APPLE TV+, SKY, BRITBOX & ACORN TV
Dickinson
Quirky comedy drama about the great American poet Emily Dickinson, whose genius was unrecognised during her lifetime. In the show, which takes inspiration from her poetry as well as her life, Emily (Hailee Steinfeld) is a young woman, scornful of convention and ambitious as a writer but uncertain about the prospect of fame.
She’s also in love with her best friend Sue who, at the end of season one, marries Emily’s brother. The evidence suggests that real-life Emily was also in love with her sister-in-law, once writing to her: ‘We are the only poets and everyone else is prose.’
In the show, which takes inspiration from her poetry as well as her life, Emily Dickinson (Hailee Steinfeld, above) is a young woman, scornful of convention and ambitious as a writer
Although it’s 19th Century New England, characters use modern vernacular and there is a rock and pop soundtrack. Apple TV+, from Friday
Care/Moving On
Jimmy McGovern’s work is always socially significant, and Care, a feature-length drama, is as relevant as ever. Sheridan Smith plays a single mother forced to become her own mum’s carer; Alison Steadman plays the matriarch who has been incapacitated by a stroke.
Sheridan Smith plays a single mother forced to become her own mum’s carer; Alison Steadman (above, with Smith) plays the matriarch who has been incapacitated by a stroke
Moving On, meanwhile, is an anthology drama tackling a variety of issues and featuring impressive casts. Sheila Hancock, Ian Hart and Jenny Agutter are among those featured in the first two series. Acorn TV, from Monday
A Discovery Of Witches
The second season of Sky’s cult occult hit based on Deborah Harkness’s bestselling fantasy novels sees Diana and her vampire boyfriend Matthew in Elizabethan London, hanging out with Christopher Marlowe and Walter Raleigh.
Diana needs to find a witch to teach her how to control her magic, but the witches of England are nervous because their sisters in Scotland are being cruelly persecuted. Meanwhile, Matthew has to resume his old job as a spy for the Queen.
And they’re still trying to find out more about the Book Of Life, which holds secrets about the past – and possibly the future – of witches, vampires and daemons. Sky/NOW TV, from Friday
Sharpe
Paul McGann was all set to play the hero in adaptations of Bernard Cornwell’s novels set during the Napoleonic Wars. However, a broken leg meant that Sean Bean had to step in to save the day – and the rest is history.
Paul McGann was all set to play the hero. However, a broken leg meant that Sean Bean (above, with Liz Hurley) had to step in to save the day – and the rest is history
The steely Sheffielder made the character his own, as you’ll see by watching 15 films from the hugely popular series. BritBox, from Thursday
Band Of Brothers
Searing Second World War drama based on the exploits of US parachute infantry unit ‘Easy’ Company, which fought its way to Germany to capture the Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s mountaintop retreat in the Alps.
Produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, who had previously made Saving Private Ryan together, and featuring terrific performances from a great cast including Damian Lewis and Donnie Wahlberg, episodes start with interviews with some of the veterans portrayed in the series.
A modern, deeply moving classic. Sky/NOW TV, available now
Old-School Classics: New Term
Highlights include Rentaghost and Maid Marian And Her Merry Men, plus Mr Benn (above) and Jon Pertwee’s original take on Worzel Gummidge
If you’re a viewer of a certain age, take a trip down memory lane as BritBox expands its collection of cult children’s shows. Highlights include Rentaghost and Maid Marian And Her Merry Men, plus Mr Benn and Jon Pertwee’s original take on Worzel Gummidge.
Watch out for some familiar faces before they were famous in Grange Hill, too. BritBox, from Thursday
BBC iPLAYER, ITV HUB & ALL 4
Rebecka Martinsson: Arctic Murders
The Swedish thriller, based on a series of bestselling novels by Åsa Larsson, makes a welcome return to TV. Sascha Zacharias stars in the title role, a prosecutor who has swapped Stockholm for her old home town of Kiruna.
But if she thought life would have a slower, less stressful pace, she’s very wrong. Her latest case involves a feud between members of the Sami people. It erupts into violence amid allegations of poaching, and a reindeer herder ends up dead.
The community prefers to deal with its problems internally, so Rebecka’s efforts to get to the bottom of the matter are met with hostility. Caroline Johansson Kuhmunen (above) co-stars
The community prefers to deal with its problems internally, so Rebecka’s efforts to get to the bottom of the matter are met with hostility. Caroline Johansson Kuhmunen co-stars. All 4, from Friday
Peaky Blinders
Paul McCartney recently revealed he passed the time during lockdown making his new album and watching all five series of Steven Knight’s much admired period crime drama (starring Helen McCrory).
Paul McCartney recently revealed he passed the time during lockdown watching all five series of Steven Knight’s much admired period crime drama (starring Helen McCrory, above)
While you may not feel capable of creating an acclaimed collection of 11 songs, you could still follow in Macca’s footsteps by catching up with the nefarious Shelby clan and their cohorts, who inflict stylised violence on anyone who crosses their path in post-First World War Birmingham. BBC iPlayer, available now
The Sir David Attenborough Collection
He’s been an educational, entertaining and iconic force to be reckoned with since the 1950s, and now we can relive some of Attenborough’s finest small-screen moments, courtesy of this box set.
Packed with amazing footage, it includes programmes from the naturalist’s early TV career, including Zoo Quest and more recent ventures – Dynasties (above) and The Blue Planet
Packed with amazing footage, it includes programmes from the naturalist’s early TV career, including Zoo Quest, landmark shows such as Life On Earth and more recent ventures – Dynasties, The Blue Planet and its sequel being the pick of an impressive bunch. BBC iPlayer, available now
Billy Connolly: It’s Been A Pleasure…
The much loved comedian is, to paraphrase Monty Python, an ex-stand-up – he’s announced he has now retired from the comedy scene. Thankfully, many of his most memorable gags and stories have been recorded for posterity, and here he looks back at some of them alongside wife Pamela Stephenson at their Florida home.
Famous friends Paul McCartney, Dustin Hoffman and Whoopi Goldberg offer their views on his enduring appeal. ITV Hub, available now
I Am Greta
Before 2018, Greta Thunberg was simply a Swedish schoolgirl with an interest in environmental issues. But that all changed when she went on strike from school in an effort to raise awareness of climate issues, inspiring others to do the same.
Before 2018, Greta Thunberg (above) was simply a Swedish schoolgirl with an interest in environmental issues. But that all changed when she went on strike from school
Now 18, Thunberg has received international recognition for her efforts to change the world by confronting politicians and talking candidly about what we can all do to make a difference.
This documentary follows her rise to prominence. BBC iPlayer, from today
Carol Vorderman: Closer To Home
The former Countdown alumnus makes an emotional journey back to her roots in North Wales. She begins in her home town of Prestatyn, where she shares stories of her childhood, finds out how things have changed for women and meets locals.
Vorderman also chats to an award-winning blacksmith and goes dog-sledding. BBC iPlayer, from Tuesday
NETFLIX
Pieces Of A Woman
Vanessa Kirby (far right), best known for her Bafta-winning turn as a younger Princess Margaret in TV’s The Crown, is putting together a promising Hollywood film career, helped by performances in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw and in Mission: Impossible.
Pieces Of A Woman is a very different sort of picture. Directed by the Hungarian film-maker Kornél Mundruczó, it’s a searingly intense drama in which Kirby is nomination-grabbingly good as a young Boston woman whose life threatens to fall apart after a long-planned home birth goes tragically wrong.
Vanessa Kirby (above), best known for her Bafta-winning turn as a younger Princess Margaret in TV’s The Crown, is putting together a promising Hollywood film career
Shia LaBeouf is almost as good as her construction worker husband, and Ellen Burstyn plays her overbearing mother. MB From Thursday
Equinox
Creepy six-part Danish series from the producer of the original Scandi noir, The Killing. Two decades ago, Astrid’s sister Ida disappeared. Now Astrid, host of a radio phone-in, gets a call from someone claiming to know what happened and babbling about ‘another reality’ and a mysterious ‘book’.
Might it be something to do with a pagan cult? Isn’t it always? A paranormal procedural with superior knitwear. Available now
Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina
The second half of the second and final series of the dark YA horror drama about teenage witch Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka). Our heroes are battling a new ‘Big Bad’, as it used to be called in Buffy The Vampire Slayer, to which this show owes a big debt.
The second half of the second and final series of the dark YA horror drama about teenage witch Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka, above)
This time it’s the Eldritch Terrors and the entire world is at risk. Can Sabrina and her friends save it? Available now
Cobra Kai
The Karate Kid sequel is back for its third series. This ten-parter may take place 30 years after the events of the film, but the tension between Daniel (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny (William Zabka) continues.
This ten-parter may take place 30 years after the events of the film, but the tension between Daniel and Johnny continues. Jacob Bertrand (above) co-stars
This time, Daniel searches his past for answers about the future. Jacob Bertrand co-stars. Available now
AMAZON & STARZPLAY
The Stand
Hands up who wants to watch a nine-episode drama about the aftermath of a pandemic in which a flu-like virus – the first symptom is a persistent cough – wipes out 99 per cent of the world’s population?
The few survivors of the virus, who appear to be immune to it, split into two factions and we get a standard King-style battle between good and evil. Heather Graham (above) co-stars
The timing is perhaps not the best for this adaptation of Stephen King’s huge novel. The few survivors of the virus, who appear to be immune to it, split into two factions, one led by the mysterious but kindly Mother Abagail (Whoopi Goldberg) and the other by the satanic Randall Flagg (Alexander Skarsgård) and we get a standard King-style battle between good and evil.
Heather Graham co-stars. StarzPlay, from today
This Is Us
After a first half of the season that incorporated both the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests into the multi-generational tale of the Pearson family, the emotionally charged US drama returns.
Some of the big questions fans are hoping will soon be answered include the fate of Randall’s (Sterling K. Brown) birth mother and whether his sister Kate (Chrissy Metz) will get the second child she and her husband have been hoping for. Amazon, from Thursday
Robin’s Wish
Documentary looking at the last days of comedian and actor Robin Williams, who took his own life in August 2014, aged 63, his mind ravaged by a severe form of dementia.
There was initially speculation that drugs, drink or debt must have somehow been involved, but the people he worked with on his final projects knew something was wrong with the once-hyperactive and quick-witted comic.
Williams told the director Shawn Levy: ‘I’m not me any more.’ Features contributions from friends, family and colleagues. Amazon, Sky, Rakuten, Virgin, iTunes & Chili, from Monday