‘Downton Abbey is ludicrous’: the biggest TV hits we’ve never seen – until now

Continuing our series on a year of bumper pandemic viewing, our critics finally watch the shows that had passed them by, from Downton to Twin Peaks

As with my experience of so many modern cultural touchstones, I first came to 24 via a Simpsons parody. Being only seven years old in 2001, when the 24-episode “real time” thriller first aired, my knowledge of Kiefer Sutherland’s exhausting counter-terror mission to stop the assassination of a presidential hopeful came from a 2007 Simpsons episode starring Lisa and Bart in a split-screen chase to hold off the detonation of a powerful stink bomb at Springfield Elementary.

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Jackie Brown star Robert Forster dies aged 78

Forster was a versatile character actor whose career was unexpectedly rescued by his Oscar-nominated role in Quentin Tarantino’s cult thriller

Peter Bradshaw on Robert Forster: a coolly charismatic character actor with an intensely sympathetic air

Robert Forster, the handsome and omnipresent character actor who got a career resurgence and Oscar nomination for playing bail bondsman Max Cherry in Jackie Brown, died on Friday. He was 78.

Publicist Kathie Berlin said Forster died of brain cancer following a brief illness. He was at home in Los Angeles, surrounded by family, including his four children and partner Denise Grayson.

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The 100 best TV shows of the 21st century

Where’s Mad Men? How did The Sopranos do? Does The Crown triumph? Can anyone remember Lost? And will Downton Abbey even figure? Find out here – and have your say

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Peggy Lipton: Twin Peaks and The Mod Squad star dies aged 72

Actor shot to fame in the 1960s playing a hippie undercover cop and returning to television with David Lynch’s cult series

Peggy Lipton, a star of the groundbreaking late 1960s TV show The Mod Squad and the 1990s show Twin Peaks, has died of cancer aged 72.

Lipton died surrounded by her family, her daughters, Rashida and Kidada Jones, said in a statement.

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The Latest: Cumberbatch riffs on ‘stable genius’ tweet

When a producer mentioned a Twitter post from Benedict Cumberbatch led to a TV role, the actor couldn't resist riffing on President Donald Trump's "stable genius" tweet. Michael Jackson, executive producer of Showtime's new "Patrick Melrose" series, told TV critics Saturday that he learned from Twitter that Cumberbatch longed to play the title role.

David Lynch Chews on a Donut in New ‘Twin Peaks’ Teaser: WATCH

Director/creator David Lynch returns as FBI Regional Bureau Chief Gordon Cole and eats a donut - and that's all - in a new teaser for the Showtime reboot of Twin Peaks coming this year. The most recent teaser featured a bunch of returning cast members talking about their excitement at being involved with the show again.