Must Watch Reviews: Michael Palin in the Philippines, War and Kill Jackie

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 Michael Palin in the Philippines, War and Kill Jackie.

What do the Must Watch reviewers make of them?

War is an eight-part Sky Original drama from writer George Kay, who has previously made Lupin and Criminal, the Apple TV+ thriller Hijack, and ITV's The Long Shadow. It's set inside two of London's most prestigious law firms, during an explosive and headline-grabbing divorce.

Hayley thinks this is a Must watch, Scott does not.

Scott says,“I found it extremely watchable”.

He was also impressed by the cast, noting that it is not so much about the couple but “all about the legal teams on both sides”.

One of the show's biggest strengths, according to Scott, is that “it's bingeable. I watched four in one go.”

However, he felt that “it loses its steam as it gets lost in the weeds as it goes from arbitration through the different legal stages. I also, for the life of me, do not know how reflective this would be of an actual case.”

Despite those criticisms, Scott says, “I had quite a lot of fun”.

He adds that “I haven't had as much fun watching a legal drama for quite a while.”

Overall, Scott says, “I had a good time, (but it's) not a Must Watch”.

Hayley says it’s “people being absolutely awful to each other, which is always fun to watch”.

She praises the lead performances, saying, “Dominic West and Sienna Miller are great”.

Hayley also enjoyed the show's humour, particularly “all the little jokes about how badly her character's acting career is going”, which she says “are very funny”.

Comparing it to other legal dramas, Hayley says, “it feels more like an American show, and I mean that in a good way”.

Hayley enjoyed the twists and betrayals throughout the series, saying, “there's double crossing and spying and all the mad things that too much money makes people do”.

War is available to watch on Sky and NOW TV.

Michael Palin in the Philippines follows broadcaster and writer Michael Palin as he travels across the Philippines' 7,000 islands, exploring the country's landscape and examining some of the challenges it faces, including poverty, corruption and social inequality.

Both Scott and Hayley think this is not a Must Watch.

Scott praises Palin's longevity as a travel presenter, saying, “the fact that he is able to go to such a variety of different countries and still do the same job that he's been doing for the last 30 years is remarkable”.

He adds that “his enthusiasm always comes through in his documentaries”.

However, Scott feels the latest programme “is less rich and formative than previously”.

Discussing Palin's meeting with the president of the Phillipines, Scott says, “that's not normally what Michael Palin does”, adding that “you didn't really learn that much”.

Scott concludes, “I still had a good time”, and insists “I'm always going to make time for it”.

While “it's not a Must Watch”, he says, “I still think it's got very good parts in it”.

Hayley says Michael Palin's travel documentaries try “to tell you a political story as well as a charming one where he meets the locals”.

She adds that “it's not just a jolly. He looks at the broad politics of a country, then he goes to meet the people and see how the big politics affect their lives.”

Discussing this series, Hayley says “this one did feel a bit more touristy than previous ones”.

“I didn't love it as much as the Venezuela one.”

She also felt that “this one was more of a holiday” than some of Palin's earlier adventures.

Overall, Hayley concludes, “it's a nice way to spend two hours and Michael Palin is always enjoyable to watch doing anything”, but adds, “I don't think it's essential and I don't think this time around you learn anything earth-shattering”.

Michael Palin in the Philippines is available to watch on Channel 5.

Kill Jackie is an eight-part thriller based on Nick Harkaway's novel The Price You Pay. It stars Catherine Zeta-Jones as Jackie Price, a wealthy art dealer whose glamorous and carefully controlled life is turned upside down when a deadly team of hitmen sets its sights on her, forcing her to confront the dangerous secrets and powerful enemies lurking in her past.

Both Scott and Hayley think this is not a Must Watch.

Scott says, “I did find it a bit of a mess”.

“There isn't really any tension and therefore no payoff.”

He notes that Jackie Price played by Catherine Zeta-Jones “does not really have that much emotion”, adding, “she seems bored”.

He suggests, “because she's bored, I think you get a little bit bored after a while”.

As the story progresses, he says “you stop caring about who is chasing her, why they are chasing her” because “there's no real tension, there is no real emotion”.

Scott believes the series struggles to stand out from similar thrillers, saying, “it felt like a soup of all the other stuff you've seen before”.

Scott concludes, “it makes you want to watch that other stuff”.

Hayley says, “I watched it and felt nothing”.

Despite being drawn in by the premise and cast, she says, “I didn't love this show”, adding that “it just feels like I've seen it before”.

Comparing it to other thriller dramas, Hayley argues that “it's a bit Killing Eve, which felt fresh at the time, but feels very copied now”.

She also found the characters difficult to invest in, saying, “in terms of character development, it was very shallow, so I didn't really care who lived or died”.

Hayley concludes, “I think some people might find this to be silly fun, but not me”.

All eight episodes of Kill Jackie are available to watch on Amazon Prime.

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.