House of the Dragon, year of the cougar and a sordid new Beckham book

Straight Up

House of the Dragon is the biggest show on TV right now huns, but how does it compare to Game of Thrones? Kathleen is a huge fan of both so gives us her verdict. And hot on the heels of The Idea of You, we now have Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron playing out a hefty on-screen age gap in a new Netflix rom-com A Family Affair. Are critics right to say Hollywood has entered its cougar era, and what’s driving it if so? Plus, Ellie debriefs on whether Disney’s new Karl Lagerfeld drama goes too easy on the highly problematic late designer. Finally, we pick apart Tom Bower’s new book attacking brand Beckham: assessing his motivations for writing such a snide book, and whether these ‘explosive’ revelations offer anything new.

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Reccos discussed:

• IF (2024 film)
• House of the Dragon, HBO Max
• The Last of Us, HBO Max
• A Family Affair, Netflix
• The Cougar Bites Back, Financial Times
• The Mother (2003), Amazon Prime Video
• Becoming Karl Lagerfeld, Disney Plus
• America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, Netflix
• Business Barbie: Margot Robbie on how she built an empire, The Times
• House of Beckham, Tom Bower