Canary Catch Up: Sauciness of Rivals and substanceless The Testaments

Hello and welcome to Canary Catch Up. Each week, our resident telly addict Rachel Charlton-Dailey will bring us bang up to date with the shows she’s been obsessed with, what she’s hate-watching, and what she can’t wait to get stuck into.

My God, it’s been hot this week, hasn’t it? I’m not made for this weather, but on one of the rare occasions I left my cool house, I saw the fantastic Mike Garry perform his poetry at King Ink in Sunderland. Garry’s poetry is a sharp look at working-class family life. His poem ‘what me mam taught me’ brought tears to my eyes.

If you’re looking for an escape from the heat, there’s a plethora of telly to watch in a shaded part of your house, too.

Rivals is hotter than ever — but also sincere

I’ve absolutely loved this series of Rivals. Obviously, it’s an inherently sexy show, and that part is done very well, but even better is the way the complexities of relationships are explored. In episode 5, we saw Taggie dealing with her family just casually forgetting her 21st birthday. Instead of being shocked, she was used to it; which made it even sadder.

Alongside the scandalous love affairs and the very short shorts this episode, it was also heartbreaking to see how it all affects those who are trying to do good. Especially poor Lady B, who was forced onto TV to save her cheating, lying husband’s reputation. Though I’m very much looking forward to what happens between her and Edna, and the hints we’ve had of their past.

With one episode left before the mid-series break, there are two questions on my lips: who stole the tapes, and who on earth is Perdita?

Canary Catch Up — The Testaments puts shock value above story

I was so looking forward to the TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments. The novel was set 15 years after The Handmaid’s Tale and followed three different women influenced by Gilead on how they played a part in toppling the regime. However, I should’ve learnt my lesson after how much they prioritised gore and shock and put more onus on the men in the Handmaid’s Tale series, because they’ve done exactly the same here.

The Testaments novel is an incredible work that shows how women reclaim power even when it seems absolutely impossible. The show, however, is too focused on brutality to actually show the intricacies of Atwood’s writing. The biggest problem is that they changed the story so much in THT, so they had to do the same here and just completely messed up the timelines. This means the biggest reveal of the book, that Daisy is baby Nicole, can’t and doesn’t happen.

The Testaments is absolutely bizarre in the way that it’s softened a lot of storylines but made some so much more brutal. It truly feels like a show designed purely to go viral, and that’s such a massive shame.

BBC rinses the planet with crap AI panel

Tonight Question Time features an imagined AI panel made up of historical figures who shaped the modern world

Watch the #bbcqt AI special now on @BBCiPlayer and @BBCNews to see what our REAL panel have to say on AI, including how it can blur the lines between reality and fakery pic.twitter.com/G1HVSUyt5t

— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) May 28, 2026

Whilst the planet is literally burning because AI is guzzling up so much water, the BBC decided to air a pro-AI Question Time panel. As The Canary reported, the panel itself was stacked with pro-AI shills. And to send the message home even further, the supposedly unbiased BBC pushed out an advert featuring a fully AI panel of famous people from history.

On it were Gandhi, Winston Churchill, Frida Kahlo and Emmeline Pankhurst and yes, it was exactly as crap as it sounds. Pankhurst’s Votes for Women sash was the wrong colours, Kahlo’s flowers melded into her head, Churchill kept dramatically smizing with the camera and Gandhi didn’t seem to move. Most weird of all, Fiona Bruce was also AI, which is absolutely ridiculous when you consider how robotic the real version is.

Brain-free binge

Y’know how sometimes you just need to watch something absolutely mind-numbing to take your thoughts off the world being on fire? Well, I’ve got you. Due to chronic pain, I’m a connoisseur of reality TV that doesn’t require any brain power to watch. My latest fave is Million Dollar Secret on Netflix. Put your feet up and ignore your phone for an hour as Peter Serafinowicz is your host, whilst Americans lie and backstab for money, much like their president is doing.

Canary Catch Up — Looking ahead

Coming up this week, I’m looking forward to the release of Tip Toe on Channel 4. Russell T Davies’ new drama will look at how LGBTQ+ are just trying to live our bloody lives while prejudice and hate is being ushered back in. It will look at how the opinions and lies in the mainstream affect day to day life.

I’m also looking forward to finally seeing the Mandalorian and Grogu film this week! So look out for reviews of both of those next time on the Canary Catch Up.

Featured image via Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

By Rachel Charlton-Dailey

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