The English Game: What the Must Watch reviewers think

Tuesday 17 March 2020, 11:23

Every week, the Must Watch podcasters review the biggest TV and streaming shows.

This week, Hayley Campbell and Scott Bryan share their thoughts on The English Game, the new drama from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, which focuses on the history of football.

It starts on Netflix on Friday 20 March.

Have you watched it? What did you think? Leave your comments below...

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(Photo: Oliver Upton/Netflix)

Hayley says: “The show looks amazing but I think I am allergic to Julian Fellowes"

"I thought this was interesting as it was about the foundations of the rules of English football. All the stuff we take for granted or just as a given were being figured out at this point.

"From passing the ball, to paying loads of money for players from a different team - I didn’t know that was illegal to begin with. I like how it’s about football going from a posh gentleman’s game to a social mobility tool for the working class, it got really ugly at the beginning and I knew nothing about this - it's interesting to see where it all came from.

"The show looks amazing, but I think I’m just fundamentally allergic to Julian Fellowes. Last week we were talking about Belgravia and I said something like, ‘when a woman turns up wearing a bonnet and starts talking about a ball she’s going to attend, I just romantically turn off’.

"This show has all the stiffness of Downton and Belgravia, but with some football thrown in. It just wasn’t my thing."

(Photo: Oliver Upton/Netflix)

Scott says: “This show is a great distraction from everything for the next few weeks"

"For a second week I am disagreeing with Hayley! The reason why I quite liked Belgravia was because it went past the normal 'upstairs, downstairs and everyone wearing nice hats'. It was mostly pointing out the later era of the aristocracy and the decline into World War One.

"Yes, there are a lot of posh people [in The English Game]. It talks about Eton a lot, but it also goes into how there was a violent style of football where people would literally tackle you to the floor - people wouldn’t bat an eyelid. The drama looks into how it developed into a more conventional style of football.

"What was interesting was that this more modern style of football was from the working classes, primarily from Scotland. It was a clash of these two worlds; the old, more aggressive style from Eton and the more conventional style of football from the working classes.

"I think this show is a great distraction from everything for the next few weeks. I’m not saying this is the best show out there, I am saying this is a show that tells you a lot and informs you a lot. This is a mile away from where we are because it is a historical drama. For that, I think it is a worthwhile show to invest time in.

"It is the true joy of TV, it delves you into a world that you think you wouldn’t know anything about. This is one of those shows."

"I don't really care about any of the characters in it, because it’s all talking about their love lives and babies, and I couldn’t care less. I really tried to concentrate but I didn’t. However the context for me was fascinating. The historical depth and detail and the attention to detail I really liked, and I really admired.”