Defiance: Fighting the Far Right; Meet the Roman Emperor; The Cuckoo

“This is fresh, important and detailed history about the brutal birth pangs of a multiracial society.”
Jasper Rees, The Telegraph

“It is a harrowing but powerful tale of a community that refused to turn the other cheek.”
Leila Latif, The Guardian

“Watching Defiance: Fighting the Far Right sent me down a rabbit hole online. It took me to a 1976 World in Action documentary about the rise of the National Party in Blackburn and it is grimly fascinating. This powerful three-parter, made by Riz Ahmed’s production company, used some of its footage to tell the story of how Asian people united to fight racism because the police completely failed to protect them.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“In a lively, roving hour she laid out the impressive lengths some went to to intimidate and terrify dinner guests. Full marks for creativity, emperors.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“What Beard does well is to render even the most horrendous detail in a matter-of-fact way so we can do our own shuddering. The downside was that there were frequently times when a deeper dive into a theme would have proved rewarding. The Roman attitude to gender fluidity floated past too quickly and could have done with a whole programme of its own – underling the feeling that here was a series’ worth of material here squeezed into a one-off documentary.”
Keith Watson, The Telegraph

“Despite the occasional lapse into cliche, the show was far slicker than it was silly. As Sian delivered a delicious cliffhanger during a late night phone call, the stage was set for a best-in-class weeknight drama as The Cuckoo’s first episode came to a close. Well paced, well written, well acted – The Cuckoo might not be reinventing its genre, but it’s pretty exemplary of it.”
Emily Watkins, The i