Welcome to Drama vs. Reality, a new four-part series brought to you by Complex and ITV, where Zeze Millz and Harry Pinero go head-to-head dropping their favourite selections of shows on ITV Hub. Here, UK culture journalist Chanté Joseph gives us a sneak preview of Episode 2, whilst offering up a couple of choice ITV Hub recommendations of her own.
This time on Drama vs. Reality, Harry Pinero’s drama contender is the eerie English thriller, Hollington Drive. If you like to keep things short and sweet—which ITV does extremely well—Hollington Drive is a four-part series that gets straight to the antics with a strong storyline.
Set in a nothing-bad-ever-happens-here part of suburbia, a community’s peace is disrupted when a child goes missing. Theresa (played by Anna Maxwell Martin) suspects her 10-year-old son, Ben, may know something, after he and his cousin Eva are late home from playing in the woods. As the plot unravels through a series of twists and turns, dark truths are revealed, leaving Theresa to confront a mother’s worst nightmare. What happens when you start to suspect your own child and what they could be capable of?
The reality suggestion from Zeze Millz is the fiery homegrown fave Peckham’s Finest. This docuseries follows some of our favourites from Peckham as they navigate their personal and public lives—it’s the diverse reality show that we’ve been dying for. It’s got influencers, DJs, drag queens and coaches, hustling and having fun in the area of SE London that we all know and love. Though the show is fun and super easy to watch, it doesn’t shy from the elephant in the room: gentrification. Peckham is going through massive changes right now, and the stars of this show are experiencing it live. They speak candidly on gentrification’s impact and their feelings towards their ever-evolving hometown. Peckham’s Finest excitingly combines filmed content with social media activity; it introduces a whole new way of storytelling for reality TV that works well for young, tech-savvy audiences.
Back in the world of drama and thrills, have you heard of Finding Alice? No? Let’s just say it’s a scenario we hope you never find yourself in. Imagine: you move into a new home with the love of your life and adorable child, and then suddenly you find your husband dead at the bottom of your dream home’s staircase. The dark comedy, starring Keeley Hawes, sees Alice grieve the untimely passing of her partner but also uncover many of his secrets. Alice doesn’t do grieving like any average person; her inappropriate jokes and detachment from the situation make for awkward laughs and relatable moments. Alice’s predicament worsens when she discovers she’s absolutely broke! It turns out her smart, architect husband was not only bad at his job, but he also wasn’t bringing home any money. So now, Alice must figure out how to keep this new home and maintain a sense of normalcy in this new life.
What only feels like a natural progression from Peckham’s Finest is, of course, Don’t Hate The Playaz. It’s as if they plucked this gameshow out of my head and onto my TV—it’s the perfect fusion of Black culture, music and celebrity all in one. This hip-hop comedy show—hosted by Jordan Stephens—pits two star-studded teams (led by Lady Leshurr and Maya Jama) against each other to test their rap knowledge and battle it out for the best prize of them all: bragging rights! There are loads of hilarious questions, freestyling and funny moments that make you feel like you’re hanging out with old friends. The hour of fun is a great way to lighten up the mood this Christmas, and you can even try some of these games with the family too!
