Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Friday, June 13th 2025:
ELLA MAISY PURVIS TALKS 'PATIENCE'
On Sunday, most PBS stations will be premiering Patience, which stars Ella Maisy Purvis as a brilliant records clerk in York whose extraordinary attention to detail draws her into complex investigations. One interesting twist about the casting is that both Purvis and the character she plays are neurodiverse and that might be one of the reasons why the show does such a great job of providing an accurate representation of neurodiversity.
I had the opportunity to speak with Purvis earlier this week and the interview was a delight. She was charming, funny and very open about the challenges of tackling an acting career while being neurodiverse. Our conversation has been very lightly edited for clarity - mostly mine:
One of the reasons I wanted to talk to you was that I have a 19-year-old son who's neurodivergent, has ADHD and anxiety issues, and it is a rare show that really grasps any of the nuances that he goes through. And I think Patience did a really nice job with that.
Oh, thank you. That's really kind.
I've read in other interviews that you had spent time talking with lead writer Matt Baker sometimes when there were things you thought needed to be tweaked just a little bit. What are the type of things that you find people don't quite grasp who aren't neurodivergent that is something that you would say, "Okay, this is something maybe we need to rethink?"
It was just the idea that autistic people can't love and can't express their love. And it's not that it wasn't there, but there were just little things on set where I thought we were missing some little moments of connection.
The thing that I find people misunderstand is they think that autistic people don't want to connect. It's not that autistic people don't want to communicate and seek connection, it's just sometimes there's a barrier. I try to communicate with people in a certain way and they don't really understand. And so part of what we worked on was having that willingness to actually express and try and connect with people rather than just always being closed off.
It's interesting that you mentioned the trying to connect, because one of the things that comes across is while she can seem sort of off-putting sometimes to people, she has a lot of empathy. And that's one of the things I found with my son. People will tell my wife and I "Oh, he doesn't seem like he's autistic, he's so empathetic." Well, it's because every autistic person is different.
Yeah, and that whole thing that autistic people can't be empathetic - I would argue that autistic people are hyper-empathetic. Towards animals, towards people. I get upset about the just silliest things, because everything's heightened. Whether it be noise, sound....there's also emotions.
I was reading about this Orca called Hugo, and he was in SeaWorld, and it's a really horrific story, and he was just so unhappy. And I was reading about it and I was just sitting in my hotel room just crying. I was thinking, "What am I doing?"
How does that play out as an actress? Because you're in a profession where things are very unpredictable. There's a lot of stuff coming at you, sounds and emotions, and things get changed at the last minute. How do you deal with that chaos?
We're on season two right now, and one of the things that's fantastic is that I'm on set, or just in the little green room. And if I'm not up to scratch, or I've had a bad night's sleep, I'll think I need to go for a minute. It's those little things we can work out as we're going. But I think probably the ADHD part of me loves the kind of "Oh, ooh, this, ooh, let's do it, no, let's do it, let's go, let's go, let's go."
And then when I get home, I'll realize, "Oh, I've actually spoken to people all day today and it suddenly just hit me that I can't really do that without needing 12 hours of sleep."
That was one of the things I was curious about. I'd seen a different interviewer talking with you about ADHD, and I know, at least from my experience with people that have it, they have to figure out some structures to make that a little easier. So that you don't get distracted by whatever shiny object that you just looked at last. Is that something that comes into play in acting, or is it something that's not a problem?
When I'm on set, I get a call sheet, so I'm supposed to be here at this time, here at that time, and someone will tell me, "You need to be here, you need to go there, this is what we're doing, this is how much time we have." And it's perfect, you know?
Because we've got a certain amount of hours in the day that we need to get this done, and so there's always someone saying "Hurry up, or you need to go here." And so I don't really have to think that much about little everyday things. "You know, darling, things just get bought to me." (laughs)
I have a life, it's so hard, honestly, sometimes. It is. The nature of a set is very chaotic. But it's also structured chaos.
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I wanted to make sure we actually talked about the show itself. I really enjoyed her relationship with Bea (DI Bea Metcalf, played by Laura Fraser). It's two people who are very different, sort of figuring out what their relationship is, how they're supposed to act together, what the best way for them to interact. It's really fascinating to watch.
And it's funny, because I'm more like Bea, and Laura's more like Patience. So it was really weird flipping that on screen, because Laura always carries two of everything. If you need anything, she will have it in the tiniest little rucksack, and you'll think. "How does she have that?
But it's gorgeous, and I think it's because of the dynamic between the two. It's sort of maternal, and there's this care that comes from Laura, or from Bea. It surpasses all of the the people around her saying "she's not this, and she's not that, and she needs to do this." And Bea's pushing back, saying "Whoa, whoa, whoa, okay? We have something here."
And it's not very often that we disabled people - deaf, disabled, neurodivergent people - have that kind of a mentor. Or someone that says "What you've got, you're doing really well, you are really clever.” It's not often that your talents are recognised, especially in a workforce, and in the police. So I think it's extraordinary, this sort of time, and grace, and fascination Bea has with her. And the respect.
And it's a good relationship to model for real life, because it's rare to find someone who's willing to do those extra steps to help somebody.
Yeah, and I think when we start to unpack it, it's just asking, "Is it that hard, though?"
The answer is no, okay? The answer is no, it's not that hard, it's just about just being a person.
I find people nowadays aren't aware of anyone else. You know, everyone is so closed off? And I find that hard just generally. Because I'm like, "I want to know everything about you, and I want to get in there."
And in the workforce, everyone's focused about themselves, and that's fine. But what's gorgeous is if you see this different brain, and how it can help, and how - if you nurture it - your jobs are gonna get done very quickly.
So what you need to do is an interview show. Where you could just talk to people and find out about them.
Oh, I'd love to do that, I'd love to do that, like Graham Norton, but just with random people.
Before I let you go, I wanted to talk a little bit about the relationship with Billy, which is an interesting one. It sort of plays out across the season, and that's another one where again, you're never quite sure where it's going to head from episode to episode.
What I love about their relationship is most of is unspoken. Most of it's just like, "Oh yeah, she does that, and I do that, done." And it's one of those friendships where you can just sit in silence and just read a book, go on your phone. And I know that you're okay, and you know that I'm okay, or I know that you're not okay, and you know that I'm not doing well - do you know what I mean? They have one of those friendships, and Billy's a great pillar of support for her, I think.
You talked about the fact you're shooting season two right now. Did they have discussions with you about, "Hey, this is what's going to happen, or do you know what's going on?"
I think so, I hope so. I mean, I've got the scripts.
So you know that they're not going to secretly kill you off at the end of season two to wrap it all up.
I mean, with the way that I'm carrying on, probably.
Do you like getting all the scripts ahead of time, or do you like to be a little surprised? I've found that every actor has their own preference on this question.
I need everything. So early in advance, it's really annoying.
Patience premieres Sunday, June 15th on most PBS stations.
A FREE SUBSTACK YOU SHOULD BE READING
I've been looking for an excuse to recommend Ted Linhart's Ted On TV Substack. He has 30+ years of experience in media research and data analysis, much of it working for various parts of the NBCUniversal brands. And as you might imagine, someone with that background has a lot of informed things to say about television.
He sent me a note last night responding to my question about the lack of defendant-friendly TV and I wanted to pass it along because I think there is a lot of helpful context here:
I do think this is possible from a cultural and audience POV - I think audiences would eat it up if cast right but I think the networks have no room and it doesn't fit their lane vs them having something against this sort of show
CBS: The most likely network Has so many different law enforcement franchises going now they appear to want to diversify out of anything legal hence things like fire country and Watson and next year Einstein. Sherif country is going to be another pro cop show but that is a more natural spin off of the "Country" franchise. And Elsbeth is really just because they believe in the character.
ABC: Procedurals like Perry Mason are not their bag although they did have The Practice which was the epitome of your topic I don't think you mentioned. They are too focused on unscripted, 911 and Ryan Murphy
NBC: with five dick wolf shows and NBA there just isn't room for much in the way of new drama. I think Brilliant Minds is a show that looks out for the little guy and those who can't help themselves just from a medical angle
Fox: Barely has any one hours now and seems focused on medial shows with Doc and Best Medicine. Accused did cover this area though so, I’d say it's an example of Perry Mason today, kind of. Cancelled after two seasons though. Really good show.
USA has The Rainmakercoming which I think could fill the need a little bit.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see some defense lawyer show at least in development somewhere in next few years. But I think if no more on air it’s not a proactive indictment (pun intended) of the genre
So go subscribe now. There are a lot of people with newsletters focused on television. But few of the people writing about TV actually have a background in the business.
SOME MORE READER FEEDBACK
Some from the comments section and some from email:
I've been watching a lot of the original Perry Mason series and would love to see a reboot that stays close in tone to that series, set in the current day, on a network rather than streaming. I was disappointed by the HBO reboot, it was way too much of a period piece. And while I like Matthew Rhys, I thought he was miscast for the role.
I have a small request for your newsletter as a whole. I often don't receive it in my email until overnight on the day past you write it. For example, the most recent one (for Thursday) arrived at 1 AM on Friday, and sometimes they arrive later than that, so I don't get to read them until the following day. So my request is that in the "What's New" section at the bottom, you go one day ahead, so in the newsletter that arrived at 1 AM this morning, I would see What's New for Friday and Saturday, rather than Thursday and Friday, which is too late for Thursday, since I'm not reading it until Friday morning.
-Andy M.
Thanks. That listings idea is a good one and the more I think about it, I think I might shift to that next week. So the Friday newsletter will include through Monday. And Monday's would include Tues/Weds., etc.
The way I am doing it now is a holdover from when the newsletter was going out earlier. But because of a combination of being on CT and the balancing of health stuff, I am tending to not get it out until later in the evening. In part, that's why I shifted from listing the date in the headline to an actual description of the story. Also, it makes the individual newsletter's easier to find in search engines. I've also had a couple people ask me to go back to putting the bullet points next to the show titles in the listings and that will begin Monday as well.
This is also a good time to remind everyone that paid subscribers receive a Sunday evening listings rundown for the upcoming week that includes the same lists you'll find in the Monday-Friday newsletters. But it also includes links to info on all the shows, plus videos, photo galleries, interviews and more. Paid subscribers also have the opportunity to book a one-on-one 15-minute Zoom call with me. I've already done a couple of hundred of these and they have generally been a lot of fun.
Two points related to defense-oriented lawyers and Perry Mason. The HBO series was probably closer in tone to the novels of Gardner and leaned more heavily on the 30s pulp vibe. Do I think a defense-oriented tv show could make it now? As someone who began their practice as a criminal defense attorney, I would love it. But I doubt because I think the writers would tend to use it to portray the police and law enforcement as inherently evil. Shows like Perry Mason (and the original Matlock) tended to show the law enforcement as good guys, if overworked and willing to to accept clues at face value if it meant closing the case and getting a conviction.
I would also say the problem with a defense oriented show is writers would be very unwilling to show attorneys doing their jobs diligently representing guilty people. Every criminal attorney has represented people who were guilty and managed to get acquittals. Television has done a lousy job of showing the hows and whys of that occurring.
-- W.J.H.
Another issue is that - unlike in the time of the early Perry Mason - most defendants today take a plea deal before trial. They can't afford good representation and prosecutors would prefer not to devote resources to a trial. None of that makes for a particularly interesting television series.
ODDS AND SODS
* In the most predictable news today, following Israel's attack on Iran, The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USGM) today urgently called back to work the staff of the Voice of America's Farsi language service. All had been on paid administrative leave for the past three months with the rest of VOA's sidelined journalists. VOA’s White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara said she hopes USAGM is beginning to realize the giant self-inflicted wound it created. "They should bring us all back so we can respond to breaking news in all parts of the world. This is exactly why you don’t smash first and think later."
USGM oversees the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, the Office of Cuban Broadcasting, Radio Free Asia, Middle East Broadcasting Networks and the Open Technology Fund. Nearly 600 VOA contractors were dismissed by the Trump Administration in May, and most of the remaining 800 USGM employees were put on paid administrative leave several weeks later.
* Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios and The Weather Group have reached a settlement with McDonald’s in a lawsuit over the fast food giant’s alleged lack of support for Black-owned media companies. The parties announced the settlement Friday, though no financial details were disclosed.
* In a new filing in federal court in Texas in Friday, both lawyers for Donald Trump as well as those for Paramount Global asked the judge for an extension of deadlines in filing motions to compel and responses. Both parties told the judge they are continuing to negotiate in hopes of settling the case.
* Nick Cannon, host of Fox’s hit singing competition series The Masked Singer, has joined Lego Masters as host for the upcoming sixth season, replacing Will Arnett.
WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND THIS WEEKEND
FRIDAY, JUNE 13TH:
Atsuko Okatsuka: Father (Hulu)
Best Wishes To All (Shudder)
Bride Or Die (LMN)
Echo Valley (Apple TV+)
Kings of Jo'Burg Season Premiere (Netflix)
Rana Naidu Series Premiere (Netflix)
ROMCON: Who The F**k Is Jason Porter? (Prime Video)
Super Sara (Max)
The Proof Is Out There Season Premiere (History)
Too Hot To Handle: Spain Series Premiere (Netflix)
SATURDAY, JUNE 14TH:
Girl In The Attic (Lifetime)
To Barcelona, Forever (Hallmark)
SUNDAY, JUNE 15TH:
Grantchester Season Premiere (PBS)
Hazardous History With Henry Winkler Series Premiere (History)
Patience Series Premiere (PBS)
The Boy Who Vanished (Lifetime)
The Chosen (Prime Video)
Two Chefs And A Wedding Cake (UP tv)
Underdogs (NatGeo)
MONDAY, JUNE 16TH:
Sally (NatGeo)
Super Mega Cakes Series Premiere (Food)
Walking With Dinosaurs (PBS)
SEE YOU ON MONDAY!