Bradley Walsh & Son: Breaking Dad: TV Review

Bradley Walsh & Son: Breaking Dad: TV Review

You'd be hard pressed to find another more genial TV show in these coronavirus times.

Essentially a travelogue cum father son bonding experience, Bradley Walsh & Son: Breaking Dad sees the Chase presenter Bradley Walsh head on a road trip with his son, Barney.

Just turned 21, Barney is a youthful puppy of a lad, a floppy haired, wide-grinning bundle of enthusiasm who's never short of a smile and a desire to get his dad out of his comfort zone.

His dad is older, wiser, but still has an irascible streak that clearly needs to be amused. Walsh Sr is the cheeky dad you've always wanted, a presence that brings out the best of everyone, and never really stops entertaining - he is the consummate professional, but he's still also the guy you'd happily have a beer with once filming's stopped.

Roughly four decades separate the duo, but to be frank, they are father and son goals; their relationship is warmth and geniality - it's hard to imagine them falling out over illegal drinking or not doing homework while sneaking out.

Season 1 saw the boys head from LA to New Orleans, resulting in moments such as seeing Walsh Sr put in an attempt to follow in the footsteps of John Glenn and pushed into centrifuge training, or enjoying an impromptu motorbike ride on the infamous Route 66. It's beyond genial, and difficult to deny.

Season 2 puts them back in the RV and into the Florida states before heading north,taking in Ernest Hemingway's birth place, diving with sharks and some hoverboarding.

And it's easy viewing, nothing challenging, but immensely entertaining.

It's a bite-size travelogue that doesn't challenge the viewer, offers some mini guides to some of the US' more memorable areas, and given we're all unable to travel currently, it offers hope and areas to bookmark in future. But it proves the Walsh charm lives on, and that being game for anything proves to be out-and-out entertaining.

Quintessential family viewing, it shows the Bradley Walsh charm juggernaut shows no sign of slowing down. Perfect family fare, with as many laughs as it has heart, Bradley Walsh & Son: Breaking Dad is the quintessential viewing experience during lockdown times. And to be honest, outside of them as well.

Bradley Walsh & Son: Breaking Dad airs TVNZ 1 on Mondays at 7.30pm and on TVNZ OnDemand.