Sept 2026 Culture Highlights There was much to enjoy this month

October 15, 2026

Discover what we enjoyed watching and reading in September.

Here’s our monthly culture review, so discover what we enjoyed watching and reading.

Television

Blue Lights  BBC1 & iPlayer

★★★★

We’ve given star billing to the three previous seasons of this excellent police drama and this is likely to be the last.

The first three episodes are dominated by orchestrated riots against an immigration centre, and the series doesn’t really come alive until the fourth episode when we learn the backstory of the relationship between Gerry Cliff (Richard Dormer) and Sandy Cliff (Andi Osho). This ties together several strands of previous series which reach a climax in the series finale.

If, as seems likely, Blue Lights has come to an end it will be remembered as one of the standout dramas of recent years and if you haven’t watched it, start at the beginning and you’ll be captivated.

East of Eden  Netflix

★★★★

There have been several filmic adaptations of John Steinbeck’s novel and now it’s Netflix’s turn.

The seven-part series is directed by Zoe Kazan, granddaughter of Elia who directed the 1955 film starring an unknown James Dean.

When Cathy, played by star of the piece, Hannah Pugh, turns up or rather crawls bloodied to the doorstep of brothers Adam and Charles, you know nothing good will come from Adam’s hospitality and Charles’ suspicion.

This is a lavishly shot show full of emotional and physical incident and fine performances spread over three decades.

It’s a high-quality family saga that lacks a key ingredient for drama – sympathy for any of the characters.

Pierre  ITV

★★★★★

David Harewood sprang to prominence when he played to great acclaim Shakespeare’s black lead, Othello, in 1997.

He is superb in this Black British crime drama. He plays a duty solicitor constantly over stretched as he deals with lost and moral causes. One of these is a young Black man found dead after telling Pierre he was building a case of harassment against a police officer.

Pierre’s specific identity as a duty solicitor – a middle-class Black professional who remains rooted in his community – allows him a wider jurisdiction. He can banter over a full English with his best friend, DS Ronnie Miller (Jason Flemyng) just as naturally as he comforts bereaved relatives at a vigil for a murdered teenager. 

Pierre is given no free pass as he pursues his case. He’s challenged by his law firm partner, wife, son and best friend. The whole thing is held together by a well written script which exposes Pierre’s frailties and his apparent bafflement events unfold.

Well worth watching.

Last Seen  Apple TV

★★★★★

Dramas from Australia that make it to our shores are always worth investigating. Boy Swallows Universe, My Brilliant Career and Apple Cider Vinegar are just a few examples.

A missing child taken to replace another is nothing new, but this is different. Ian (Patrick Bramall from the excellent Colin from Accounts) is the embittered father, a former cop who now works for Australia’s 000 emergency phone service. His daughter disappeared 11 years ago and now six months sober and separated from his ex-wife, he answers a call on the emergency service which sets in train a series of events all plausible enough to make this riveting television.

It doesn’t just pile on the twists; it makes the twists really matter, because we always understand, with painful clarity, the emotional consequences for the people experiencing them.

Books

The Killers Mark M W Craven

★★★★★

This is the eighth in the Washington Poe series and if the others are as good as this, then we need to catch up.

Escaping the authority, they railed against, Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw are enjoying their new jobs as private detectives or – as the sign on their door says – ‘Gumshoes for Hire’. When a teenage girl walks into their office, looking for the mother she long believed to be dead, they agree to take the case. 

She’s a girl with attitude and soon draws them into a murky world of triads and concubines. There’s much to like about a character such as Poe who always has the edge for whatever situation he encounters, aided by Bradshaw and her par excellence technology skills.

This is certainly not the last we’ve read of these two idiosyncratic characters and it’s always refreshing to read of investigators who rely on brain rather than brawn.

The Silent Appeal Janice Hallett

★★★★★

This is a follow-up to Janice Hallett’s blockbuster debut novel The Appeal, featuring the Fairway Players. This time they’re putting on Agatha Christie’s play The Hollow and find themselves embroiled in murder, blackmail, and betrayal once again.

The format may not be to everyone’s liking as the story is told as a series of emails, messages. texts and transcripts. What this does allow though is the slow reveal of a multitude of characters. The problem of staging the play is a common theme as is the gossip and conjecture of the players trying to second guess what their fellow dramatists are up to.

In the hands of a less able writer, it could be an irritating read that it isn’t is because the characters are interesting, constantly evolving and believable warts and all.

Our Noble Selves  Kate Atkinson

★★★★

Winner of the Whitbread Book of the Year with her debut novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, Kate Atkinson has become a prolific writer.

With her latest, Our Noble Selves, it’s easy to see why. She takes a simple premise, in this instance the staging of the Festival of Britain in 1951 and a character scarred by the war and struggling to find himself in peace time. It’s not helped by him being a suspect in the disappearance of one of his dates.

The answer to some of his issues comes when his 13-year-old stepdaughter and her dog Mrs Betty are dumped on his doorstep by his estranged wife. Although there is a potential murder to solve, it’s not really the focus of a book and whilst it may meander at times, the quality of writing injected with humour more than compensate.

Cold Sunset  William Boyd

★★★

This is the third in the series featuring reluctant double agent, Gabriel Dax. The characters and themes are much the same – former lovers, a spy completely out of his depth who is infatuated with his MI5 handler, Faith Green, who blows hot and cold when it comes to their intimacy.

Dax is despatched to Los Angeles to interview a dying man who claims there is another mole in British Intelligence. Then he’s sent to Moscow to help extract a double agent – neither task is in his comfort zone or competence.

 Boyd – a favourite author of the Queen – tells a good story but there is a need for fresh direction. A bumbling spy can only last so long and his relationship with his master needs some resolution. Perhaps the author has all this in hand and will be revealed in the 4^th Dax novel.

Audio

We’ve been distracted from podcasts this month by audio books following our enjoyment of Agrippa by Robert Harris (Spotify) and this led to Odyssey written and narrated by Stephen Fry which is worth listening to, although gets slightly bogged down by squabbling gods. Books on Spotify are part of the subscription, but you only get so much listening time a month before you must upgrade to hear more. The allowance is normally enough for a book a month.

Far better is A Deadly Episode by Anthony Horrowitz and narrated by Rory Kinnear. It’s a murder mystery with two timelines and available on Audible – now part of the Amazon Prime stable. As we’ve said previously regarding audio formats, whether it’s podcasts or books, they are heavily dependent on the quality of voice. You pay for an Audible book, and it would be very beneficial if you could listen to a sample before buying.

We hope you enjoy our monthly reviews so let us know of anything you think we should add to the list either in comments below or submitting to editorial@silverskys.com