Platonic Season Two: Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne Reunite for More Chaos, Crises and Midlife Mayhem

Image: Apple TV Press

By Jon Donnis

Apple TV+ has released the trailer for the second season of Platonic, the half-hour comedy starring and executive produced by Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne. The new season launches globally on Wednesday 6 August 2025 with a double-episode premiere, followed by weekly episodes until 1 October.

Co-created, written and directed by Nicholas Stoller and Francesca Delbanco, Platonic continues to explore the unique dynamic between two best friends as they stumble through the demands of middle age. Season two sees the pair confronting new personal and professional upheavals, from complicated relationships to weddings, career shifts and everything in between. They lean on each other for support, but as the trailer hints, even the strongest friendships come under pressure.

Returning alongside Rogen and Byrne are Luke Macfarlane and Carla Gallo. This season also introduces new guest stars including Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney, Beck Bennett and Milo Manheim, adding fresh energy to the already sharp ensemble.

Platonic is produced by Sony Pictures Television. Rogen, Byrne, Stoller, Delbanco and Conor Welch executive produce, along with Evan Goldberg and James Weaver for Point Grey Pictures. The series builds on Apple TV+'s expanding comedy slate, which also includes The Studio, another Rogen project that recently made headlines with a record-setting 23 Emmy nominations. Byrne, meanwhile, continues her run on the dark comedy Physical.

Season two of Platonic picks up right where the first left off, delivering a mix of dry wit, awkward realism and emotional messiness. The friendship at the centre of the show remains as tangled and relatable as ever, proving that while romance may come and go, some connections are hard to define and even harder to let go of.

Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams Returns for Ambitious Third Series

L-R: Kate Cross, Carla, Madi, Milla, Summer, Mollie, Katie, Madi, Genna, Aimee, Matilda, Evie Freddie Flintoff, Kyle Hogg (Image: BBC/South Shore/Lauren Hira)

By Jon Donnis

Freddie Flintoff's Field of Dreams is back for a third run, with the former England cricket captain taking on his most challenging project yet. Building on the success of the BAFTA-nominated and RTS award-winning documentary series, this new chapter will see Flintoff expand far beyond his hometown of Preston to bring cricket to new communities across the North West.

Having previously assembled a team of teenagers with no cricketing background and taken them on a remarkable journey all the way to India, Flintoff now aims to create three new teams from scratch. One in Manchester. One in Liverpool. And for the first time, a girls team in Blackpool, formed at a local club with no youth structure in place. The scale is bigger. The stakes are higher. And the obstacles are more daunting than ever, from crumbling clubhouses to a generation of young people who may never have picked up a bat before.

To help carry the load, Flintoff is joined once again by former Lancashire bowler Kyle Hogg and welcomes a new coaching voice to the team in the form of current England international Kate Cross. Together, they'll try to prove that cricket can thrive in places that have long been forgotten by the sport's traditional pathways.

The series, produced by South Shore for BBC One and iPlayer, promises to be as heartfelt and hard-hitting as ever, spotlighting the power of sport to reach those on the fringes and offer them something more. It's not about building champions. It's about showing what's possible when someone believes in you.

Freddie Flintoff's Field of Dreams returns later this year on BBC One and iPlayer.

Final Draft: Netflix’s First Japanese Survival Series Launches 12 August

Image: Netflix Press

By Jon Donnis

Netflix is gearing up to launch Final Draft, its first-ever Japanese-produced physical survival series, arriving 12 August. This high-stakes competition drops 25 former athletes into an intense gauntlet of strength, strategy, and psychological warfare. The prize? A life-changing 30 million yen and, perhaps more importantly, a shot at starting over.

What sets Final Draft apart isn't just the bruising physicality. It's the emotional weight behind every competitor. Some were legends, others nearly were, but all of them are now in the same place — out of the spotlight and looking for a new beginning. From world champions to unsung prospects, these athletes bring unfinished dreams, battered pride, and a hunger to prove they're not done yet.

Among the lineup is baseball icon Yoshio Itoi, whose nickname "Superhuman" says it all. Boxer Hozumi Hasegawa enters the arena as a three-time world champ. Footballer Yoshito Okubo, known for his historic J-League scoring streak, also joins the fray. Then there are the newer names: Yuya Shozui, a former pro prospect released young, and Koji Tokuda, a one-time American football player turned comedian, looking to take his second shot seriously.

The trailer promises sweat, setbacks, and a lot of soul-searching. From emotional family messages to a dramatic twist where one contestant chooses to walk away with a fraction of the prize money, this isn't just another survival game. It's a test of who you are when the glory's gone.

With Olympic gold medalist Eri Tosaka, rugby star Kazuhiro Goya, gymnast Naoto Hayasaka, and tennis pro Sari Baba among the diverse cast, Final Draft doesn't lack for talent. But as the challenges ramp up and alliances fracture, the question becomes less about past victories and more about who can endure right now.

Final Draft starts streaming 12 August, only on Netflix.

Here We Go - Series Three Preview

Images: BBC / Gary Moyes / BBC Studios

By Jon Donnis

The Jessops are back, and it looks like the chaos hasn't let up. Here We Go, the sharply observed family sitcom from creator and star Tom Basden, returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Friday 25 July at 9pm, with the full series dropping the same day.

Now into its third series, the show once again follows the misadventures of the Jessop family as they stumble their way through life's everyday dramas. Rachel (Katherine Parkinson) is starting over with a new job as a therapist, while husband Paul (Jim Howick), now officially a police constable, continues to seek respect from just about everyone. Uncle Robin (Basden) and Cherry (Tori Allen-Martin) are learning how to function on very little sleep, thanks to their newborn son Atlas. Meanwhile, Amy (Freya Parks) is still navigating the messy in-between of early adulthood, and grandmother Sue (Alison Steadman) has moved back in, adding a little more unpredictability to an already crowded house.

At the centre of it all is Sam (Jude Morgan-Collie), ever-present with his camera, capturing the family's bungee jumps, riverside baptisms, and everything in between. The new series also features a family holiday to Malta, which, in typical Jessop fashion, doesn't go to plan.

The returning cast is joined by a stacked line-up of guest stars, including Jane Horrocks, Robert Glenister, Jamali Maddix, Susannah Fielding, and Kathryn Drysdale. Here We Go is produced by BBC Studios Comedy and was created by Tom Basden, who also serves as executive producer alongside Josh Cole, Will Sinclair and Steven Canny. It was commissioned by BBC Comedy's Gregor Sharp.

Expect more awkward encounters, personal disasters, and heartfelt moments, all stitched together with the show's signature sense of warmth and sharp comic timing.

Apple TV+ Renews Comedic Sci-Fi Thriller Murderbot for Season Two

Image Apple TV Press

By Jon Donnis

Apple TV+ has confirmed that Murderbot, its sharp-edged blend of science fiction and deadpan comedy, will return for a second season. Based on Martha Wells' award-winning novellas, the series stars Alexander Skarsgård as the titular android and has quickly carved out a reputation as one of the year's most original new shows.

Created and helmed by Chris and Paul Weitz, the show's first season adapted the opening novella of Wells' Murderbot Diaries series. Since its launch, it's become something of a sleeper hit, earning glowing reviews and a Certified Fresh badge on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics have praised the series for its offbeat tone, satirical bite and standout central performance from Skarsgård, who also serves as executive producer.

The first season follows a rogue security unit who's hacked its own governance system and just wants to be left alone to binge soap operas. Instead, it finds itself reluctantly protecting a team of humans in dangerous territory while pretending to still be under corporate control. The show balances moments of existential angst with perfectly timed humour, often in the same breath, and has drawn comparisons to everything from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to Severance.

Skarsgård brings a dry wit to the role, making Murderbot equal parts cynical and strangely sympathetic. The supporting cast includes Noma Dumezweni, David Dastmalchian, Sabrina Wu, Akshay Khanna, Tattiawna Jones and Tamara Podemski, all of whom help ground the series in something warmer and more human, even as the story unfolds across alien landscapes and corporate-owned space stations.

Speaking about the renewal, Chris and Paul Weitz said they were thrilled to return to Martha Wells' universe and continue working with Skarsgård and the creative team. Apple's head of programming, Matt Cherniss, called the show "brilliantly original" and hinted at more to come, both for the central character and the in-universe soap opera Sanctuary Moon, which Murderbot remains obsessed with.

With its mix of sharp writing, inventive world-building and a central character who'd rather do anything other than save the day, Murderbot has managed to feel fresh in a genre that often leans too heavily on familiar beats. It's funny without undercutting the stakes, and thoughtful without taking itself too seriously.

Season two doesn't have a release date yet, but with the finale arriving last week and the response so far, there's no doubt fans will be ready to follow Murderbot wherever it grudgingly goes next.

Byker Grove Returns: Classic Teen Drama Finds New Life on STV Player and ITVX

Image ITV Press

By Jon Donnis

Nearly two decades since it left UK screens, Byker Grove is finally making a comeback. Not with a reboot or a reunion special, but in its original form. From this week, classic episodes of the iconic teen drama are available to stream for free on STV Player, with ITVX set to follow later this year. For a certain generation, this isn't just good news. It's a time machine.

Launched in 1989 and set in the Byker area of Newcastle, Byker Grove quickly became essential after-school viewing for British teenagers. Long before streaming or binge-watching existed, it found a loyal following by offering something that felt real. The storylines were messy, raw, and often far ahead of their time. Relationships, identity, class, grief, it didn't sugar-coat the world, but it didn't exploit it either.

At the heart of it all was the Grove, a local youth club that doubled as a safe space, drama hotspot and social battleground. It was a show that knew its audience and didn't talk down to them. It gave young people credit for having brains and feelings, and it trusted them to handle difficult subjects.

Ant & Dec's early days as PJ & Duncan are part of Byker Grove legend now. They didn't just act in it, they became pop stars off the back of it. Even today, that part of their career still gets a nostalgic nod, especially when "Let's Get Ready to Rumble" somehow finds its way back onto playlists. But it wasn't just those two. The show launched careers across the board. Jill Halfpenny, Donna Air, and plenty more actors cut their teeth here. Behind the camera, Catherine Johnson went on to write Mamma Mia! and Tom Hooper, who directed episodes in the late nineties, eventually won an Oscar.

This revival has come through a partnership between STV Player, ITVX and Mitre Studios, the production company owned by Ant & Dec. That connection brings it full circle, really. The duo who once starred in it are now helping bring it back. For fans, the chance to revisit those early episodes is more than a hit of nostalgia. It's a reminder of how much British youth TV used to challenge, not just entertain.

The tone might be softer in parts now, the pacing a little slower than what we're used to. But the heart of Byker Grove is still there. It was always about young people trying to make sense of themselves and the world around them. And that doesn't really go out of style. Whether you're reliving it or discovering it for the first time, it's worth a look. Even just to remind yourself how bold children's TV used to be.

Rebus Series Two Confirmed as BBC Crime Drama Returns After Acclaimed Debut

Image: BBC Press

By Jon Donnis

John Rebus is coming back. After a well-received first run, the BBC has confirmed that Rebus will return for a second series, with Richard Rankin once again playing the sharp but battle-worn detective. Based on Ian Rankin's best-selling books and shot in and around Edinburgh and Glasgow, the show will continue to explore the murky world of Scottish crime and the personal cost that comes with it.

The first series launched on BBC iPlayer in 2024 and quickly found an audience. It brought in 6.3 million viewers across all platforms and was praised for its grounded tone and confident storytelling. Last month, it picked up three RTS Scotland awards, including Best Drama, Best Writer and Best Director. For a reboot of a familiar character, it managed to feel fresh without losing what made the source material so popular in the first place.

This next chapter will push further into the tension between violent criminal networks and the more polished world of law and finance. Rebus, who never really fits comfortably in either, finds himself once again caught between power, politics and the messy business of trying to do the right thing. The tone is expected to stay grounded, with a focus on how the character moves through a world that's becoming harder to navigate.

Richard Rankin's version of Rebus struck the right note. Not a hero in the usual sense, but someone who feels real. Worn down, sharp when it matters, and driven by something he doesn't always talk about. He gives the character weight without leaning too hard into cliché. It's the sort of performance that can carry a series without needing much flash around it.

Ian Rankin returns as executive producer, although he admits he doesn't know what comes next. That responsibility falls to screenwriter Gregory Burke, who says he's keen to keep using Rebus as a way to look at Scottish society more broadly. Paula Cuddy at Eleventh Hour Films hinted that series two will deliver just as much grit and attitude, and maybe even a few unexpected laughs along the way.

BBC Scotland's Louise Thornton confirmed that recommissioning the show was a priority. The audience response made it clear that people were ready for this kind of drama, and the series fits into the BBC's wider plan to create more high-profile scripted content from Scotland. If the second series lands with the same confidence as the first, it could set the tone for a whole run of Scottish stories to follow.

Filming will once again take place in Edinburgh and Glasgow. A release date hasn't been confirmed yet, but the return of Rebus feels locked in. Still flawed, still searching, and still asking questions no one else wants to.