Photo of Barbara Ellen
Barbara Ellen

Columnist

Barbara Ellen is a TV critic and columnist for The Observer.

Photo of Barbara Ellen

Barbara Ellen

Columnist

Barbara Ellen is a TV critic and columnist for The Observer.

  • Barbara Ellen
    Netflix’s The Abandons is Dynasty on horseback

    For all the death, there’s something soapy and silly about this Netflix western

    Sat, 6 Dec 2025

  • Barbara Ellen
    What to watch this week, from The Abandons to Dating Apps

    The Observer’s TV critic Barbara Ellen on the best new shows airing and streaming

    Wed, 3 Dec 2025

  • Barbara Ellen
    ScarJo in an Exorcist remake? It’s already making my head swivel

    Memo to Scarlett Johansson: please don’t let Linda Blair have hovered above that bed for nothing

    Sun, 30 Nov 2025

  • Barbara Ellen
    Prisoner 951 is a Kafkaesque hostage nightmare

    The BBC show takes viewers on the British charity worker’s harrowing journey

    Fri, 28 Nov 2025

  • Barbara Ellen
    What to watch this week, from Prisoner 951 to RuPaul’s Drag Race

    The Observer’s TV critic Barbara Ellen on the best new shows currently airing and streaming

    Thu, 27 Nov 2025

  • Barbara Ellen
    The Black Swan is an extraordinary courtroom seat in a real-life Scandi noir case

    The Danish docuseries – which provoked a crisis of national identity – is one of the most unsettling programmes I’ve seen

    Sat, 22 Nov 2025

  • Barbara Ellen
    What to watch this week, from The Black Swan to Celebrity MasterChef

    The Observer’s TV critic Barbara Ellen on the best shows

    Thu, 20 Nov 2025

  • Barbara Ellen
    Please Brie mine – Waitrose serves up a cheesy festive romcom

    Nothing makes sparks fly quite like a shared slice of Stilton

    Sun, 16 Nov 2025

  • Barbara Ellen
    Trespasses is a devastating tale of forbidden love

    Violence and fear seep into every nook and cranny of daily life in this adaptation of Louise Kennedy’s Troubles-era novel

    Sat, 15 Nov 2025

  • Barbara Ellen
    Meghan will star as Meghan – but surely life is drama enough

    After years off screen, the Duchess of Sussex is to make an acting comeback with Lily Allen and Brie Larson

    Sun, 9 Nov 2025

  • Barbara Ellen
    Was this the greatest Traitors final yet?

    Aside from too much celebrity mwah mwah-ing, the series delivered a carnival of larks and skullduggery – and a much-needed good time on a national scale

    Fri, 7 Nov 2025

  • Barbara Ellen
    Pluribus is high-concept, low-speed science fiction

    Plus: Ryan Murphy’s All’s Fair gives camp a bad name, while Game of Wool: Britain’s Best Knitter is simple, silly and lovely

    Fri, 7 Nov 2025

  • Barbara Ellen
    How did The Celebrity Traitors become the biggest show on TV?

    The ultimate watercooler series is a theatrical, tongue-in-cheek experiment in group-think, treachery – and celebrities behaving madly

    Mon, 3 Nov 2025

  • Barbara Ellen
    Save us from ‘Shrekking’ – we have plenty of dating horrors already

    Picking less attractive partners doesn’t guarantee devotion – and isn’t it all a bit lookist and rude?

    Sun, 2 Nov 2025

  • Barbara Ellen
    Down Cemetery Road – a fresh female take on Slow Horses

    Emma Thompson’s foul-mouthed private eye follows hot on the trail of the Apple TV hit in a bold, funny series. Plus, the engrossing tales of Once Upon a Time in Space

    Thu, 30 Oct 2025

  • Barbara Ellen
    As the dancing queens take their last tango, has Strictly lost its sparkle?

    The shock news raises questions about the future of all Saturday night family formats

    Sat, 25 Oct 2025

  • Barbara Ellen
    The hot rabbi returns in Nobody Wants This

    Plus: AI enters the workplace, and the pressure mounts in the Traitors castle

    Fri, 24 Oct 2025

  • Barbara Ellen
    Tay-Tay’s Ophelia is positively drowning in artistic references

    The star’s channelling of the tragic heroine has sent Swifties flocking to see Friedrich Heyser’s original

    Sun, 19 Oct 2025

  • Barbara Ellen
    Riot Women is a thrilling ode to midlife female rage

    Menopause and horrible men abound in Sally Wainwright’s witty series about a middle-aged punk-rock band. Plus, a Tim Robinson comedy and Martin Scorsese documentary

    Sat, 18 Oct 2025

  • Barbara Ellen
    Queen Dolly ‘ain’t ready to die yet’. Phew, we need her in the world

    The latest celebrity death hoax concerns our living antidote to the Trump era

    Sun, 12 Oct 2025

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