:00Catherine Shoard:And again, another very good trailer. Found a place. It's massive in there. It just goes on and on and on. All these rooms. This place builds them. Actually more like it remembers them. Right, I mean, I sort of understand 4chan, the rooms thing that you're describing. Hannah, for clarity. Anything interesting in a similar vein or perhaps even not on TV? What's on the horizon? Well, this is a bit more tech-brow-y, I would say, but there's a new drama called The Audacity, which is airing on AMC next month in the US with a UK date to follow. And it is, and I quote, Succession meets Silicon Valley and a real jaw dropper.

15:48They're horrible people who have no boundaries. Can you not touch me? No manners. No integrity. Did you leak the acquisition rumour? Yes or no? No! No! Maybe! I shouldn't have leaked the acquisition rumour. It's about a power-hungry tech CEO played by Billy Magnusson, who was in Maniac and his therapist who was Sarah Goldberg who was in Barry and Industry and it's written by Jonathan Glatzer who was one of the writers and producers of Succession. Over on Apple TV they've got a new series coming out next month from David E. Kelly the writer of Ally McBeal and Big Little Lies amongst other things starring Elle Fanning and it is about a young mum who turns to OnlyFans to make money for her child apparently on the advice of her dad a former pro wrestler played by Nick Offerman so it all sounds So much going on A little bit problematic.

16:36Yeah, and Nicole Kidman also plays a professional wrestler, so there is quite a lot going on in there, but it looks like it could be fun. In order to earn income for my child, I've been doing some work on the internet. For your first taco picks, we'll make you a scary girl. I'll marinate on it. Alexis, this is a bit of a pivot from OnlyFans, but I just want to know straight up, three tours that I'm booking for this spring or more importantly our listeners, what would they be? Well, three big tours, all female. We've already mentioned Ray. She's going out on tour. Olivia Dean.

17:21Catherine Shoard:Olivia Dean, she's absolutely huge. Her album, I don't think it's actually been out of the top five since it was released. In a world of really flashy, visually driven female artists, Sabrina Carpenter, Chapel Row and people like that. She is managing to do the sort of girl-next-door thing without it being unbelievably boring. Because I think it's so easy to fall in love So come give me a call The last time I saw her, she was supporting Sabrina Carpenter at Hyde Park. And the contrast between her and Sabrina Carpenter, who has this very sort of incredibly entertaining, brilliant kind of pop show.

18:07And then Olivia Dean, who was kind of very charismatic, but sort of ordinary at the same time. It's quite a tricky thing to pull off. I'm just intrigued to see what she does. So who's the third female artist you mentioned? Lily Allen. I didn't know it was a pussy palace, pussy palace, pussy palace, pussy palace. I always thought it was a dojo, dojo, dojo. I mean, the album was great, but the tour has been panned. Yeah, which is why I think that's kind of interesting in that she makes this, I mean, not unbelievably successful, but very successful album that in some ways goes against the grain of what you're meant to do.

18:46Again, this is an album that you're meant to listen to from start to finish. It has a narrative arc. And then she did this live show that people seemed sort of really disappointed by. She spent 45 minutes of the beginning, as I understand it, of actually not being on stage. A string quartet playing a hit. Yeah, that's it. Okay, string quartet playing a hit for 45 minutes. Curtain drop and then Lily Allen comes out. And then does her album in full in this very kind of theatrical way that a lot of people seem to feel put a kind of almost like a barrier between her and the audience. And I think there's something to be said for trying to go, no, I'm going to do this.

19:22Yeah. No, I'm not going to give you exactly what you want. Right. I'm going to do something different. And back in the room again with Lily Allen. Yeah, you see, there's another sign of it.

19:38That takes us very neatly, I think, to Catherine in terms of ambitious, blockbuster, perhaps unexpected. And I think, from my understanding, I'm going to pretend it's your favourite film this spring, Toy Story 5.

19:53Catherine Shoard:Yeah, I mean, I think the Toy Story films are fantastically good and really underrated, if anything. Underrated? Doesn't everyone love Toy Story? Until I sort of had to watch them on repeat, I was a bit dismissive, so maybe just me. But yeah, I think they're great. And I've said this a hundred million times. I think kids' films are just incredibly much where the talent and ambition and invention is these days. And even the sequels, you know. So you've got Toy Story 5, you've got the new Shaun the Sheep movie, Shaun the Sheep 3, you've got Mitchells vs. the Machines 2, you've got another millions film.

20:26Catherine Shoard:All kids' films these days, their big focus is tech and tech scepticism versus tech embrace and how you balance those two. And they engage with that in a much more sophisticated way than adult films in my experience. It's very true. And this is no different. This is showing how a tablet takes over childhood. And it might also have some good jokes and burps and stuff. So quite looking forward to that. Bonnie, screen time's over now. OK. I want to talk to you, device. Please, call me Lily. Me and the toys have been working all summer to try and get Bonnie to make friends. But then you had to ruin it.

21:02You're not even listening to me. I'm always listening. See? Now look here. Me and the toys have been working all summer. Now in Spanish. What? Yeah, I got dibs on behind the dressers. Hannah, and don't call it a comeback, but can you tell me about other favourite series returning? Yes, so Beef, which was a huge hit on Netflix back in 2023. It was this quite slow-burning drama series starring Ali Wong and Stephen Young as two people who got into a very unexpected road rage incident and decided to ruin one another's lives. It's very entertaining. Very entertaining because it's an anthology. This time around it's a completely different cast.