The world is a panic-inducing place right now. Dire warnings are shared daily about the parlous state of our climate. Authoritarian strongmen are establishing a foothold across Europe and beyond. Footage of seemingly interminable conflicts are broadcast on news roundups. So what better way to escape all that than by watching a TV show so tense it has you gnawing your fingernails down to the whites?
We’ve talked about agonisingly tense TV before, in 2022, when Industry and The Bear gave viewers palpitations. But this year, TV seems to ratcheted up the tension to new heights. (I blame/credit the influence of the Safdie brothers’ hernia-inducing film Uncut Gems for this wave: it showed that people can tolerate an obscene amount of on-screen stress.) Indeed, by the time Industry and The Bear have aired their respective third series – The Bear later this month, Industry in the autumn – we’ll be hollow-eyed nervous wrecks.
