Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.ShōgunWho said peak TV was over? Combining the epic scale of Game of Thrones with the politicking of Succession, this monumental historical drama set in 17th-century Japan is a reminder of the small screen’s capacity for grandeur. But the Emmy-sweeping series is also a singular achievement. One that is steeped in the vividly realised culture of a specific time and place yet driven by eternal and universal questions about the purpose and value of life. We grow more enraptured by this beautiful, brutal world with every expertly plotted, exquisitely shot and adeptly performed episode.Baby ReindeerThe media frenzy and legal controversy that engulfed this distressing drama about comedian Richard Gadd’s real experience of being stalked has made it easy to forget how good it is — both as television and a piece of raw self-interrogation. Dismantling the binary labels “victim” and “villain”, Gadd examines the human complexity and contradictions that made him feel humiliated yet validated by the harassment he suffered. His Donny is both resentful and sympathetic towards the deeply troubled Martha (a remarkable Jessica Gunning), who becomes obsessed with him. Gadd’s show also dissects our era of loneliness, an entertainment industry tainted by abuse, and how vulnerable people are driven into shame and silence.Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the LightAs detailed as a novel, as carefully composed as a painting, and as full of dramatic exchanges as a play, this adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s historical fiction is British TV at its finest. Almost a decade after the first series — which charted the rise of the quietly commanding Thomas Cromwell — this sequel chronicles the fall of the fickle Henry VIII’s fixer. The politics of the fractured state, the turbulent Tudor court and the all-important royal bedroom play out as absorbingly as before. But the richest conflict is found within Cromwell’s restless mind and aching conscience, deftly revealed by the peerless Mark Rylance.Ukraine: Enemy in the Woods & Hell JumperOf all of the excellent BBC documentaries this year, two built around footage from the front lines in Ukraine really stood out. The first, Ukraine: Enemy in the Woods, used recordings taken from Ukrainian soldiers’ body-cams to place us in their boots as they fight to hold a vital railway line in a frozen forest. The second, Hell Jumper, showed us the horrors of the conflict through the eyes of Chris Parry, a British man killed while volunteering for a heroic group rescuing civilians from bombed-out border towns. War is visceral and immediate in these heart-stopping, first-person films. Pachinko season 2Straddling two timelines in three languages, this saga about a multigenerational Korean family in Japan is as intimate and delicate as it is dense and sprawling. While much of the second season plays out against the backdrop of historical events — the second world war; the atomic bomb; the 1980s bubble economy — the show remains wonderfully attuned to small, meaningful moments and the way the past invisibly shapes the future. By turns devastating and delighting, this is a series brimming with vitality. It also boasts the best credit sequence on TV (those responsible for the egregious choreographed routine from The Perfect Couple should take note). The SympathizerRevolving around a communist spy who infiltrates the CIA, The Sympathizer is a kind of double agent of a series itself: a Vietnam war story that also serves as a sly, subversive satire of America. Adapted from Viet Thanh Nguyen’s 2015 novel, it seemed to go somewhat under the radar despite boasting Korean auteur Park Chan-wook as co-creator/director and Robert Downey Jr in no fewer than four parts. Breakout star Hoa Xuande’s performance as the Captain is particularly impressive: a self-described “synthesis of incompatibilities”. Set in Los Angeles and Vietnam, the show too is a curious hybrid of disparate moods and genres. And while not all of it coheres, the ambition, artistry and sheer chutzpah of some of the creative choices have to be commended.Slow Horses series 4Gloriously grimy spy series Slow Horses continues to gallop ahead in its fourth series in two years. This latest visit to Slough House is arguably the most rewarding so far — the trademark cynicism is combined with poignant scenes involving agent River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) and his ailing grandfather (Jonathan Pryce). Hugo Weaving’s guest turn keeps things fresh, while Kristin Scott Thomas (as a steely MI5 deputy) and Gary Oldman as the (figuratively and probably literally) jaundiced spy Jackson Lamb remain on top form. Mr & Mrs SmithA remake of a little-loved mid-2000s action film released after years in development hell? What could possibly go right? A lot, as it turns out. While the basic premise may come from a Brangelina vehicle, Mr & Mrs Smith’s snappy, sexy repartee seems more indebted to screwball comedies old. Maya Erskine and series co-creator Donald Glover share fizzing chemistry as a pair of assassins whose fake marriage (part of their cover) is soon complicated by the onset of real feelings. Beyond the well-executed mission-of-the-week format and the A-list cameo appearances you’ll find a surprisingly thoughtful, funny dissection of the issues that affect thirtysomething couples — and not just those who are professional killers.English TeacherTop of the 2024 class of comedy is this sardonic sitcom about the exasperating and occasionally rewarding experience of being a teacher at a school where A is for apathy, B is for budget cuts and C is for cancel culture. Created by and starring Brian Jordan Alvarez, English Teacher follows the Texas-based Evan, who spends less time expanding young minds and more losing his own in a sea of bureaucracy, meddling parents, AI essays and staff hotness rankings. While it tackles themes of sexuality, gun control, conservative intolerance and progressive self-righteousness, the show avoids turning into an after-school special by carefully balancing its earnest message with irreverent punchlines. If nothing else, it helped raise awareness about “asymptomatic Tourettes”.Carol & the End of the WorldThe trouble with compiling annual best-of lists in mid December is that occasionally a small gem can slip between the cracks. Allow me, then, to bend time slightly to accommodate this weird, wonderful animated show released in late 2023. A strangely life-affirming tale about an imminent apocalypse, it follows Carol (Martha Kelly), a shy, lugubrious forty-something who prefers to spend her final days cocooned in the comforting routine of the office rather than face the pressure of making every moment count. Watch it as an absurd existential comedy, as a trenchant reflection of our doom-laden times or as an unlikely tribute to working life — but make sure you watch it.
