Life

TV review: Stylish and gripping - FBI thriller The Blacklist is back better than ever

Criminal mastermind turned informer Raymond Reddington and FBI Agent Elizabeth Keen, stars of Sky Living's The Blacklist.
Criminal mastermind turned informer Raymond Reddington and FBI Agent Elizabeth Keen, stars of Sky Living's The Blacklist. Criminal mastermind turned informer Raymond Reddington and FBI Agent Elizabeth Keen, stars of Sky Living's The Blacklist.

The Blacklist - Sky Living, Thursday 9pm.

I'm always on the lookout for a new drama to become addicted to, only to cast it aside like an empty wine bottle when a new two bottles for £12 offer comes along.

My latest addiction is - I promise you - a cracker. The Blacklist stars James Spader as master criminal-turned FBI informant Raymond Reddington.

Every episode is like a mini movie as Reddington, who was on the FBI list of the most wanted underground criminals, helps track down the bad guys of whom he is most definitely still one.

I'm currently on Season 4 having skipped through the other three in binge watching sessions and it hasn't got any less gripping as it goes along.

Clever and stylised, FBI agents bend and break the law in order to track down those who bend and break the law.

Last week saw the team carry out an audacious robbery that required them to drug their victim in order to scan his retina, the money was to go towards the election campaign of a crooked politician the FBI believe helped murder one of their agents.

Agent Elizabeth Keen was one of the stars of the show, in fact her character was central to Reddington's decision to switch sides and work as an informer, so her death in the most horrific of circumstances just as she gave birth to her daughter was incredibly unexpected.

Reddington was only cooperating with the FBI so he could be part of Elizabeth's life and now appears a broken man, albeit one hellbent on revenge.

But all is not as it seems as - spoiler alert - she's not really dead.

The Blacklist is dark, it's high budget, it's worthy of multiple awards and James Spader is performing an acting masterclass.

This good weather will never last so get yourself bunkered down for a Netflix binge watch. Or just jump right in, you'll catch up on the plot soon enough and I guarantee you'll be hooked.

***

Jeremy Corbyn: The Outsider, available online at vice.com/topic/politics

It's not exactly TV but Vice News have recorded a 30 minute documentary with Jeremy Corbyn following him in the run up to Labour's disastrous election last year. The team from the online current affairs site were given unprecedented access to the new leader over the course of eight weeks.

I'm a big fan of the old lefty, he's clearly got a good heart and is in politics for the right reasons. He's also the most socially responsible Labour leader since the late John Smith, but it's a dreadfully uninspiring watch.

First of all I don't know on whose advice he agreed to such scrutiny, probably one of the bright young things he has around him managing his campaign, speeches and image.

Except after 30 minutes none of them seemed very bright at all and someone close to him was constantly leaking his prime minister's questions ahead of time to give David Cameron a chance to prepare.

This lack of loyalty didn't seem to bother Corbyn who is incredibly easygoing to the point of being almost horizontal. He seems like a cross between a really mild mannered art history teacher and David Brent.

Which makes his marriage to the very attractive and much younger Laura Alvarez seem all the more strange. She clearly dotes on him and makes several appearances in the documentary praising her socialist husband to the rafters, even after lacklustre public performances when that praise may not have been entirely deserved.

Don't get me wrong, it's worth watching but like myself you'll probably just be left at the end wondering why he did it in the first place.

Maybe one of his team thought that the Vice online style of journalism would appeal to younger voters, maybe it's the same person who keeps leaking his PM questions.