The Last Kingdom
SVT1, SUN 21:00
With its bloodied feuds and battles it seems inevitable that The Last Kingdom – the BBC America Drama series based on Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon Stories – would be compared with the HBO’s Game Of Thrones. But reviewers are already quick to point out that the shadow of the oh-so popular fantasy drama should not obscure your enjoyment of this ‘proper historical drama’.
The story takes place in ninth century England, when the terrain is divided into seven kingdoms. Uhtred – played by Tom Taylor – is a young man who finds himself torn between ancestral loyalty of the land he was born in and his adopted family of Vikings – who reared him after his noble Saxon parents are killed by the very same invaders.
With a colossal investment of £10m put into it, this series looks set to give Game Of Thrones a run for its money.
Also new:
If you’re British or lived in the UK during the ‘90s, you likely found yourself raving it large or at least getting swept up in England’s memorable run in the 1990 World Cup. A sequel to the series This is England ’86 and This is England ’88, the new four-part series This is England ’90 (SVT1, Sun 22:00) combines the lot.
The series follows Shaun, Kelly, Trev, Harvey, Gadget and the rest of the gang as their nation and local hood collide with the historic changes of that era.
Also back on track is the second season of the award-winning series Mr Robot (SVT2, July 14 21:45) which follows the intricately intelligent, but socially liable, hacker Elliot, back again to battle Evil Corp in collaboration with the mysterious anarchist Mr Robot.
Kevin Spacey’s experience from House of Cards will aid his narration in Race for the White House (DR2, July 20 20:00), a documentary that looks at the 1988 presidential battle between George Bush and Michael Dukakis.
The history lesson continues with the two BBC documentaries Constantinople – The Tale of Three Cities and History of the Otteman Empire (DRK, July 11 20:00 and 20:50), and the doco about the burglary that shook the FBI in 1971 (DR2, July 18 23:05). (CW)
Coming up soon
Unlocking the Cage
The 2016 documentary Unlocking the Cage follows non-profit lawyer Steven Wise on his unprecedented search for non-human clients to represent and ultimately tear down the wall that exits between humans and animals though the establishment of legal person-hood for the animals.
Wise and his legal team Nonhuman Rights Project try to make history, and overcome 30 years of battling in feeble animal welfare conditions, by filing the first lawsuits that aim to classify an animal from a thing with no rights to a person with legal protections.
Sport of the month
It’s already been a summer of sport and that trend will continue with a hattrick of events going on through late August, the highlight being the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. Taking place from August 5-21, DR1 and TV2 are on the spot for the opening ceremony and following action. Elsewhere, we have Tour de France (TV2, until July 24) and the British Open (TV3 Sport 1 & 2, July 10 – 17).(CW)
Film of the month
Civil rights are very much on the agenda this week with Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (TV2, July 17 21:00) the biopic about Nelson Mandela’s life – childhood, imprisonment and triumphant presidency. Forest Whitaker portrays Cecil Gaines during his 34-year tenure serving as the White House butler in The Butler (DR2 Zulu, July 22 20:00) and petrolheads will rev it up with Rush (TV2, July 24 21:00). (CW)
