Must Watch reviews: The Wargame, Youth and American Hostage

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

This week, Hayley Campbell and Scott Bryan join Adrian Chiles to review The Wargame, Youth and American Hostage.

What do the Must Watch reviewers make of them?

The Wargame is a part-drama, part-documentary that is set within a fictional COBR meeting room. This new three-parter features former politicians, including former Cabinet Minister Michael Gove, former Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and former Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt responding to a simulated scenario where there is a Russian attack on British soil and the UK has to respond.

Neither Scott nor Hayley thought The Wargame was a Must Watch.

Scott says, “it taps into our military preparedness and our vulnerabilities in cyber-security, which is a big talking point in the news”.

“A lot of this was about the restraint they have to show in response to attacks by Russia, trying not to overreact and heighten the situation even further.”

He adds that, “the whole concept of having Michael Gove, Penny Mordaunt, Nicola Sturgeon, Harriet Harman and Anthony Scaramucci all hypothetically together in one Parliament is rather bizarre”.

He points out that, “they would go outside the COBR meeting and have these dramatised reactions from the public”.

“I found those so annoying.”

“I can't quite understand what they were”.

Hayley says, “this wasn't a Must Watch for me. I think it might be a good show for someone who is not me.”

“It felt like I was sitting in on someone else's escape room game”.

Hayley adds, “it just felt too fake to me, given that these are all real politicians who I've seen in real situations. It really felt like I was watching a training exercise, rather than something that was for broadcast”.

She goes on to say that “you're either going to be the kind of person who can suspend your disbelief and watch these real-life politicians do their little acting, or you're going to find it incredibly difficult to sit through because your brain gets in the way and you keep saying, ‘That's Michael Gove’”.

The Wargame is available to watch on Sky and NOW.

Youth is about a 50-year-old divorcee juggling her dating life and work, all while taking care of her ailing parents and adult son who's got his own stuff going on.

Neither Scott nor Hayley think Youth is a Must Watch.

Scott says, “it's not a Must Watch for me, and I say that with a bit of disappointment because I really wanted to like it”.

“I found the premise rather interesting.”

He continues by saying, “for me, it was just too fast-paced”.

“It's a 30-minute show that I just didn't feel I had much opportunity to breathe.”

He adds that, “about four things would happen every minute”.

“I think it will resonate with a lot of people, but the subject matter just didn't resonate with me.”

Scott explains, “that doesn't mean it won't click with other people. It's just that it didn't particularly make me laugh that much.”

He ends by saying, “reluctantly, it might be just a show that's not for me, rather than any comment on the show itself”.

“I just couldn't click with it, and I'm sad that I didn't.”

Hayley says, “I really think that no one beats Sharon Horgan for observational comedy”.

“Horgan has a way of mirroring the general thoughts of women by talking about something general, but so specifically that it feels real”.

“I thought I would love this whole show, but I really didn't.”

Hayley goes on to say that, “it tailed off for me in a big way after that first episode”.

She explains that it became, “more of a story about a mother and her teenage son, which is less interesting to me than the inner turmoil of a woman trying to be bothered again”.

“I just wanted [the story about the son] to hurry up because I found it irritating rather than moving or funny.”

Youth is available to watch on HBO Max.

American Hostage is a limited series based on true events in 1977, which tells the story of an American local news reporter Fred Heckman, who ends up being involved in a hostage situation, interviewing and negotiating with the hostage taker live on his local radio show.

Scott thought American Hostage wasn't a Must Watch, but Hayley disagreed and gave it a Must Watch.

Scott says, “I liked it. I didn't love it”.

“I wouldn't say it's a Must Watch, but I would say it is a good watch.”

“I found that aspect really interesting, the ethics of news reporting, what could mean great ratings versus what is actually in the public interest.”

Scott notes that, “there were many times when I thought, ‘surely that didn't happen’, only to research it and realise that it did”.

Scott thought there was, “a lot of tension in the newsroom, a lot of yelling, but I couldn't really connect with the characters”.

“I will watch it to the end as a matter of closure.”

He concludes by saying, “I wouldn't necessarily advocate that other people go out of their way for it”.

Hayley says, “I thought this one was actually a Must Watch”.

“It's a pretty obscure story, but there's a reason people think it's worth telling over and over.”

Hayley adds that, “it's about a desperate man facing a very basic human problem: not being able to make his mortgage payments on time.”

“He reacts in this completely desperate, insane way.”

“I thought it was really well done.”

Hayley points out that, “it's great to see Jon Hamm in a period piece like this”.

“His face suited the 1960s in Mad Men. It fits perfectly into the 1970s too.”

She goes on to say that, “this man with a gun has learned to trust his voice more than anyone else's over the years”.

“It becomes an ethics and journalism problem about what you can and cannot broadcast.”

“It's a story about this news anchor becoming a huge part of the story itself.”

She finishes by saying, “they've also somehow made it really funny”.

“I enjoyed it.”

“I thought I wasn't going to, but I did. It might be Jon Hamm.”

American Hostage is available to watch on Amazon Prime now.

Listen to the full reviews of all three programmes on BBC Sounds.

But before all that, why not contact Must Watch 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. More on how the BBC uses AI.