Look, you don't need me to tell you how difficult it is to navigate the content mudslide of the streaming era. That's the whole point of Intermission - I am here in a big black bin bag and wellies, holding a bucket aloft, ready to collect the good stuff when it comes along. To help, every now and then, I'm going to call upon some people with great taste to chime in with their thoughts. First up is Aisling Bea, the Irish comedian, actor and writer behind probably the most underrated comedy of the last 10 years: This Way Up.

As you'll know if you've watched any British panel show ever, Bea is one of the sharpest, funniest people around. She talks at assault-rifle pace, as if her wellbeing depends on her ability to rattle off 10 jokes in 10 seconds. While she's currently in Dublin shooting a new Netflix series called Grown Ups and prepping her first stand-up tour in years (which will kick off in February - you can still get tickets for some of the shows), she graciously hopped on the phone with me to talk about her love of American reality TV, The Celebrity Traitors and her favourite Instagram comedians.

What are you watching at the moment, Aisling?

I watch a lot of reality TV, and I think it's because I sometimes find it hard to take my head out of watching [scripted shows], like I'm watching a day at work. I genuinely think that I could maybe man a boat and sail one because I have watched so much Below Deck. I watch all the Real Housewives, basically. We are also rewatching all of The West Wing and it is amazing and gives me a reminder of what things used to feel like. But The Celebrity Traitors has definitely been getting me through a filming job I'm on at the moment.

Would you go on Celebrity Traitors?

I would. I mean, I'd have to talk to a few people about what the actual experience is like because they've been the test case. But the only thing is - I pretty much know everyone in it. I think why they're so bad at getting people out is because it's really hard to vote for friends. It's hard for everyone to gang up on someone. And I've been surprised at how personally some people have been taking it, considering we've all worked in this business for a long time and know that it's fake. But Jonathan [Ross] and Alan [Carr] have played the most beautiful bit of television.

It sounds like you don't watch a lot of comedy?

No. I would say a lot of comedians don't laugh in their spare time because it feels like you're on the clock. That said, it took me ages to get around to watching Hacks for the exact same reason - not only is it a comedy, but it's a comedy about comedy. And I'm like, 'Oh, no, no way.' But then I started watching, and I couldn't stop. I adore the acting, the writing. I think a lot of multi-generational things either swing one way, which is "older people are sort of silly and can't use FaceTime", or [the other], "younger people are so woke". And what I love about Hacks is it shows all the nuance of the different generations.

You're going out on your first stand-up comedy tour in a while in February. Have you seen any good specials recently?

I mean, the people I'm seeing in Dublin in the next three weeks are Joanne McNally and Daniel Sloss. I saw Nish Kumar, and his special will be out soon. That was just an incredibly special show.

Are you on TikTok?

No. I've got ADHD, and so if I add one more thing to my list, my baby's not getting a mother. I'm on Instagram.

Who are your favourite comedians on there?

There's this American guy I love, EJ Marcus (@ejhavingfun). And Josh Weller (@joshwellerjoshweller) is very funny to me, as I'm going out with a musician. I also love the fake backing dancers, Chris and Elizabeth Hall (@chrxstopher.hall). And Harry Trevaldwyn (@harrytrevaldwyn), he's amazing.

Finally, tell me about the best film you've seen lately?

Colin Hanks is a friend of mine. We were in a movie called And Mrs together, but it's not so good. But our friendship is great. And he's made a gorgeous documentary on John Candy, which is on Amazon Prime. And John Candy was like someone I watched as a kid growing up in movies, but he died so young.

Oh, and The Ballad of Wallis Island. Tom [Basden] and Tim [Key] are two of my old friends and it is just beautiful. And Tim Key's performance, I hope he gets a BAFTA for it. He's so gorgeous in it.

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