Three Little Birds (Lenny Henry written Windrush drama)

[Sebastian Cobb]

This is on ITV just now, has anyone else been watching it?

It focuses on three women who have moved to the UK from Jamaica, one to check out a potential husband, another fleeing from an abusive one and the third (sister of the one fleeing) who has dreams of becoming an actress but is arriving to be a maid for some awful rich pricks.

Being a Henry vehicle, unlike most of Black-led stories/dramas, it's set in Dudley rather than London, which makes for a bit of a change and there's certainly a bit of yam-humour injected into it. It occurred to me later on hearing so many blackcountry accents is rare in itself.

As for the drama and feel for the show, it feels a bit like a more serialised and slightly less good version of the Small Axe anthology films the BBC did a few years ago (definitely check them if you haven't, they appear to be on iPlayer for the next month https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p08vy19b/small-axe-series-1-mangrove). It's a little bit more soapy, less kitchen sink and gritty and despite generally having characters in bad situations and facing racism and violence still has bit of a slightly too upbeat feel. Some of the non-racist white characters are probably guilty of verging or slipping into saviourism at points. But on the whole I thought it was an enjoyable show.

[DelurkedToHelp]

This is on ITV just now, has anyone else been watching it?

It focuses on three women who have moved to the UK from Jamaica, one to check out a potential husband, another fleeing from an abusive one and the third (sister of the one fleeing) who has dreams of becoming an actress but is arriving to be a maid for some awful rich pricks.

Being a Henry vehicle, unlike most of Black-led stories/dramas, it's set in Dudley rather than London, which makes for a bit of a change and there's certainly a bit of yam-humour injected into it. It occurred to me later on hearing so many blackcountry accents is rare in itself.

As for the drama and feel for the show, it feels a bit like a more serialised and slightly less good version of the Small Axe anthology films the BBC did a few years ago (definitely check them if you haven't, they appear to be on iPlayer for the next month https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p08vy19b/small-axe-series-1-mangrove). It's a little bit more soapy, less kitchen sink and gritty and despite generally having characters in bad situations and facing racism and violence still has bit of a slightly too upbeat feel. Some of the non-racist white characters are probably guilty of verging or slipping into saviourism at points. But on the whole I thought it was an enjoyable show.

Are you including the white woman who found two of the characters hiding in her shed? Her dialogue felt a bit unrealistically worthy.

There's a similarish BBC "ethnic-minority-character-is-the-fish-out-of-water" daytime drama called The Indian Doctor, set in a 1960s Welsh village and starring Sanjeev Bhaskar, that's available on Freevee which I think is quite good.

[bobloblaw]

This is on ITV just now, has anyone else been watching it?

It focuses on three women who have moved to the UK from Jamaica, one to check out a potential husband, another fleeing from an abusive one and the third (sister of the one fleeing) who has dreams of becoming an actress but is arriving to be a maid for some awful rich pricks.

Being a Henry vehicle, unlike most of Black-led stories/dramas, it's set in Dudley rather than London, which makes for a bit of a change and there's certainly a bit of yam-humour injected into it. It occurred to me later on hearing so many blackcountry accents is rare in itself.

As for the drama and feel for the show, it feels a bit like a more serialised and slightly less good version of the Small Axe anthology films the BBC did a few years ago (definitely check them if you haven't, they appear to be on iPlayer for the next month https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p08vy19b/small-axe-series-1-mangrove). It's a little bit more soapy, less kitchen sink and gritty and despite generally having characters in bad situations and facing racism and violence still has bit of a slightly too upbeat feel. Some of the non-racist white characters are probably guilty of verging or slipping into saviourism at points. But on the whole I thought it was an enjoyable show.

its an 8pm ITV show - guess its going for a Call the Midwife feel - warm looking but tackling some tough issues - rather than the gritty Small Axe

[Sebastian Cobb]

Ha I hadn't really considered its target audience/timeslot, been so long since I really bothered with linear tv. I think before this the last ITV thing I watched was when Christopher Biggins, Bobby George and Pat Butcher went round America getting stoned.

[bobloblaw]

Ha I hadn't really considered its target audience/timeslot, been so long since I really bothered with linear tv. I think before this the last ITV thing I watched was when Christopher Biggins, Bobby George and Pat Butcher went round America getting stoned.

Fair do's. Hard to imagine they'll ever top that.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Are you including the white woman who found two of the characters hiding in her shed? Her dialogue felt a bit unrealistically worthy.

Yes, of course.

Spoiler alert

I was also thinking of Siobhan, but the last episode seems to have set her up as more than just a friendly ally.

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