Insiders: The TV Podcast

This week, Peter and Jimmy discuss the programmes they love that they didn’t make, but rather wish they had. And we ask what the popularity of re-watching old shows means for producers and broadcasters - if you can get consistently strong ratings playing familiar things, are you inevitably less likely to commission new stuff? 

Plus, the margins on drug smuggling, why the original BBC Tinker Tailor looks a bit ropey now, and...

As Jimmy Kimmel returned to the air this week (and to record ratings), Peter and Jimmy reflect on the extraordinary row between ABC and the White House, and the enduring power of satire to rile thin-skinned politicians who can’t take a joke. 

We discuss all the news from the RTS Cambridge Convention, including the case for improved tax breaks, particularly at lower price points, in the hope that half hour comedy can benefit...

Something a bit different this week - we've got a guest!

Peter and Jimmy are joined by legendary producer Andy Harries. He was Head of Comedy and Head of Drama at Granada, before setting up Left Bank Pictures in 2007. His enviable list of credits include The Royle Family, Cold Feet, The Deal, The Queen, The Crown, and Department Q.

We discuss the BBC’s bemused response when they first received The Royle Family,...

This week, Peter and Jimmy discuss the DG’s appearance at the Culture Media and Sport committee, and his big idea to have a “succession plan” in place for every BBC presenter, just in case they happen to become embroiled in something unsavoury. We talk Piers Morgan Uncensored, and the smart move by all involved to start playing it on 5. And as we all come to the terms with the news that Melvyn Bragg is stepping down from In Our Tim...

This week, as the all-conquering Thursday Murder Club tops the Netflix charts, we take a deep dive into the crime and detective genre. 

Jimmy talks about his long-running and hugely successful partnership with Jed Mercurio, and Peter tells the story of his hit series, The Chelsea Detective. And we ask, is there an unlikely common ground between cosy crime and panel shows - both perennially out of fashion with commissio...

This week, Jimmy and Peter unpack all the news from Edinburgh, from the bad tempered sniping between Netflix and Channel 4, to the headlines from James Harding’s McTaggart lecture (or could it also be read as a 5000 word job application to be the next DG?). And, from Eric and Ern, to Brucie’s Big Night, to Trinny and Susannah, we talk the decidedly chequered history of talent who make the move from the BBC to ITV.

Plus, Jimmy dr...

This week, Jimmy shares his highlights from the Edinburgh Fringe, and Peter tries to remember what on earth his McTaggart was about. We discuss doing comedy in the age of Trump, and South Park’s successes in riling the White House. And we talk the return of Play for Today - another smart move from 5’s Ben Frow?

Plus, Jimmy’s friendly chat with Cherie Blair, the perverse logic of banning shows, and we finally answer the question ...

This week, Peter and Jimmy discuss Harry and Meghan’s newly announced Netflix first look deal, and why it’s a much diminished beast compared to the output deal they had before. As Disney+ buys up the rights to show Spanish football in the UK, we ask whether live sport is the next frontier for the streamers. And we remember Blue Peter producer Biddy Baxter, who's died at the aged of 92. An inspirational leader and maverick prod...

This week, as the Edinburgh Fringe gets underway, Peter and Jimmy ask whether having success at the Fringe is still a worthwhile route for performers who want to carve out a career on television. 

And we talk Netflix’s new (but decidedly retro) sitcom Leanne. Given that Friends is still one of the streamer’s most watched shows, is the only surprising thing about Leanne that it’s taken Netflix quite so long to start commissi...

This week, Peter and Jimmy discuss the news that YouTube has become the second most watched video platform in the UK - what does its inexorable rise mean for both producers and broadcasters? And we talk ITV, and try to look beyond their not-great-but-not-quite-as-bad-as-expected results, and ask if they’re getting the big strategic questions right?

Plus, the perils of slow lifts, Jimmy’s efforts at self-immolation in t...

This week, Peter and Jimmy discuss the smorgasbord of news from the BBC, from the future of Masterchef to the devil in the detail of the annual report. And we talk CBS’s decision to cancel the Late Show, and ask whether the age of the made-for-TV chat show is coming to an end? 

Plus, Clive Anderson upsetting the Bee Gees, Jimmy’s dinner with Jeremy Hunt, and why you should be wary of any meeting where someone tells you how ...

This week, in a special Q&A episode, Peter and Jimmy ask whether the audience sitcom has become a dying breed, and if there’s sufficient willingness amongst broadcasters to persist with series while they find their feet? And we discuss the tricky business of cancelling a show, and whether there’s ever a good way to do it. Peter recalls the day his scheduler dared him to cancel Last Of The Summer Wine, and Jimmy talks Episodes, ...

This week, Peter and Jimmy discuss the news that Spitting Image is coming back as a YouTube series, and the ways producers can make premium content for YouTube while still turning a profit. And we ask whether Netflix have missed a trick after spending all that time, money, and effort teaching us all about F1 in Drive to Survive, only for Apple to swoop in and make the F1 movie? 

Plus, the joys of a bottle episode, how t...

This week, Peter and Jimmy discuss the Glastonbury controversy that the BBC has found itself embroiled in, and Peter offers some eye-witness reporting from on the ground at the festival. We talk Disney’s latest non-scripted announcements, including the return of Blind Date. And we ask why, when you sell a format to the Australians, they always seem to try and make it smuttier than anyone ever imagined it could possibly be. 

This week, as Kate Phillips is confirmed as the new BBC Chief Content Officer, Peter and Jimmy unpack the big issues piling up in her inbox. As the commissioning downturn continues to bite, we discuss the immensely challenging outlook for TV freelancers across the industry.  And we pay tribute to the much loved Joanna Beresford, whose death was announced this week - a woman to whom countless producers owe a vast debt...

This week, Peter and Jimmy discuss the complex (and occasionally combustible) relationship between television and the royals. They unpack how the Faustian deal works, and what happens when it goes wrong.

Jimmy shares fond memories of the time HIGNFY suggested Prince Harry had taken cocaine, only for the show to find itself in hot water for upsetting an entirely different aristocrat. And Peter talks all things Queen-gate, and tel...

This week, as Sir David Attenborough’s new doc arrives on the small screen, Peter and Jimmy discuss the lightning-in-a-bottle that is on screen talent, and explore the peculiarly British appetite for eccentrics on TV. As Netflix set out their ambition to create “unscripted universes” on the platform, we unpack what that really means, and why, as the cost of making high end drama keeps rising, big returnable unscripte...

This week, as the BBC invites indies to pitch for Casualty (made, and soon to be set, in Wales), we unpack the controversy around the nations and regions tender process, and the ways in which producers occasionally push their luck when it comes to the definition of a "regional" production. We talk the future of soaps, and ask how they adapt to a streaming world. And with SXSW arriving in London this week, Peter and Jimmy take the o...

This week, Jimmy and Peter ask what Channel 4’s plans to push into in-house production could mean for the UK indie sector. They discuss the BBC’s latest report into the state of British comedy (and whether they might perhaps be better to just commission more comedy, rather than write reports about it). And they talk the art of note giving, and ask whether there’s ever a good way of telling a star they’re anything other than fabulou...