"Years and Years" is "near future" SciFi, set in Britain in the years 2019-2032. And what makes it so effective (and affecting) is that it's *scathing* political and social commentary, masquerading as a traditional British family drama/comedy.
It's what happens to a normal, pretty everyday British family as the world around them crumbles, with events such as Donald Trump dropping a nuclear weapon on an artificial Chinese island a couple of days before he leaves office, followed by *not* leaving office, and sticking around to continue running things, with Pence as his puppet.
And that's just what happens in the first episode, and not the scariest part. Back in England, a mouthy, know-nothing politician (played by Emma Thompson) is appealing to the same people who created Brexit and is on her way to becoming Prime Minister, and she's scarier than Trump is.
This is a high-quality production, with the kind of top-flight actors a collaboration between BBC and HBO can buy. And as I said in my title, I think it's bloody brilliant, one of the best things I've seen on TV this year. In the UK, critics are already talking about BAFTAs, their counterpart of Emmys.
What it's NOT is "light viewing." You *feel* the struggles of this family as they try to make sense of a world that no longer makes sense. They're a lot like your family. That's what makes the events these people are trying to live through horrific -- you're trying to live through them, too.
Two thumbs up, and I'd give it more if I had more hands.
It's what happens to a normal, pretty everyday British family as the world around them crumbles, with events such as Donald Trump dropping a nuclear weapon on an artificial Chinese island a couple of days before he leaves office, followed by *not* leaving office, and sticking around to continue running things, with Pence as his puppet.
And that's just what happens in the first episode, and not the scariest part. Back in England, a mouthy, know-nothing politician (played by Emma Thompson) is appealing to the same people who created Brexit and is on her way to becoming Prime Minister, and she's scarier than Trump is.
This is a high-quality production, with the kind of top-flight actors a collaboration between BBC and HBO can buy. And as I said in my title, I think it's bloody brilliant, one of the best things I've seen on TV this year. In the UK, critics are already talking about BAFTAs, their counterpart of Emmys.
What it's NOT is "light viewing." You *feel* the struggles of this family as they try to make sense of a world that no longer makes sense. They're a lot like your family. That's what makes the events these people are trying to live through horrific -- you're trying to live through them, too.
Two thumbs up, and I'd give it more if I had more hands.