PRU: What the Must Watch reviewers think
Every week, the Must Watch podcasters review the biggest TV and streaming shows.
This week Hayley Campbell and Scott Bryan share their thoughts on BBC Three’s PRU on BBC iPlayer.
Kerry Godliman and newcomer Pia Somersby star in the comedy about excluded kids in a pupil referral unit.
Have you been watching it? What did you think? Leave your comments below...
BBC / Domizia Salusest / Fully Focused Productions
Scott says: “A statement of intent about what BBC Three is trying to do”
“So I would say this is a pilot, so it's not fully formed, it's still trying to find its feet. What I can see is great potential and it's a statement of intent about what BBC Three is trying to do in the months and the years to come."
“I find it fascinating because this is set in a pupil referral unit and one of the actors in it, Pia Somersby was in a pupil referral unit and she brought her real life experience to the role. They also did open casting on Instagram Live and over Zoom to find a lot of the people who feature in it. You can just tell some of them are going to be really big in the future.
“There were a lot of conversations the other week about BBC Three’s future and the fact that it's returning to TV. People are also asking ‘how is it going to be different than Netflix? How is it going to be different when they can spend an infinite amount of money on whatever they want?’ This is where it is! It’s telling stories and issues and investing in actors in a very different way, in a way that reflects issues in Britain.
"Whereas the big streaming giants just want to get the biggest amount of audience possible, BBC Three is trying to talk about an issue and situation that I don't think we've seen represented on TV before.”
BBC / Domizia Salusest / Fully Focused Productions
Hayley says: “Like the Breakfast Club but in London”
“Like Scott says, it's a pilot so it's kind of hard to judge. If you go back and look at pilots of shows that you love, that ran for multiple seasons, sometimes the pilot is a completely different beast. So right now it's just a ball of potential. As a show I didn't like it, but you can't really judge a show based entirely on a pilot. It hasn't become what it might be yet. What's notable here is that it has a good reason for existing and continuing to exist. It's produced in partnership with a production company that gets young people into the film and television industry.
“Essentially, it's like the Breakfast Club but in London. They're in this kind of detention and that's the only reason they're thrown together. So you get a bunch of different characters and that is a good seed for comedy. As it stands now, it’s a lot of kids shouting and playing things on their phones and it felt to me like I was stuck on a London bus between three and five pm, so no thank you. But it's not pitched at me. It's pitched at a much lower age-group, and I'm not going to tell them what they should like or make."
BBC / Domizia Salusest / Fully Focused Productions
PRU is available now on BBC iPlayer.
Must Watch is released as a podcast every Monday evening from BBC Sounds and all other good podcast providers.
This week, the team speak to Pete Wicks and Sam Thompson about Channel 4’s The Celebrity Circle. Plus, Chris Harris on the return of Top Gear. Scott and Hayley also review The Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer.
