The Sunday Times Culture – September 6, 2026

Summary

"Actors? They are superficial, narcissistic egotists," says Camille Cottin in The Sunday Times Culture (6 September 2026), returning as Andre-a in Call My Agent! The Movie after a five-year break — she collected Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and George Clooney as co-stars, and still can't enter Horse Guards Parade after a 2013 sketch. Sebastian Faulks names the French drama The Line as the first television to make him cry, while Rose Tremain discusses rewriting Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca after recovering from pancreatic cancer.

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The 6 September Culture issue leads with Jonathan Dean's 4-page Cottin interview, covering her journey from teaching English in Paris to becoming one of Hollywood's most in-demand French actors (she adds Clooney's Call My Agent! cameo to her Pitt and Damon collaborations). Susie Goldsbrough spends a week watching YouTube to map what the world actually streams. Rory Kinnear transforms into John Maynard Keynes on stage. Charlotte Ivers calls time on Trigger Point and Vigil as the final straw for crime-show fatigue. Patricia Nicol questions the BBC's decision to axe Crossing Continents and cut Radio 4. Rose Tremain's Book interview covers her Rebecca rewrite and pancreatic cancer recovery. The week's TV and radio listings fill 10 pages of scheduling detail.

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Sebastian Faulks contributes My Picks of the Week, recommending the French series The Line (ITVX), Radio 4's Add to Playlist, Pallant House Gallery's British Landscapes exhibition (until November 1) and novels by William Boyd, Jennifer Galva-o and Alice Winn. Paul Heaton's JENIUS is Album of the Week — four stars across multiple reviews — with a UK tour already sold out from Newcastle to the O2. The issue closes with full TV and radio listings for the week ahead. A compact, interview-led culture section that covers film, television, theatre, books, radio and visual art without waste.

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Content Guide

▸ Cover Story

p.4 · 'Actors? They are superficial, narcissistic egotists': Camille Cottin
Jonathan Dean interviews Cottin in Paris as she returns for Call My Agent! The Movie. She describes the industry as "money. Superficiality. Frivolity. Narcissism. Egocentricity." The film collects George Clooney alongside Pitt and Damon — "I still need Julia Roberts," she says. Cottin's earlier series Connasse got her banned from Horse Guards in London. Her rule for any actor: take roles that let you laugh at yourself before anyone else does.

▸ Arts

p.6 · A week watching YouTube: what the world is streaming
Susie Goldsbrough spends seven days on YouTube to map the global attention economy — from MrBeast-style stunts to niche creators. The piece argues YouTube has replaced broadcast television for under-30s. For any media professional: this is the competitor you should be studying, not Netflix.

p.10 · Rory Kinnear transforms into John Maynard Keynes
The actor discusses his stage transformation into the economist. No further text available in the extract.

▸ Critics

p.15 · Television: Charlotte Ivers on Trigger Point and Vigil
Ivers argues the current wave of crime series has reached saturation point, with Trigger Point and Vigil as the final straw. The column explains what the genre has lost by abandoning the one-case-per-episode format.

p.16 · Audio: Patricia Nicol on BBC cuts to Crossing Continents
Nicol questions the BBC's decision to cut Crossing Continents and make cuts at Radio 4. She frames the issue as a loss of international reporting depth in favour of cheaper formats.

▸ Books

p.20 · Rose Tremain: rewriting Rebecca after pancreatic cancer
Tremain discusses her rewrite of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca and her recovery from pancreatic cancer. The interview covers the responsibility of handling a beloved classic and the perspective illness gives to a writing career.

p.22 · Book of the Week: 1,500 years in one Devon village
A micro-history tracing one Devon settlement across 15 centuries. The reviewer argues that place-based history offers more insight than sweeping national narratives.

p.26 · Biography: Anita Brookner — Cambridge spies and astonishing lectures
A new biography of the Booker-winning novelist and art historian, covering her double life as a Cambridge academic and a novelist of quiet emotional devastation.

▸ Regulars

p.12 · Sebastian Faulks: My Picks of the Week
Faulks chooses ITVX's The Line (a French wartime drama "the first TV to make me cry"), Radio 4's Add to Playlist (which weaves Monteverdi to grime), Pallant House Gallery's British Landscapes exhibition (until November 1), and three novels — William Boyd's Cold Sunset, Jennifer Galva-o's Maria, Maria, and Alice Winn's Worship.

p.17 · Hadley Freeman: takes aim at Robin Hood
Our new film critic's debut column.

p.29 · TV & Radio Listings: full week's guide
Ten pages of scheduled programming across all major channels.

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Editor's Take

The Camille Cottin cover story is excellent — Dean draws out her wit and her sharp assessment of her own industry without making the piece feel like a promotional puff. The interview works because Cottin is willing to be critical; her line about actors being narcissistic egotists lands because she includes herself. Sebastian Faulks's Picks column adds genuine cultural authority. Weaknesses: Susie Goldsbrough's YouTube piece is a compelling premise but the execution reads as a stunt that doesn't deliver a strong enough conclusion. The Rory Kinnear and Rose Tremain entries are listed but the extract doesn't provide enough text to judge the finished pieces. The back half is dominated by TV listings — useful for the week ahead but not editorial content. Charlotte Ivers's crime-show fatigue column is a critic making a personal preference sound like a structural argument. Best for readers who want a tight, interview-led culture section that moves fast and doesn't pad.

Strengths
• Camille Cottin interview is sharp, quotable, genuinely critical of the industry
• Sebastian Faulks's Picks column provides high-cultural-signal recommendations
• Compact structure — interview, screen, theatre, books, listings — no filler

Weaknesses
• YouTube piece premise overpromises and the conclusion is soft
• TV listings take up 10 pages of a 30-page section
• Rory Kinnear and Rose Tremain pieces lack extractable substance

Verdict: Selective read — the Cottin interview is the only must-read; the rest is competent but forgettable weekly culture coverage.