How to With John Wilson; Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins

“John Wilson is an anxious New Yorker who makes handheld-camera documentaries in a style that is somewhere between Louis Theroux, Woody Allen and an episode of You’ve Been Framed. The randomness of all of this is quite diverting, and the episodes are an easily-digestible half-hour. In the US, the show has garnered great reviews and become a cult hit for HBO, but there is a faux naivete on display that gave me pause. The show is actually the scripted product of a comedy writers’ room, which takes away some of its charm.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“It is extremely odd – I can’t think of another show like it – and oddly moreish. This won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. It is arch and arty, a compilation of deceptively ordinary images and imaginative ideas. It is highly original and unusual, and when it finds its sweet spot, it is an empathic and lovely celebration of the characters and eccentricities that make life interesting.”
Rebecca Nicholson, The Guardian

“While this is probably the toughest celebrity competition show on TV, it is ultimately a reality programme, and so on a couple of occasions, celebrities were chosen to come and open up to the staff about their life experiences, and how it had informed their behaviour during the challenges. It made for some compelling scenes that offered a counterpoint to the almost impossible-seeming challenges.”
Lauren O’Neill, The i

“When not only the viewers but the celebrities themselves don’t know who they are, you can be sure it’s a cast of true Z-listers. Former athlete Fatima Whitbread, who won javelin medals at two Olympics, saved the show from pointlessness, in a moving segment as she faced an interrogation from the sergeants.”
Christopher Stephens, Daily Mail

“If you ask me, which I know you didn’t, The Capture is the best drama on TV now. Yes, you may consider that a low bar and it does sometimes feel like prolonged product placement for Newsnight. But I like a story in which you have no idea what will happen next and the heroine (Rachel, played by Holliday Grainger) is brittle, cold and can’t even remember the date of her sister’s birthday.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“The first 30 minutes of The Capture were as heart-pounding as any SAS assault course. But the show’s message is clear: digital data can never be trusted. Not just BBC videos and CCTV images but even the voices over the police walkie-talkies were fake.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“In terms of its content, Mind Over Murder is as psyche-shatteringly batshit as any of its many stablemates in the true-crime documentary genre. Formally, it is a thing of precision-engineered beauty.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian