Kevin Hart (I)

Mo Gilligan preparing to crack the US

Having become a house­hold name in the UK as a judge on ITV's Masked Singer, Mo Gilligan is on the brink of making it in the States too. I've learned the comedian is being eyed for a Hollywood movie career after his Netflix special became a surprise hit there this year. Kevin Hart has been offering his advice along with other famous pals who are fighting Mo's corner.

Is stand-up comedy doomed?

Whether it's censorship, problematic tweets or #MeToo, comics are being scrutinised like never before. Is there a 'new sense of panic' in the industry?

The best culture of 2018

Our critics pick their favourites of the year and the ones they'd rather forget, from film, theatre, TV, music, dance, opera, art and comedy.

Norton's sofa is even more crowded than usual. Jessica Chastain, who will make plenty of sharp contributions to any debate about the film industry's ingrained misogyny, will be alongside Pitch Perfect 3 star Rebel Wilson and the lone Brit, Dawn French. Those three would be fine by themselves, but Norton also welcomes Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart and Jack Black as they promote Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.

Ice Cube and Kevin Hart, stars of Ride Along 2 (sadly, the original action comedy didn't immediately evaporate on contact with auditoriums), join the cheeky pixie from Clondalkin to flog their product. Elsewhere, well, you know the drill: an audience member will be invited to the red chair to tell a true-life tale that will shock and amaze anybody who's never thrown up or passed wind, before being flipped into chatshow purgatory. Can't we just have Miriam Margolyes back again?

Radio Times review

In the publicity blurb, guest Stephen Fry is described as "the nation's favourite polymath" (because our nation has so many polymaths). But we should add the words "newly married" after Fry wed his partner Elliott Spencer.

In his first television appearance since the wedding, Fry will doubtless give us all the details of a very low-key ceremony at a Norfolk register office. The occasion was marked by Fry on Twitter as "Gosh. Elliott Spencer and I go into a room as two people, sign a book and leave as one."

Also on the sofa are Andrew Flintoff, star of Sky 1's Lord of the Fries (oh dear) where the cricketer takes a chip van around the country, and comedian Kevin Hart.

Thumb up or thumb down? I'm going to be really courageous and go with a... thumb sideways.

There's definitely some funny stuff here, but not nearly enough; also, some first-rate comic actors, too, like Matt Lucas (Little Britain USA) and Sean Maguire - he's Krod - is good here too. It's a nearly-all-Brit cast, and as you know, the Brits do genre satire better 'n anyone else in the solar system... the holy grail being Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

As mentioned, Matt Lucas as the evil Chancellor Dongalor is the standout; also good, Philly comic Kevin Hart as hapless magician Zezelryck.

But the series needs to be funnier, much funnier. Maybe in time...