Insiders: The TV Podcast

Peter and Jimmy catch up on Expectation’s new gameshow pilot, as well as Jimmy’s attendance at a charity event for the Andy Taylor Foundation, before turning to the week’s TV news.

They discuss the cancellation of Football Focus after 52 years on our screens, and what it says about how audiences now consume football content.

From there, they debate whether an AI editing technique used on a TV show should have been banned by the production — exploring whether ethical boundaries can be maintained, if it enhances or undermines creativity, and whether the industry is resisting inevitable change.

This leads them to unpack Donald Trump’s accusation that the BBC used AI in a Panorama documentary to defame him, and why that misunderstanding could weaken his $10 billion lawsuit against the corporation.

Finally, they look at how formats like A League of Their Own are evolving beyond television into live events and broader IP monetisation strategies.

Plus: Alan Titchmarsh’s unsigned wellies, Paul Simon’s decades-long grudge, and why every drama set in Liverpool seems to benefit from a conveniently placed bag of cocaine…

Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You, Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered, and Episodes. In the US Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway in 1997 which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.

Peter Fincham ran TalkBack, where he executive produced many of their biggest shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then he was Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as the co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson's Farm and Alma's Not Normal. New episodes every Friday.

YouTube: / @insiderstvpodcast
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @InsidersTVPod
The producer is Owen Braben
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peter and Jimmy bid farewell to Ian Katz, the outgoing Chief Content Officer at Channel 4, reflecting on what really happens when a top TV executive steps down before answering listener questions.

They unpack who really holds creative power in TV versus film — from auteur directors and “final cut” culture in Hollywood to why, in television, producers and writers often overrule directors in the edit. They also lift the lid on how shows get recommissioned or cancelled, revealing the crucial role of schedulers, the temptation to keep ageing hits on air, and how streamers’ data-driven decisions could be the death of the “slow burn” success story. And finally, they tackle why there’s no ‘right way’ to sack someone in TV when people rarely believe they deserve to go.

Plus, Peter’s top fashion tips, Jimmy’s new ‘Guess That Fishy Channel Controller’ gameshow, and why you should never say never on a Saudi Arabian version of Outnumbered…

Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You, Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered, and Episodes. In the US Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway in 1997 which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.

Peter Fincham ran TalkBack, where he executive produced many of their biggest shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then he was Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as the co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson's Farm and Alma's Not Normal. New episodes every Friday.

YouTube: / @insiderstvpodcast
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @InsidersTVPod
The producer is Owen Braben
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Peter and Jimmy discuss Christopher Eccleston’s claim that TV executives think audiences are “stupid”, and swap war stories from the front line of tricky commissioning meetings.

Later, they chat about the actors and producers in the US rallying together to oppose the Paramount-Warner Brothers merger. They then set about unpicking the BBC’s announcement of 2,000 job cuts, a hiring freeze, and the interim DG’s surprising candour around the current funding model being “unsustainable" and "reaching the end of its sell-by date".

Plus, we get live reaction to Content Chief Ian Katz leaving Channel 4, some insight into the world of being an ex-channel controller, and as Peter reports back on his recent visit to Clarkson’s Farm, we ask, what exactly does an executive producer actually do? (clue: mostly get in the way on set)

Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You, Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered, and Episodes. In the US Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway in 1997 which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.

Peter Fincham ran TalkBack, where he executive produced many of their biggest shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then he was Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as the co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson's Farm and Alma's Not Normal. New episodes every Friday.

YouTube: / @insiderstvpodcast
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @InsidersTVPod
The producer is Owen Braben
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Peter and Jimmy ask whether the arrival of HBO Max might be nudging us all dangerously close to peak demand for subscription services. Does the subscription model thrive as much on inertia as it does on the content they offer? And is that really sustainable?

We talk revisionism when it comes to the question of what’s acceptable on television, and ask what are the shows that we love today that we’ll one day be embarrassed by?

And with a new series in full swing on BBC1, Jimmy shares fond memories of some left-field HIGNFY bookings. Some of whom were memorable for all the right reasons (Play Your Iraqi Cards Right, anyone?). Some of whom were just memorable...

Plus, the BBC Twat Memo, Peter’s irrational fear of watching medical dramas, and wishing David Dimbleby well in his retirement.

Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You, Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered, and Episodes. In the US Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway in 1997 which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.

Peter Fincham ran TalkBack, where he executive produced many of their biggest shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then he was Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as the co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson's Farm and Alma's Not Normal. New episodes every Friday.

YouTube: / @insiderstvpodcast
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @InsidersTVPod
The producer is Owen Braben
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jimmy and Peter are joined by former Director General Greg Dyke as he talks the highs and lows of his time running the BBC, and what advice he’d give to Matt Brittin as he prepares to take on the top job.

During his 4 years as DG, Dyke oversaw huge changes at every level of the organisation, from the birth of the iPlayer to a concerted effort to make the BBC less London-centric. But it was the row with the government over the Iraq war, and the Hutton Report that followed, that came to define his time in charge. He talks candidly about what that experience was like, and his regrets looking back more than 20 years later.

Plus, the bygone era of union dominance of television, unlikely book buying in Kampala, and why, if anyone ever asks you to join the LWT share options scheme, you should always, always say yes.

Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You, Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered, and Episodes. In the US Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway in 1997 which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.

Peter Fincham ran TalkBack, where he executive produced many of their biggest shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then he was Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as the co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson's Farm and Alma's Not Normal. New episodes every Friday.

YouTube: / @insiderstvpodcast
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @InsidersTVPod
The producer is Owen Braben
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.