Mary Beard is back! Britain’s best known classicist is countering the pandemic with a rich feast of performance, conversation and debate. Hot on the heels of the US presidential inauguration, Mary talks to Armando Iannucci, writer of Veep and The Thick of It, and asks how comedians and satirists adjust to a new regime. When power changes hands, whether it’s Roman emperors, British prime ministers or even popes, the external illusion of a smooth transition often masks bitter rivalries and even danger. Mary is also joined by David Olusoga, who recently interviewed former President Obama, and others from across the pond to explore succession through the ages.

Do audiences matter, and what is their role? Mary talks to sports stars about how the loss of the crowd affects their performance, as well as attending her first Twitter listening party.

Why is there such a fuss about the difference between fact and fiction? With suggestions of 'truth warnings' for The Crown, and heated debate about colour-blind casting in Bridgerton, Mary talks to actor Jason Watkins about the difference between playing real and fictional characters. She also speaks to historian Michael Scott about new movie The Dig, and how archaeology itself is often a combination of fact and fiction. There is debate about the perils of straddling the fact/fiction divide in culture with James Graham, Simon Jenkins, and Shahidha Bari, and why this year’s awards season features so many movies based on real life events.

In a special programme to end this series, Mary is in conversation with British writer Jed Mercurio. He’s the mastermind behind hit show Line of Duty, returning for a new series in the spring, and has a rich back catalogue of attention-grabbing TV drama including Bodyguard, Cardiac Arrest and Bodies. How much does his early medical and military training inform his writing? And how much drama does it take to make real events into unmissable television?