Nov 5, 2026 · 49 min · 25 segments
Min Jin Lee’s new novel *American Hagwon* is her first in nearly a decade. ‘Hagwon’ is the Korean term for private tutoring centers. It’s the third installment of a four-part series on the Korean…
Min Jin LeeGuestAarti ShahaniGuest
John Powers
Terry GrossHost
The new television series Small Prophets, which is streaming on Apple TV, is a British comedy fantasy about a man who hopes to find his long-missing girlfriend.
To do so, he tries to call forth supernatural spirits whose visionary power can help him.
Our critic-at-large John Power says he was beguiled by this fresh, funny, and humane series, which he whooshed right through, feeling sad when there were no more episodes to watch.
For my part, I'd like to issue a 10-year moratorium on serial killers, self-destructive detectives, cute small towns that are rife with murder, and shows that open with an attention-grabbing chase or murder, then follow with the words, 36 hours earlier or five weeks ago, to alert us that the actual story is finally about to begin.
I want no more Big Little Lives knockoffs, or series that take ten episodes to do what movies used to do in two hours.
I could go on, but I'd rather tell you why I love Small Profits, the smash BBC hit now streaming on Apple TV.
Composed of six elegant half-hour episodes, this gentle show is so original and consistently surprising that it's kind of a marvel.
It blends deadpan humor, fantasy, social comedy, and an alluring sense of melancholy to create a mood you'll love being inside.
Pierce Quigley plays Michael Sleep, a good-hearted 50-ish man whose flowing locks and white beard make him look like a cross between an old hippie and father time.
He lives in a suburban house, complete with overgrown lawn, that he's kept the same since his partner, Clea, mysteriously disappeared seven years ago.
Still hoping she'll return, he divides his time between half-hearted work at the Toolbox, a Home Depot-like store, and visits to the retirement home that looks after his inventive but scattered father, Brian, warmly played by Michael Palin.
His dad tells him about a friend in Egypt who was able to call up homunculi, miniature humanoid beings who can answer any question and always tell the truth.
Brian gives his son the recipe for bringing these small prophets to life.
Although dubious, Michael decides to try, beginning a procedure that involves everything from old coins to a truckload of manure.
He's shadowed by Clay as a grieved brother, Roy, that's Paul Kay, who turns up broke and wants to claim the house.
He becomes the obsession of his next-door neighbors, the comically hectoring Clive, who's tormented by Michael's messy yard, and his curious wife, Bev, who finds Michael interestingly different.
Above all, he develops an unlikely friendship with a disaffected young co-worker, Casey, played by Lauren Patel.
She bonds with Michael because he, too, has no time for their boss, Gordon, an officious incompetent with a greasy ponytail, who's played by the show's brilliant writer-director, Mackenzie Crook.
And all the while, in Michael's shed, the homunculi are coming to life.
How's it going? Are they growing? Are you sure you're all right, Dad? Yes, the prophets, you said you've seen them.
The new television series Small Prophets, which is streaming on Apple TV, is a British comedy fantasy about a man who hopes to find his long-missing girlfriend.
To do so, he tries to call forth supernatural spirits whose visionary power can help him.
Our critic-at-large John Power says he was beguiled by this fresh, funny, and humane series, which he whooshed right through, feeling sad when there were no more episodes to watch.
For my part, I'd like to issue a 10-year moratorium on serial killers, self-destructive detectives, cute small towns that are rife with murder, and shows that open with an attention-grabbing chase or murder, then follow with the words, 36 hours earlier or five weeks ago, to alert us that the actual story is finally about to begin.
I want no more Big Little Lives knockoffs, or series that take ten episodes to do what movies used to do in two hours.
I could go on, but I'd rather tell you why I love Small Profits, the smash BBC hit now streaming on Apple TV.
Composed of six elegant half-hour episodes, this gentle show is so original and consistently surprising that it's kind of a marvel.
It blends deadpan humor, fantasy, social comedy, and an alluring sense of melancholy to create a mood you'll love being inside.
Pierce Quigley plays Michael Sleep, a good-hearted 50-ish man whose flowing locks and white beard make him look like a cross between an old hippie and father time.
He lives in a suburban house, complete with overgrown lawn, that he's kept the same since his partner, Clea, mysteriously disappeared seven years ago.
Still hoping she'll return, he divides his time between half-hearted work at the Toolbox, a Home Depot-like store, and visits to the retirement home that looks after his inventive but scattered father, Brian, warmly played by Michael Palin.
His dad tells him about a friend in Egypt who was able to call up homunculi, miniature humanoid beings who can answer any question and always tell the truth.
Brian gives his son the recipe for bringing these small prophets to life.
Although dubious, Michael decides to try, beginning a procedure that involves everything from old coins to a truckload of manure.
He's shadowed by Clay as a grieved brother, Roy, that's Paul Kay, who turns up broke and wants to claim the house.
He becomes the obsession of his next-door neighbors, the comically hectoring Clive, who's tormented by Michael's messy yard, and his curious wife, Bev, who finds Michael interestingly different.
Above all, he develops an unlikely friendship with a disaffected young co-worker, Casey, played by Lauren Patel.
She bonds with Michael because he, too, has no time for their boss, Gordon, an officious incompetent with a greasy ponytail, who's played by the show's brilliant writer-director, Mackenzie Crook.
And all the while, in Michael's shed, the homunculi are coming to life.
How's it going? Are they growing? Are you sure you're all right, Dad? Yes, the prophets, you said you've seen them.
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