There are actors who change everything, who alone can support a film, a piece de theatre, a TV series.
Actors in which to take refuge when the writing is stale and unoriginal.
Actors who have on their side success and fan warmth but above all boundless talent.
One of these is Idris Elba, an African-American actor hailed in Great Britain to such an extent that for years he has been considered Daniel Craig's worthy heir for the next 007.
Many will remember him for his iconic role as Stringer Bell in the magnificent The Wire. Others will remember him for his starring role in Luther. Others for the lead role in Netflix's Beast of No Nation. And it is precisely Netflix to play Idris Elba in a new TV series.
8 episodes of about 20 minutes. Yes, we are facing a light series, comedy in some ways. And yes, Idris Elba proves to be very good in these shoes.
We loved him as a gloomy detective, a drug boss, a general, a spy, a man of action but we've never seen him starring in films or very disengaged series.
In "Turn Up Charlie" Idris Elba puts himself in the game, just like the character he plays, Charlie Ayo, former star of the world dance firmament and now at the end credits of a career he would like to relaunch.
But how to relaunch a career that has seen him out of the loop for 20 years, he now lives at home with his aunt and can no longer break through?
Fate winks at Charlie when his oldest childhood friend David invites him back to London to meet his troubled daughter Gabs and his wife, one of the best DJs in the world, Sara.
This meeting will change Charlie's life. Gabs is a little girl who has been ignored by her parents for years and who is given attention in the form of gifts and other material things. But she would like a relationship, time with her parents who, unfortunately, neglect the little girl.
She reacts by assuming an abrupt character with her nannies to the point of inducing them to run away all the time and quit her job.
With Charlie she will immediately get along and David and Sara will entrust him with the task of being "Nanny" to Gabrielle.
From there, a series of well-constructed, albeit predictable, plots will be established, with Charlie dividing his time between his sincere affection for the little girl and his never hidden desire to work with Sara to find a new place in the world dj set.
David will continue to put work first. Sara will start to have second thoughts. Charlie will try to strengthen the whole family.
There will be turning points and hiccups and everything will be handled very lightly for a very light, simple and at times banal series that nevertheless flows away with pleasure.
Without Idris Elba it would be a series to avoid at all costs.
With him some reason to lose 3 hours in his company you can find it.
