His Dark Materials: 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 series two of His Dark Materials.

BBC One and HBO’s adaptation of Philip Pullman’s fantasy novels returns to show events from ‘The Subtle Knife’ – the second book in Pullman’s trilogy.

Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Andrew Scott star.

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

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Hayley says: “Slow moving and uninteresting”

“It’s not a 'must watch' for me. But as with the first series, the problem is me. I haven’t read the books so I'm just watching this as a person who’s watching a TV show, and I found it to be slow moving and uninteresting. But I have friends who absolutely adore it and they love it because it’s this story of two kids growing up together.

“Although, I do like the one 'in-joke for adults’, where Andrew Scott’s character, aka the hot priest from Fleabag, his daemon - which is meant to be a physical manifestation of the human soul - is voiced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge.”

Scott says: “Everyone is giving their heart and soul”

“Yeah it’s a 'must watch'. In this age of peak television, there are still very few dramas that are aimed at family audiences. You can also really tell that everyone is giving their heart and soul into a faithful adaptation of these books after a very lacklustre film more than a decade ago.

“I agree with Hayley though, about how slow it can be. Stylistically, it also feels a bit odd at times. When I read the book when I was younger, I felt the world Lyra was in was so much more imaginative and mind-bending. The one in the show seems a bit one dimensional and flat at times, which surprises me.

“However, I admire how much effort has been put into this. I love that they got Phillip Pullman involved, the cast is fantastic and it’s great having Will and Lyra together after being very much apart in the first series. I’m really excited about that because the first series is primarily Lyra rather than Will, and now seeing them together is such a brilliant combination - you can see why the actors Dafne Keen (as Lyra) and Amir Wilson (as Will) were cast.”

Catch up on series two of His Dark Materials on BBC iPlayer.

Must Watch is released as a podcast every Monday evening from BBC Sounds, or through your podcast app.

This week, the team speak to star of His Dark Materials Ariyon Bakare and review Industry on BBC Two and season four of The Crown on Netflix.

Click here to listen to the latest episode.

You can also hear Nihal Arthanayake speak to Tobias Menzies who plays Prince Philip in The Crown as part of a Must Watch special.