Must watch Reviews: ‘Being Gordon Ramsay’, ‘Love Story: John F. Kennedy JR. & Carolyn Bessette’ and ‘Vanished’
Every week, the Must Watch podcasters review the biggest TV and streaming shows.
This week, Hayley Campbell and Scott Bryan join Naga Munchetty to review ‘Being Gordon Ramsay’, ‘Love Story: John F. Kennedy JR. & Carolyn Bessette’ and ‘Vanished’.
What do the Must Watch reviewers make of them?
‘Being Gordon Ramsay’ (Netflix)
Must Watch reviews: Being Gordon Ramsay
What do the must watch reviewers think of 'Being Gordon Ramsay?'
This fly‑on‑the‑wall documentary series follows Gordon Ramsay as he opens a new restaurant, balancing family life and professional pressure. The series mixes personal reflections with behind‑the‑scenes access to his business.
I was in agony watching this one"
Scott says he felt “this style of fly-on-the-wall was the wrong outlet…I didn’t care about the restaurant he was opening… I didn’t care about it raining on the opening day.”
Followed for a six month period, the six part series shows Mr. Ramsay preparing to launch five new restaurants in London's 22 Bishopsgate skyscraper.
“There’d be moments where he would be talking about his life and I was thinking, this is fascinating… but the format was wrong.”
“I was more fascinated by just the lift, generally, rather than actually anything else.”
Hayley said “I was in agony watching this one… time moved so slowly. It’s such a cliché of a show.”
“I don't think you're ever going to get something true while a camera is around. It'll be fluff or performance.”
Mr. Ramsay travels between his various restaurants worldwide as he attempts to expand his brand while providing an insight to his personal life with his wife Tana and six children.
“I just don't think that this is a very interesting watch, even if you're a fan of Gordon Ramsay. Because I think the joy of watching Gordon Ramsay is watching him lose his mind in a kitchen and shout at someone. I don't need to watch him being a dad. This to me feels like a promotional video for a restaurant.”
Both Scott and Hayley didn’t think this was a must watch.
All episodes of ‘Being Gordon Ramsay’ are available to stream on Netflix now.
‘Love Story: John F. Kennedy JR. & Carolyn Bessette’ (Disney+)
A Ryan Murphy‑produced dramatisation of the high profile marriage and death of John F. Kennedy JR. and Carolyn Bessette.
The performances were very good"
Scott says the show is “a good watch, but not a must watch.”
“The performances were very good… the music makes the whole thing feel more 90s than the actual 90s.”
The show is inspired by Elizabeth Beller’s book Once Upon a Time, the series is a fictionalised drama combining real events with dramatised scenes.
“I found the plot to be a bit light… an easy watch, but it doesn’t really say that much.”
Hayley thinks “this was fine.”
“My ongoing problem is I have to watch every Ryan Murphy show, no matter how bad it is.”
The limited series is the first instalment of Ryan Murphy’s Love Story anthology.
“I was surprised that it was actually okay… there are incredibly camp moments, especially around Naomi Watts as Jackie O.”
“It’s this weird mix of incredibly corny lines and then someone will say a really good one.”
The show stars Sarah Pidgeon as Caroyln Bessette and Paul Anthony Kelly as John F. Kennedy JR.
“I do think if Carolyn was as private and guarded as this show makes her out to be, she would probably be mortified that this show was made at all.”
Both Scott and Hayley didn’t think this was a must watch.
All episodes of ‘Love Story: John F. Kennedy JR. & Carolyn Bessette’ (DIsney+) are available to stream now.
‘Vanished’ (Prime)
This twist‑filled thriller series follows Alice as her French holiday becomes a dangerous mystery following her boyfriend's disappearance as she uncovers his past.
The bad quality is what made it good.”
Created by David Hilton and Preston Thompson, the four-part series stars Kaley Cuoco and Sam Claflin.
Scott says he “had a lot of fun… a LOT of fun”
“It's a completely soapy-water style type of acting. It just didn't really work for me at all. But also at the same time, the bad quality is what made it good.”
Hayley says the show isn’t good.
“I thought this was silly… the main character is irritatingly stupid.”
Each episode in the four part series pushes Alice deeper into uncertainty, where she must confront the truth about who Tom really is and whom she can trust.
“It’s one of those shows where you could probably say the next line in the script before the actor does.”
“It’s not good.”
Both Scott and Hayley didn’t think this was a must watch.
All episodes of ‘Vanished’ are available to stream on Prime now.
Listen to the full reviews of all three programmes on BBC Sounds.
But before all that, why not contact Scott and Hayley with the shows you’ve been loving, loathing or both on mustwatch@bbc.co.uk.
We used AI to transcribe and summarise our Must Watch feature.
This article was then written and reviewed by a BBC journalist.
Your reviews:
Contact Scott and Hayley with the shows you've been loving, loathing, or both on mustwatch@bbc.co.uk
Manjit on Devil in Disguise
I love the programme. May I suggest Devil in Disguise as a must watch. It's based on a true story and is brilliantly told in harrowing detail.
Hooked from episode 1.
Clare on Lord of the Fliesand Yellow Jackets
'I took on your (lack of) recommendation for not watching Lord of the Flies, reading it for GCSE was quite enough. But I did instead decide to give Yellowjackets a go once it came onto ITVX. I am now halfway through season 2 and decided to sneak a peak and what happens at the end. Apparently there is a season 3, but apparently it is NOT on ITVX.
'And this is why I normally only watch the first season, as subsequent ones normally get worse. But season one ended with a dead girl rather than a rescue, so I had to. And now season 2 is going to end the same, but I won't know what happened next. I am already past the sunk cost fallacy point.'
Tracey on Lord of the Flies
'If I remember correctly, there were about 8 boys and 8 girls aged between about 9-11 put in two houses, one boy's house and one girl's house. They were left "home alone" for about a week - watched by cameras and parents all the time.'
'Some of the children quickly showed a disregard & disrespect for any social rules, their surroundings, writing on the walls & breaking all the toys and games provided.'
'I was so uncomfortable watching children behave this way - I had always thought Lord of the Flies was unrealistic - here it was playing out!'
'I was a teacher and had three children under 12 at that time, so I thought I knew how children behaved.'
'There were notable differences between the way the boys and girls approached their experience.'
'Some positives included, the girls working together for their cooking and two boys who made a subgroup and went off to quietly play something, like Lego, to avoid the conflict situations.'
I can't seem to find the documentary anywhere now, so this is all based on my memories - but I am surprised no one else is discussing it at this time in connection with the Lord of the Flies.
