Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett and Molly ‘Meatball’ McCann are best friends and brilliant personalities. So how has this fly-on-the-wall series ended up so deeply awkward?

The ancient question, asked for millennia, the one our ancestors used to ask the gods at the top of great mountains: are athletes actually interesting when they are not throwing or catching a ball? There is a lot of evidence to suggest that the answer is “well: no. But does it really matter?” Look at the Sports Personality of the Year award. Look at basically any post-game interview in any sport. Read any athlete’s autobiography apart from Andre Agassi’s. As argued better than I’ll ever touch it by David Foster Wallace in How Tracy Austin Broke My Heart, elite athletes necessarily have to have quite an uninteresting personality so they can have unshakeable focus when the heat is on. Intrusive intellectual thoughts can scupper a match-point. That’s why Cole Palmer is so good at penalties.

Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett, then, is one of sport’s outliers. As a man of a certain age – and I have spoken to many friends about this, and we have all fallen to the curse – I have found myself losing hours to the Liverpudlian MMA fighter’s hypnotic YouTube channel. BBC Three has tried to capture it with this week’s extraordinarily badly-named Paddy & Molly: Show No Mersey (a genuine offer to the BBC: I’ll come in when you announce the names of things, and bluntly tell you if they are bad, to avoid the embarrassment of Show No Mersey happening again. This one is bad).

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© Photograph: Screengrab/BBC/Hello Mary

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© Photograph: Screengrab/BBC/Hello Mary

Coldplay, Corinne Bailey Rae and Disclosure are part of your mammoth lineup. Plus: all the action from Tour de France. Here’s what to watch this evening

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© Photograph: Ray Burmiston/BBC

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© Photograph: Ray Burmiston/BBC

Yorgos Lanthimos teams up with Emma Stone for the third time in this off-kilter and provocative tale, while Emma Myers leads the new YA drama adaptation from Holly Jackson’s smash-hit novel

Kinds of Kindness
Out now
Yorgos Lanthimos is, simply put, one of the best directors working today, fearlessly bringing his off-kilter visions of everything from dating to monarchy to misogyny to the big screen with characteristic biting wit and dark humour. His latest is a provocative triptych starring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons and Willem Dafoe, set in the worlds of work, relationships and religion.

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© Photograph: Atsushi Nishijima

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© Photograph: Atsushi Nishijima

Mull, known for his droll and esoteric comedy, dies after ‘valiant fight against a long illness’, says daughter

Martin Mull, whose droll, esoteric comedy and acting made him a hip sensation in the 1970s and later a beloved guest star on sitcoms including Roseanne and Arrested Development, has died, his daughter said Friday. He was 80 years old.

Mull’s daughter, TV writer and comic artist Maggie Mull, said her father died at home on Thursday after “a valiant fight against a long illness”.

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© Photograph: Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP

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© Photograph: Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP

The backbiting egotists behind these multimillion dollar sales ooze confidence – which is as horrible as it sounds. The wildly expensive (and tasteless) properties aren’t much nicer

At first, I thought I had run out of hatred. An unsettling sensation. Fortunately, order was soon restored. It turns out that the opening episode of Owning Manhattan – the latest product in Netflix’s attempt to saturate the market for real-estate shows – is an uncharacteristically gentle lead-in to what becomes a characteristic maelstrom of backbiting, warring egos, frightening fashion choices, daily Oscar-ceremony levels of grooming and gobsmacking commissions up for grabs.

After the most recent iteration – the essentially dismal Buying London, set in essentially dismal London and unable to field the level of monstrosity required in property and human terms that the Americans manage so effortlessly – this is at least a return to suitably excessive form. Fans of Selling Sunset who are not yet sated should find something to help them here.

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© Photograph: Netflix

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© Photograph: Netflix

He seemed like a kind man just trying to help people conceive … until his serial fertility scam was revealed. The women he duped tell all

Even when she was searching online for a sperm donor, Vanessa wanted her children to know their father. In 2015, she was 34, the right partner hadn’t come along and fertility treatment “would have bankrupted me”, she says.

A website listing dozens of Dutchmen willing to donate privately seemed to answer her prayers. Though no photographs were posted, Vanessa was drawn to one profile in particular. The man – Jonathan – wrote that he’d been inspired to sign up after friends of his had struggled to conceive. “I thought: ‘That’s nice – he wants to help’,” says Vanessa.

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© Photograph: Courtesy of Netflix

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© Photograph: Courtesy of Netflix

From one of the best television series of all time to rushed, unfocused and half-baked, the cooking drama’s third season is a big letdown. Is it a victim of its own success?

Before we begin, it’s important to point out that The Bear is one of my favourite shows of all time. If you ever need to look for a perfect season of television, I will always point you to The Bear’s first eight episodes. That season was incredibly stylish, overwhelmingly propulsive and filled with characters you found yourself rooting for. More than anything, though, it was about something. The first season of The Bear was about leaving home, returning changed and trying to fit back in. This thumped through every scene of every episode. It was stunning.

While season two allowed itself to unspool a little, it was still driven by an unbeatably strong engine, in the countdown to the opening of a new restaurant. There was still such momentum that, like everyone else, I wolfed it down in one go. Season three couldn’t come quick enough.

The Bear is on Disney+

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© Photograph: Chuck Hodes/Photographer: Chuck Hodes

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© Photograph: Chuck Hodes/Photographer: Chuck Hodes

A shocking documentary about a Dutch sperm donor scam that’s gone global, plus bitesize new episodes of the exquisite Australian cartoon

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© Photograph: Courtesy of Netflix

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© Photograph: Courtesy of Netflix

No tickets, no problem – just join the festival from your sofa. Plus: Nick Robinson is interviewing Ed Davey. Here’s what to watch this evening

7.30pm, BBC Four
It has been 17 years since the Beautiful South split, citing “musical similarities”, but Paul Heaton hasn’t kipped on his laurels, most recently releasing N.K-Pop with fellow former Southerner Jacqui Abbott. Expect more achingly poignant masterpieces on the Pyramid stage. Meanwhile, Sugababes will be bringing their incurably infectious pop genius, with the likes of Overload, Push the Button and latest single When the Rain Comes. Bliss. Ali Catterall

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© Photograph: Christopher Polk/Penske Media/Getty Images

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© Photograph: Christopher Polk/Penske Media/Getty Images

This campaign has been so gaffe-heavy it couldn’t be much more like Armando Iannucci’s classic TV satire. But can you sort your Sunaks from your Tuckers?

Over the last couple of decades, whenever there has been a general election – and there have been a lot of them – the overwhelming likelihood is that it will be so full of gaffes and panic that it will end up being compared to The Thick of It. This is a testament to the painful authenticity of that show and a sad reality of political discourse in the 21st century.

However, by anyone’s standards, the 2024 general election has been especially The Thick of Itty. At one point, the show’s creator, Armando Iannucci, pointed out that one fleeting talking point – the Conservative’s plan to let an independent body tackle immigration, to stop MPs from being tripped up on the subject in the media – was basically the plot of the 2007 special The Rise of the Nutters.

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© Composite: BBC, Getty

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© Composite: BBC, Getty

Zac Efron plays a heartless airhead movie star who is much too hastily transformed into Kidman’s Mr Perfect

When it comes to age-gap films starring Nicole Kidman, Jonathan Glazer’s Birth is surely impossible to follow. But newcomer screenwriter Carrie Solomon and director Richard LaGravenese are trying it with this romcom for Netflix which, despite a very cute high concept, resolves the unresolved sexual tension too early and jettisons the irony and comedy well before the end of the first act, leaving us with something a bit solemn.

The film in fact reunites Kidman with Zac Efron; they starred together in The Paperboy in 2013. Efron plays Chris Cole, a shallow and vain young movie star in LA who mistreats his much put-upon assistant Zara, kookily played by Joey King. With much pouting and eye-rolling she has to cater to his every whim and it is especially her job to organise the purchase of the special “breakup” diamond earrings that Chris always gives to young women he’s going to dump.

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© Photograph: Aaron Epstein/Netflix

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© Photograph: Aaron Epstein/Netflix

Steven Moffat’s drama about one half of a TV news couple being accused of sexism takes no prisoners. It's fast, fun – and furious about every liberal taboo

It is clear within a few minutes of Steven Moffat’s latest venture, Douglas Is Cancelled, that he has set out if not to slaughter every liberal/leftist/wokeist cow (delete according to personal definition – one of the main themes of this drama is that we can no longer depend on words or meaning), then lacerate them.

Douglas, played by Hugh Bonneville, is the older male half of the nation’s favourite TV news couple. His co-presenter on the sofa is Madeline (Karen Gillan), a 30-something hottie there to keep the dads watching. Thus it was, is and apparently evermore shall be.

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© Photograph: Sally Mais/ITV

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© Photograph: Sally Mais/ITV

The TV contests between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer were sometimes illuminating, but they avoided the big questions facing Britain

Televised leaders’ debates came late to British general elections. Margaret Thatcher never appeared in one. Nor did Tony Blair. It was not until 2010 that the main UK party leaders took part in the first debates. Since then, debates have become an accepted part of the election campaign landscape. Apart from Theresa May, who refused, to her cost, to take part in 2017, party leaders now recognise that such debates come with the territory.

The 2024 debates have occasionally been illuminating but have generally been uninspiring. Few can argue that they either defined or answered the big questions, on the economy, health, climate and defence, facing Britain. In Wednesday’s BBC debate, the final one of this year’s contest, Rishi Sunak opted for repeated attack as the best form of defence, hammering the line that Labour could not be trusted on tax and migration. Sir Keir Starmer opted for steady reassurance, while attacking the Conservatives over the betting scandal. It was negativity versus safety first.

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© Photograph: BBC/Getty Images

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© Photograph: BBC/Getty Images

Actor who has played Jarrod ‘Toadfish’ Rebecchi since 1995 says he has started training to direct episodes of long-running soap opera

Ryan Moloney, the actor who has played Jarrod “Toadfish” Rebecchi on Neighbours for nearly 30 years, is leaving the long-running Australian soap.

Moloney first joined Neighbours in 1994 aged 15, appearing as a one-off character named Cyborg. The following year he returned to play Toadfish, the brother of established character Kevin ‘Stonefish’ Rebecchi. Toadfish – or Toadie – was intended to be a one-scene role, but Moloney was called back and became so popular he was eventually made a permanent cast member in 1996.

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© Photograph: Sam Tabone/Getty Images

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© Photograph: Sam Tabone/Getty Images

BBC lacks the hottest takes from Lineker’s Rest Is Football crew while Overlap gang and Christina Unkel boost ITV

It is accepted among TV and film execs that a tertiary element now complicates the relationship between viewer and product. Even auteurs such as Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan have been forced to assimilate grudgingly the reality of phones, tablets and watches pumping out all manner of distraction.

Coverage of Euro 2024 has seen further foxes in the chicken coop of linear TV broadcasting. Going viral on social media is a key target even if neither of the UK broadcasters has yet headed down the route of CBS’s Champions League coverage: less infotainment, more a raucous post-works drinks session. Podcasting, meanwhile, part of the wider football media landscape since Germany 2006, has become a lucrative, fresh and – crucially here – unregulated frontier for pundits.

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© Photograph: Holly McCandless Desmond/BBC

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© Photograph: Holly McCandless Desmond/BBC

ITN’s Tom Bradby raised the alarm, but I’m not sure it’s a problem to worry me or David Attenborough. Viewers benefit from diversity behind the desk

Since the last general election, we have gone through three prime ministers, changed monarchs and seen a record number of scandal-fuelled resignations from the cabinet. But at least one thing will remain the same. Tom Bradby will be back to present ITV’s coverage of election night, joined once more by George Osborne and Ed Balls.

There is comfort in familiarity, but maybe not for Bradby and the like. Speaking to the Radio Times about the coverage, he suggested that perhaps, career-wise, he should be nervous as “there aren’t many white male anchors left”.

Leila Latif is a freelance writer and critic

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

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© Photograph: ITV/Shutterstock

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© Photograph: ITV/Shutterstock

The presenter and comedian Larry Dean dive into infamous legal fights in Famously … On Trial. Plus: five of the best clubbing podcasts

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Famously … On Trial
BBC Sounds, episodes weekly
TV favourite Stacey Dooley teams up with comedian Larry Dean to revisit celebrity court cases and put them on retrial. First up, it’s Pamela Anderson and the stolen sex tape scandal, which was both illegal and served with a big old dose of 90s sexism. Dooley, as ever, is thoughtful and sharp, but there’s still room for fun, moreish celebrity gossip. Listen out for its sister series, too – Famously … In Love unpicks the biggest romances and affairs. Hollie Richardson

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© Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian

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© Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian

A newsreader cracks a dodgy joke and his life implodes in Steven Moffat’s new series. Plus: Paul Whitehouse on great TV sketch shows. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, ITV1
A juicy swipe at cancel culture, which writer Steven Moffat swears isn’t based on real recent cases. The drama follows white, middle-aged, trusted national news anchor Douglas (Hugh Bonneville) whose career is about to go up in flames, thanks to a viral social media post about a sexist joke he made at a wedding. Things get worse when his younger, savvier co-host Madeline (Karen Gillan) reshares the post. With his boss (Ben Miles) telling him to be “balanced, boring and bland” and his newspaper editor wife (Alex Kingston) knowing how these things play out (“Delete these messages – I work with people who hack your phone!”), can Douglas avoid being cancelled? Hollie Richardson

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© Photograph: Sally Mais/ITV

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© Photograph: Sally Mais/ITV

Rapman’s sprawling sci-fi drama is strikingly performed, bracingly plotted and its characters are up there with prestige TV’s finest. It’s ingenious

When it comes to superpowers, there are two that are considered the most desirable: flight and invisibility. As the US writer John Hodgman once pointed out, people who would choose flight have nothing to hide and are selfless, competent and unashamed. People who’d choose invisibility are deceitful, fearful, perverts.

The subjects of Supacell don’t have the privilege of choosing the powers they are assigned. Instead, they find themselves reeling from sudden supernatural abilities. Sweet nurse Sabrina (Nadine Mills) is given telekinesis, young rapscallion Tazer (Josh Tedeku) can turn invisible and become a “ghost”, inept drug dealer Rodney (Calvin Demba) can run to Edinburgh in a few seconds, single dad Andre (Eric Kofi-Abrefa) has extraordinary strength and can lift cars without breaking a sweat, and the show’s heart and soul, Michael (Tosin Cole), can move through time and space in the blink of an eye.

Supacell is on Netflix

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© Photograph: Netflix

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© Photograph: Netflix

Be it the thankless shifts of Blue Lights or the wage-free stressfest of The Bear, onscreen employees are having a very bad day at the office. And things are about to get worse

In the first series of Slow Horses, MI5’s Jackson Lamb gives a motivational speech: “You’re fucking useless. The lot of you. Working with you has been the lowest point in a disappointing career.” This is actually fairly uplifting from a man who is as likely a contender for a “World’s Best Boss” mug as The Thick of It’s Malcolm Tucker.

On TV, staff morale is at an all time low. From hellish hospitality to callous corporate overlords, going to work has never looked less appealing. Instead of bumbling idiots for bosses, we have tortured geniuses and masochistic maniacs. The daily grind is one of high stakes, long hours and limited rewards – with not an HR department in sight.

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© Photograph: FX Networks

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© Photograph: FX Networks

The general election hopefuls have revealed their viewing habits, but how come Rishi Sunak didn’t mention that Bridgerton sex scene?

In 1998, then-prime minister Tony Blair asked the home secretary, Jack Straw, to look into the release of wrongly imprisoned Weatherfield resident Deirdre Rachid. “It is clear to anyone with eyes in their head she is innocent and she should be freed,” he said. Opposition leader William Hague followed suit: “The whole nation is deeply concerned about Deirdre, Conservatives as much as everyone else.” They were, of course, talking about a fictional character on one of the UK’s most popular soaps, Coronation Street. Politicians had just realised the power of talking telly.

Here we are more than 25 years later, then, in the age of prestige TV and streaming – and an election that could end the Tories’ 14-year run. Soaps may have lost their grip, but television is stronger than ever, and MPs are desperate to be relatable. It makes sense that a party leader naming their favourite show has become part of the PR machine. But with so much more choice comes more opportunity to succeed or fail in reaching voters – and this election’s frontrunners are clearly trying to get messages across with the shows they named in a Radio Times article this week.

Hollie Richardson is the assistant TV editor for the Guardian

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© Photograph: Netflix

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© Photograph: Netflix

Read 36 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Who will survive? Die? Thrive? And how? We talked to nearly a dozen top media executives and asked them to predict what lies ahead.

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In a significant move aimed at aiding victims of cyberattacks, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has announced the distribution of more than 7,000 FBI decryption keys associated with the notorious LockBit ransomware decryption. This initiative comes as part of ongoing efforts to mitigate the devastating impact of ransomware attacks on businesses worldwide.   […]

The post 7000 LockBit Ransomware Decryption Keys Distributed By FBI appeared first on TuxCare.

The post 7000 LockBit Ransomware Decryption Keys Distributed By FBI appeared first on Security Boulevard.

Still, Elon Musk, who owns the platform, and his chief executive Linda Yaccarino, have work to do to grow the business, leaders told employees.

© Jason Andrew for The New York Times

Every year, the Eurovision Song Contest captivates millions of viewers across Europe and beyond, turning a simple music competition into a cultural phenomenon. This popularity extends to various forms of betting, with numerous gambling sites offering odds on Eurovision outcomes. Eurovision has grown from a small song competition into a massive international event, drawing in […]

The post Cyberattack on Swedish Gambling Site During Eurovision Highlights Strategic Threats appeared first on Blog.

The post Cyberattack on Swedish Gambling Site During Eurovision Highlights Strategic Threats appeared first on Security Boulevard.

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Spy warez: Assistant director of the FBI’s Cyber Division Bryan Vorndran (pictured) might have the key to unscramble your files.

The post LockBit Victim? Ask FBI for Your Ransomware Key appeared first on Security Boulevard.

It was the latest example of journalists having to weigh the news value of a major political moment against the challenges of reporting on a candidate who regularly speaks in falsehoods.

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Football joins pro wrestling and comedy specials in an expansion of the streaming service’s live offerings, a key step in the company’s overall live TV strategy.

© Bridget Bennett for The New York Times

The offering from Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery shows how rival companies are willing to work together to navigate an uncertain entertainment landscape.

© Todd Anderson for The New York Times

The London-based developer of artificial intelligence systems for self-driving vehicles raised the funding from SoftBank, Nvidia, Microsoft and others.