DISNEY+, NETFLIX, SKY/NOW, AMAZON & BRITBOX 

 

Dopesick

Within a span of 20 years, approximately half a billion Americans have been killed by opioid overdoses. 

This eight-part series, based on a non-fiction bestseller, is a dramatisation of the prescription drugs addiction crisis and follows the overlapping stories of several characters – doctors, big pharma employees, lawyers, patients – affected by the epidemic.

Dopesick is beautifully made and has a host of big names such as Michael Keaton (above, middle) and Rosario Dawson (above, far right) as a DEA agent

Dopesick has a beautiful design and has a number of prominent names like Rosario Dawson (above right, middle) and Michael Keaton(above, center).

It’s beautifully made and has a host of big names such as Michael Keaton as a country doctor, and Rosario Dawson as a DEA agent. It is funny, but it’s not what you would expect from a series on such serious topics. 

Also, the narrative jumps around in time in a way that makes it difficult to keep track of what’s going on. Disney+, Friday

 

Red Notice 

Ryan Reynolds joins Dwayne Johnson for a crime heist in which Reynolds is a famous art thief while Johnson plays an FBI profiler.

Expect rapid-fire banter, fighting and endless chases in a film that does at least allow Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot (above) to show off her comedy chops

You can expect a lot of fighting, banter and chases. This film does not disappoint Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot (above), but it will allow her to showcase her comedy skills. 

You can expect a lot of fighting, banter and chases. This film at least allows Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot her comic skills. Netflix available starting Friday

 

Shang Chi and The Legend Of The Ten Rings

Marvel Comics’ latest adaptation features Simu Liu playing Shang-Chi. He is a master martial artist who must use his talents to assist his sister and father in their dangerous quest for the mythical village. Along the way he’s forced to confront ghosts from his past. Disney+, Friday 

 

Roadkill 

David Hare’s Covid monologue Beat The Devil is on Sky Arts this week, but there’s also a chance to see an earlier offering, with Helen McCrory’s final performance.

In the four-part thriller she plays a prime minister whose tenure is under threat, not least from Hugh Laurie’s MP. But he’s hiding a secret… BritBox is available starting Thursday

 

Passing

Passing refers to the practice of pale-skinned black women choosing to ‘pass’ as white. The story begins when two former childhood friends – Irene (Tessa Thompson) and Clare (Ruth Negga) – meet by chance in Prohibition-era New York. 

In this beautiful film, Thompson and Negga are amazing together. Netflix is available from Wednesday

 

The Deposed

Dramatizing, intense crime drama in an unorthodox setting. The victorious Allies divide Berlin into two zones in 1946. 

The streets – or what’s left of them – are lawless and chaotic, and now a serial killer is at work. Taylor Kitsch is a star along with Nina Hoss and Tuppence Midton. Netflix now

 

Curse Of The Chippendales

The Chippendales made millions weak at the knees in 1980s America with just one flick of their perfectly toned pecs.  

Back in the 1980s, the Chippendales were everywhere... however, as this documentary series reveals, it wasn’t as glamorous as it appeared

Back in the 1980s, the Chippendales were everywhere… however, as this documentary series reveals, it wasn’t as glamorous as it appeared

Members of the dance troupe (like Michael Rapp) seemed to have it all – good looks, money and the adoration of fans. However, as this documentary series reveals, it wasn’t as glamorous as it appeared. Amazon starting Friday

 

The Color Room

Making her big-screen debut, Phoebe Dynevor (who played Daphne in Netflix’s hit period drama Bridgerton) portrays Clarice Cliff in this biopic about the celebrated ceramicist whose very distinctive style of pottery became hugely popular in the 1920s and 1930s and is now much sought after by collectors.

Phoebe Dynevor (above, who played Daphne in Netflix’s hit period drama Bridgerton) portrays Clarice Cliff in this biopic about the celebrated ceramicist

Phoebe Dynevor (above, who played Daphne in Netflix’s hit period drama Bridgerton) portrays Clarice Cliff in this biopic about the celebrated ceramicist

The film traces the rise of the working-class Cliff from young factory worker to feted designer and head of a Staffordshire factory’s artistic department. Kerry Fox, Matthew Goode, and David Morrissey star. Sky/NOW, Friday

TOP TEN DRAMAS ON Apple TV+ TO WATCH THIS WEEK

1. Coda

Ruby is 17 years old and a Coda, which means she’s the child of deaf parents. She discovers that Ruby can sing and must decide between her dreams and family.

2. Jacob Defense

Michelle Dockery and Chris Evans play the roles of the parents in this story about a fourteen-year-old boy, who is made the main suspect in a case involving murder.

3. Physical

Sheila Rubin, Rose Byrne is an 80s-era housewife who has an eating disorder and turns her life around by getting into aerobics.

4. Foundation

Reimagining of Isaac Asimov’s sci-fi classics about a crumbling empire and plans to build back better.

Reese Witherspoon (above) stars in The Morning Show with Jennifer Aniston

Reese Witherspoon is featured in The Morning Show With Jennifer Aniston

5. The Morning Show

Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, and Steve Carell are the stars in this compelling soapy drama that examines the shenanigans of a morning television show.

6. Tehran

This is a thrilling story of a Mossad female agent on her first mission to the Iranian capital.

7. Serve as a servant

Drama about a couple with a lot of money who hires a mysterious, creepy nanny.

8. For all Mankind

Brilliant alternative history of the space race in which the US is playing catch-up after the Russians land a man – and a woman! – on the Moon.

9. Look!

People will become blind in the future if they contract a virus. The power balance changes when children are born.

10. Greyhound

In a film about pacy war, Tom Hanks portrays a US Navy Commander facing deadly U-boats.

BBC iPLAYER, ALL4 & UKTV PLAY

What was the greatest decade of music in 1980s?

Love it or hate it, the pop decade that brought us, variously, Wham!, Bananarama, Annie Lennox, Morrissey, Michael Jackson, S’Express and, er, Joe Dolce certainly had variety. 

Love it or hate it, the 80's is the pop decade that brought us, variously, Wham!, Bananarama, Annie Lennox (above), Morrissey, Michael Jackson, S’Express and, er, Joe Dolce

Love it or hate it, the 80’s is the pop decade that brought us, variously, Wham!, Bananarama, Annie Lennox (above), Morrissey, Michael Jackson, S’Express and, er, Joe Dolce

This authoritative, four-part retrospective is led by Dylan Jones. As he explores hip-hop and indie jangle as well as synth-pop, club culture, and the New Romantics, no stone is unturned. Not to mention Culture Club… BBC iPlayer available now 

 

Bump  

Frank, funny and fearless, Australian comedy drama Bump tells the story of Oly (Nathalie Morris, above), a straight-A student

Frank Bump is an Australian comedy drama that’s funny and brave. It tells the story Oly, (Nathalie) who was a straight-A student.

This comedy drama from Australia is funny, fearless and hilarious. It tells the story Oly (Nathalie) a straight A student who loses her ambitions after having a child. BBC iPlayer available now 

 

My Skin

The fortunes of Bethan, a gay teenager from Wales, are charted. Bethan is determined to keep her troubled home life secret from her peers. BBC iPlayer, starting Sunday 

 

The cleaner

Every episode of Greg Davies’s comedy is available to stream. Wicky is Wicky’s crime-scene cleaner, who often finds unexpected twists in his job. Helena Bonham Carter stars with David Mitchell, Stephanie Cole and Stephanie Cole. BBC iPlayer available now 

 

Witch Hunt

Gripping new eight-part Norwegian drama. Ida, an employee of a law firm discovers that her bosses plan to laundering money for a billionaire businessman. She’s blackmailed into keeping quiet – but will her conscience get the better of her? All4, starting Friday

 

Just Good Friends

John Sullivan of Only Fools And Horses wrote this brilliant take on the notion that a couple can meet five years later after he jilted his wife at the altar. Jan Francis and Paul Nicholas are the stars of Dancing With The Captain. Series 1-3 of UKTV Play.

 

Industry

A group of ambitious graduates compete to be kept on at a prestigious bank in London, starring Harry Lawtey (above) and Myha'la Herrold

An ambitious group of graduates fight for a job at London’s most prestigious bank. Starring Harry Lawtey and Myha’la Herrold

An ambitious group of graduates are competing to keep their jobs at a high-profile bank in London. It’s a high-powered environment and there is a lot of workplace bullying and backstabbing, to say nothing of the drugs, drink and sex. Stars Harry Lawtey and Myha’la Herrold as an American hopeful who has lied to get in. BBC iPlayer available now

Why does there seem to be so much buzz about..

Reservation Dogs (Disney+)

This comedy is about four teens who want to flee their home. 

That doesn’t sound so unusual, but what makes this show, co-created by Taika Waititi, unlike anything else around is that the kids in question – Bear, Elora Danan (played by Devery Jacobs), Willie Jack and Cheese – are Native Americans and their home is a reservation in rural Oklahoma. 

The cast and crew are predominantly indigenous Americans – the showrunner Sterlin Harjo is a member of the Seminole and Muscogee Nations – and the series makes affectionate fun of native culture (you’ll have to google why an owl’s eyes are pixellated in episode three) and sends up stereotypes we’re familiar with from westerns.

Devery Jacobs (above) plays Elora Danan in Reservation Dogs

Devery Jacobs plays Elora in Reservation Dogs

Bear receives advice from an unhelpful spirit guide who is a tired, old-fashioned ancestral spirit guide.

The eight-part series – episodes are less than 30 minutes long – is crammed with pop culture nods. There’s an obvious Tarantino reference in the title, a hint of Stand By Me in the action, and hat-tips to Platoon and Willow.

Harjo stated in an interview that the humor in The Office had influenced him and found it to be similar to Native American humor. 

Reservation Dogs is charming, funny, and strange. It’s also moving as we get to know the characters better and learn about their loss. This is refreshingly new.

Neil Armstrong