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TV & Film

Netflix removes League of Gentlemen and Mighty Boosh over blackface controversy

Many programmes have been removed.

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BBC

Several programmes have been axed from streaming services due to white actors using blackface in a number of episodes and films. 

Blackface is the term used to describe theatrical makeup by white people to represent – usually insultingly – a caricature of a black person. It is a term that finds its origins in the US.

It demonstrates a long, deeply rooted and painful history found within racial ideologies that underpin transatlantic slavery.

It was created in a time when black people did not have the same rights as white people and were denied citizenship as an excuse to justify state violence. This meant that Black people were not allowed to be seen on stage due to their skin colour.

Blackface is often thought of as an old relic from the 1800s but there are many cases of modern 21st century TV programs still using it.

In the light of the resurgence of the BLM movement, critics have called for shows that depict blackface which are still on streaming services to be removed because it does little to combat racism.

Although in many cases it’s widely agreed the individual wearing blackface does not intend racism, it still causes harm through ignorance.

Little Britain/BBC

The League of Gentlemen and The Mighty Boosh are the latest shows to be removed from Netflix due to their use of blackface, the Guardian reports. 

Little Britain has also been removed from Netflix, Britbox and BBC iPlayer due to the use of blackface in some of the sketches of the show. 

 Come Fly With Me, also from Matt Lucas and David Walliams, has also been axed. 

“There’s a lot of historical programming available on BBC iPlayer, which we regularly review,” a spokesperson from the BBC said, adding: “Times have changed since Little Britain first aired so it is not currently available on BBC iPlayer.”

Matt Lucas has previously admitted that Little Britain ‘aged terribly’, stressing that if the comedy was ever renewed, he would never play a black character again. 

Mighty Boosh/BBC

Gone With the Wind, an American civil war romance, positively depicts slavery and has since been removed from HBO Max where it was previously streamable. 

Channel 4 has removed Bo Selecta from its All4 streaming service and Leigh Francis, the comedian who played many black celebrities in the programme, such as Craig David and Trisha Goddard, has apologised for using blackface.

Ant and Dec have also issued an apology for a segment of Saturday Night Takeaway in 2003 where they impersonated people from other ethnic backgrounds using blackface. 

Despite the concept of blackface starting by white entertainers mimicking black people for entertainment purposes, many people are arguing that the programmes are ‘old’ and removing them from streaming services ‘takes away our right to choose’.

One Twitter user put: ‘The censorship of comedy – a favourite hobby in Hitler’s Germany – continues. Weary face Little Britain removed from BBC iPlayer, Netflix and BritBox due to use of blackface.”

It has caused much debate in the public, with one Twitter user explaining the issue thus: “Nobody is going on BBC iPlayer to watch those shows as a history lesson, they’re watching it to laugh – often at the expense of black people.”

TV & Film

BBC detective drama Shetland to return for two new series 

There’s plenty more in store for viewers as we head back to the Isles

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BBC / Silverprint Pictures

Popular BBC detective drama Shetland is returning for two new series.

The long-running crime drama will return with Ashley Jensen and Alison O’Donnell reprising their roles as Detectives Ruth Calder and Alison ‘Tosh’ McIntosh.

Filming on the next season, its ninth, will get underway later this month.

BBC / Silverprint Pictures

The broadcaster said Shetland was the biggest drama of the year across Scotland and all channels and streamers in 2023, after Yorkshire crime drama Happy Valley. 

Last season averaged seven million viewers and was the first to see Ashley Jenson take the lead role after taking over from Douglas Henshall as Jimmy Perez – a role he played for a decade.

Ms Jenson said she was ‘thrilled’ to be coming back as Detective Calder.

BBC / Silverprint Pictures

She said: “The reaction to the last series was incredible and I’m excited at the prospect of unravelling more intrigue.

“The Shetland Isles are breath-taking – without a doubt one of the most memorable and unique filming locations I’ve been to.”

Ms O’Donnell also expressed that she ‘could not be happier’ about returning to film another series. She added: “Ashley and I just scratched the surface of our dynamic in Series 8 and I am delighted that we now have the opportunity to build on that.”

BBC / Silverprint Pictures

Fans of the programme will be delighted to know Steven Robertson (Sandy), Lewis Howden (Billy) and Anne Kidd (Cora) are also confirmed to return.

Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama, said the news showed the corporation was ‘further strengthening’ its commitment to the show, which first aired in 2013.

The latest series will be written by Paul Logue and Denise Paul and produced by Silverprint Pictures, with filming scheduled to take place throughout this year and next.

We can’t wait for this!

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TV & Film

New Netflix true crime docuseries leaving viewers ‘disturbed’

‘one of the wildest most disturbing docs I have seen’

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A new true crime docuseries on Netflix is leaving viewers traumatised and ‘disturbed’ after bingeing it in a night.

The three-part show delves into the world of ‘cons, cults and kidnappings’.

And of course, it’s called The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping, and details the traumatic events a group of school kids experienced.

The true story highlights serial abuse at Ivy Ridge, a disciplinary school in rural Ogdensburg, New York.

Netflix

Imagine being at school and suddenly you’re called to the principal’s office and then put in handcuffs or solitary confinement. It may sound like a horror story but this was real life for Katherine Kubler and a number of survivors of this troubled youth academy.

Kubler, who directs this docuseries, was sent to Ivy Ridge for acting out as a teenager.

At first glance, it seemed like a regular high school, but behind closed doors something a lot more sinister was going on.

It features interviews from former students who expose what happened while they were there.

Netflix

The series reveals how students were prohibited from speaking to, or looking at each other. They were mostly not allowed to go outside and the school was run on a points system – which determined how long they would remain there, according to former students.

Ivy Ridge closed down in 2009, but Kubler decided to make this documentary, as she explains ‘there really was nothing out there to help explain what had happened to [her], to [her] friends and family to warn them about these places, The Times reports.

“So, now that resource exists,” she said.

A former student, Kubler found video footage and files on students lying around in the abandoned building.

Netflix

On her return visit to Ogdensburg, she spoke with a former staff member who said she was just carrying out orders.

Kubler said: “These programs destroy families, and it’s very hard, so I wanted [viewers] to see what it’s done to my family.”

The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping has captivated audiences with its three episodes and many have even binged the series in just one night.

On X (formerly Twitter) one viewer said: “The Program on Netflix is crazy from the start but about 7 minutes into episode 2 the level of f**ked up psychological warfare reaches another level. No idea how so many parents bought into this s**t.”

Netflix

Another said: “Twisted AF. ‘The Program’ on Netflix is one of the wildest most disturbing docs I have seen.”

After sharing her harrowing story, Kubler hopes that the troubled teen industry will be exposed and shut down.

She adds: “This industry exists because there are not many good resources out there for families in a crisis, so we need to figure out alternate solutions,” she explained.

“Ultimately the goal is to expose these places and to get this industry shut down.”

You can stream The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping on Netflix now.

 

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TV & Film

Jason Manford joins cast of Waterloo Road as new headteacher

Viewers can expect his character to ‘ruffle a few feathers along the way’

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@jasonmanford / Instagram & BBC

Jason Manford will join the cast of Waterloo Road when the high school series returns later this year.

The actor and comedian will take on a more serious role as headteacher Steve Savage, and he says viewers can expect his character to ‘ruffle a few feathers along the way’.

Manford, 42, from Manchester said it was ‘an absolute treat’ to be joining the show ‘right here in my home city’.

@jasonmanford / Instagram

The series was originally axed in 2015, but following a revival in audiences during the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, it returned to screens after an eight-year break.

After admitting to binge watching the show with his family during lockdown, Manford added: “It’s such a brilliant, iconic show, so I’m dead proud to now be part of its history.

“Growing up, I always wanted to be a teacher and now, becoming a headteacher, I know I would have been terrible!”

@theangelagriffin / Instagram

While fans of the show may be left wondering where the current headteacher Kim Campbell might be – played by Angela Griffin – viewers will have to wait to see how the storyline plays out, the BBC said.

Waterloo Road’s season 13 finale aired on Monday night (February 26th), with series 14 coming to BBC One and BBC iPlayer later this year.

Cameron Roach, Executive Producer of Waterloo Road and Founder of Rope Ladder Fiction, said: “We’re thrilled that Jason Manford is joining Waterloo Road, as the show returns for a fourth series since returning to BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

BBC

“Jason is a phenomenal comic actor, and has fully embraced the tone and spirit of the show, we can’t wait for the audience to meet Steve Savage and his son Billy. 

“As with all of our adult cast, Jason has been an inspiring and approachable mentor to our younger cast and crew; we love that a new generation of Northern talent are able to learn their craft alongside brilliant household names. 

“The legacy of Waterloo Road goes from strength to strength.”

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