“This, too, shall pass”: so said Tom Hanks in a moving episode of Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review show in early 2020, and so it has turned out to be. After 21 years of film criticism, obscure 80s music references and (mostly) affectionate bickering, the much-loved programme has aired its final episode on the BBC.
But perhaps everything will be all right in the end. It may be the show’s final episode on BBC Radio 5 live, but it’s not curtains yet for Mark and Simon. From 5 May, listeners can tune in to Kermode and Mayo’s Take, a new twice-weekly film-review podcast for Sony Music. It will cover theatrical, streaming and physical film releases as well as high-level television.