Martin Little

Watching THEM is a struggle. It's really hard going television, and at times you'll probably feel like it's almost a punishment. Having to watch the Emory family suffer, episode after episode, with no redemptive story arc in sight is just downright nasty. And just when you think they've suffered enough, along comes something else to knock them down further. This run of events is almost exclusively as a result of the family being Black, and, as a white English male, it's not lost on me that I've got it pretty sweet if the greatest trouble I have is making my way through some TV entertainment which I can pause at any moment. Oh woe is me. But the show isn't all about race and discrimination (although that's obviously front and centre), there's some supernatural elements brought into the mix, and the 50's setting really plays on fears that probably spring to mind when thinking about that period (post WW2 suffering, psychiatric hospitals performing lobotomies like they're going out of fashion, folks with nuclear bunkers in their back yards because of the threat of more war...). Atop of that, it covers a fairly extensive list of "general" fears that'd apply to anyone regardless of their skin colour - loss of a child, fitting in at school, lack of control, depression, madness... And yet, despite all its horrors (which are really exhausting to watch as they relentlessly pile up on the Emory's) I stuck with it. I think that's mostly down to the acting chops of everyone in the show - you really want to see the scales of justice tip, and you keep hanging on, hoping the next episode is going to be the one where the "villains" get their comeuppance and the Emory's get respite... But no spoilers from me! Special mention has to go to "Da Tap Dance Man" - who works on so many levels, allowing some nice exposition, a bit of comedy, historical education, and ticks the box for a super f#@in' creepy horror antagonist. Oh, and Vinnie from Home and Away is in this as well!