Brian and Maggie, on PBS

When he was in Parliament, Brian Walden was sort of like Labour’s Joe Manchin. He grew up culturally identifying with the Party, but became increasingly uncomfortable with its socialist extremists. As a result, when he joined the media as a long-form interviewer, Thatcher identified him as someone she could “do business” with. She was right, up until 1989. That fateful interview gets the Frost-Nixon treatment in the two-part Brian and Maggie, directed by Stephen Frears, which premieres tonight on PBS.

But seriously, shouldn’t it be called, Maggie and Brian? Thatcher remains a towering figure of 20^th Century history, but who remembers Walden, beyond British Gen X’ers (and older viewers)? Regardless, he was a prominent fixture of the early 1980s media landscape. Much to his London Weekend Television colleagues’ frustration, Walden developed a cordial relationship with Thatcher during her rise to power and the early years of her administration.

In fact, the first episode is surprisingly fair to Thatcher, essentially admitting, via Walden, that the UK was stagnating under socialism and desperately needed economic liberalization to spur competitiveness. Frears and screenwriter James Graham also show how Thatcher and Walden bonded through their similar lower economic backgrounds and commitment to meritocracy for all. In fact, the acknowledgement of the sexism the future Baroness Thatcher faced, even within her party, leads to Walden’s understanding why she can never admit weakness, which he exploits in the second episode.

Essentially, Thatcher’s downfall comes because she refuses to cop to any mistakes leading up to the resignation of her Chancellor, Nigel Lawson. Tell the truth, when was the last time you thought about Nigel Lawson? As presented by Graham, their key bone of contention was Thatcher’s close professional relationship with economic advisor Alan Walters, but the underlying issue was how tightly the exchange rate for the pound should be tied to Europe.

Lawson wanted to peg the Pound to the then Deutschmark at a rate of one to three, while Thatcher and Walters opposed exchange rate controls. Given Brexit and the austerity forced on many EU nations after relinquishing their ability to set national monetary policy, Thatcher’s skepticism of tying the Pound to Europe seems entirely vindicated. Consequently, it is hard to believe Walden’s interview could be so damaging—yet it was at the time.

Regardless, Steve Coogan is rather amusing channeling the blunt working-class common sense of Walden. Frears conspicuously favors Walden over Thatcher, but Harriet Walter’s performance still probably represents the most sympathetic on-screen portrayal of the “Iron Lady” to date, but there is pathetically little competition for that title. Indeed, she humanizes Thatcher to a surprising extent, but she struggles to convey her forcefulness and utterly fails to capture her quick wit.

Frankly, viewers can probably start with the first episode and then call it a day. You can almost see the production struggling to lash out at Thatcher, but Walden’s mostly moderating presence keeps Frears and company restrained. Imperfect, but maybe worth starting, Brian and Maggie starts airing tonight (10/5) on PBS.