Martin Freeman’s two favourite TV shows of all time: “A work of art”
Martin Freeman may have fumbled The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, but he’s more than redeemed himself with the rest of his film career.
He’s played roles in some of the biggest franchises around, including The Hobbit and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, been a staple in Edgar Wright’s early work, and even starred in a modern Christmas favourite, Nativity! If you were expecting praise for Love Actually, you’ll be disappointed.
One of his greatest contributions to the small screen was playing Tim Canterbury on the revolutionary comedy, The Office, wherein his character formed the basis for Jim in the US version. On the dramatic side of things, he played Dr John Watson on the all-conquering BBC drama Sherlock, which, as he once politely reminded Graham Norton, won him a Bafta for ‘Best Supporting Actor’. Chuck in his work on Fargo, The Responder, and plenty more, and you’ve got one of TV’s most reliable soldiers of the past few decades.
Given that he’s been such a key player in the medium for so long, you’d think perhaps Freeman finds actually watching TV a bit of a busman’s holiday, but not in the slightest. According to an interview with The New Statesman, he’s still a keen viewer, with two shows in particular keeping him coming back for more.
“I think The Sopranos is truly wonderful, a work of art,” he said, “Peep Show is my comfort food. Too many others to drone on about now”.
Peep Show is a UK sitcom starring David Mitchell’s Mark Corrigan and Robert Webb’s Jeremy ‘Jez’ Usbourne as two diametrically opposite flatmates living in London, with the former uptight and law-abiding, while the latter is laid-back and work-shy.
The series is best known for its cringe humour, extreme gross-out moments, and first-person perspective that allows viewers to hear the characters’ inner monologues, and is routinely brought up as one of the funniest British TV shows of all time.
As for The Sopranos, that speaks for itself, as HBO’s (mostly) 21st-century spin on a classic gangster story is impossible to ignore when discussing the ‘Golden Age of Television’.
From James Gandolfini’s career-defining turn as ‘mob boss with a conscience’, Tony Soprano, to its innovative filming style that closely mirrored feature films, its constantly string of iconic moments, characters, and dialogue, The Sopranos really is as important as everyone says it is. Freeman himself has gone on record elsewhere calling it the greatest TV show ever made.
The idea of a favourite anything when it comes to media is a flawed one, so wiseman Freeman approached this question in precisely the right way, where instead of choosing one show that appeals to all of his needs, he opted for two that serve entirely different purposes: The Sopranos for the drama and Peep Show for the laughs.
