From New Amsterdam to Baghdad Central and Dirty Money: The best on demand TV this week   

AMAZON 

New Amsterdam

Based on the book Twelve Patients: Life And Death At Bellevue Hospital by Eric Manheimer, this medical drama stars The Blacklist’s Ryan Eggold as Dr Max Goodwin, the new medical director at one of America’s oldest public hospitals. 

The Blacklist ’s Ryan Eggold (above, with Janet Montgomery) plays Dr Max Goodwin, the new medical director at one of America’s oldest public hospitals in New Amsterdam

As Max begins to reform the neglected facility by tearing up its bureaucracy and firing its surgeons, he also attempts to win back his pregnant wife Georgia (Lisa O’Hare), while his battle against skin cancer takes its toll. Freema Agyeman and Jocko Sims are among the supporting cast. Available now

 

The Test: A New Era For Australia’s Team

When Australian cricket captain Steve Smith was banned for 12 months for ball tampering in 2018, fans around the world reacted with a mixture of glee and horror. This belter of an eight-part docuseries picks up the story in the wake of ‘Sandpapergate’, via the recriminations and tearful press conferences, through to Smith’s stunning redemption on the Ashes tour of England last summer. 

It’s a classic sporting Cinderella story, featuring dressing-room footage as the Aussies’ most talented cricketer faces the music and bats on through the barracking from the stands, in the process clawing his way back from international pariah to national hero. From Thursday

 

NETFLIX

Dirty Money

A second run for the superb US investigative series that exposes brazen acts of corporate greed and corruption, from banking scandals to real-estate schemes. Created by Oscar-winning Alex Gibney, season one lined up Volkswagen, HSBC and Donald Trump. 

Season two of superb US investigative series, Dirty Money, targets, among others, the real-estate activities of Trump’s son-in-law, the ‘Slumlord Millionaire’ Jared Kushner (above)

Season two of superb US investigative series, Dirty Money, targets, among others, the real-estate activities of Trump’s son-in-law, the ‘Slumlord Millionaire’ Jared Kushner (above)

Season two targets the real-estate activities of Trump’s son-in-law, the ‘Slumlord Millionaire’ Jared Kushner, while a fascinating film follows the life cycle of gold, from South America’s illegal cartel mines to US financial institutions and products such as mobile phones, with lives devastated along the way. 

If Panorama had a big budget… From Tuesday

 

Marc Maron: End Times Fun

US stand-up and cultural commentator Maron is best known for his weekly interview WTF podcast, recorded in his garage. Memorable episodes since its debut in 2009 have featured Robin Williams, Sean Penn and Barack Obama. 

He also stars in Netflix’s wrestling comedy GLOW as coach Sam Sylvia and had a cameo in Joker

Now, the cynic’s comic of choice releases his second Netflix stand-up special, sounding off on the end of the world (‘All of us, in our hearts, really know that we did everything we could… we brought our own bag to the supermarket. Yeah, that’s about it.’), brand marketing/fascism and ‘grown male nerd children’. He’s not Brad Pitt’s favourite comedian for nothing. From Tuesday

 

Lost Girls

When 24-year-old Shannan Gilbert disappears, her mother Mari (Amy Ryan) is determined to find out what happened, but the police don’t seem to be interested in searching for a ‘missing prostitute’. 

Then the bodies of other women start turning up on Long Island. A serial killer is at large but crucial evidence goes uncollected or is lost. Incompetence or cover-up? 

Based on real events, this dark, downbeat drama focuses on Mari’s search for the truth. An epilogue contains a devastating disclosure. From Friday

 

The Mind Of Aaron Hernandez

Imagine if, at the height of his success at Manchester United, David Beckham murdered his wife Victoria’s sister’s boyfriend in cold blood and then calmly played football at the weekend, scoring a goal in the process. Then imagine that while this crime was being investigated, it turns out he killed two other men years before and managed to get it covered up. 

This is what happened to Aaron Hernandez while playing for the New England Patriots American football team – a team at the height of its powers. 

That these aren’t the end of the shocking revelations in this documentary is reason enough why you should give this three-parter a watch. Available now

 

Apollo 11

From the moment the film opens, with a wide-angle colour view of a Nasa crawler slowly moving the enormous Saturn V rocket to the launchpad, you know you’re in for something special. 

This stunning documentary marking the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission proves a stark reminder of what a crazily perilous journey the crew (Neil Armstrong, above) undertook

This stunning documentary marking the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission proves a stark reminder of what a crazily perilous journey the crew (Neil Armstrong, above) undertook

The film-makers waded through 11,000 audio recordings and hundreds of hours of video for this stunning documentary celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon mission. 

The previously unreleased colour footage of the launch (and eventual rescue) is breathtaking, while the fraught communications between the astronauts and mission control as alarms begin sounding in the space capsule are a stark reminder of what a crazily perilous journey the crew – Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins – were undertaking. Unmissable. Available now

Why is there such a buzz about..? 

The Goop Lab (Netflix)

Gwyneth Paltrow's (above) The Goop Lab has sparked plenty of healthy debate

Gwyneth Paltrow’s (above) The Goop Lab has sparked plenty of healthy debate

When this six-part series, produced by and starring Gwyneth Paltrow, was launched in January, the headlines inevitably focused on the ‘orgasm episode’, in which she visits a clinic designed to teach women to be more in touch with their bodies. The week before the series launched she brought out a candle called ‘This Smells Like My Vagina’, which became the main talking point, even though it isn’t actually featured on the show. 

Orgasm clinics and vagina-scented candles aside, the series has since become a huge talking point with a rising number of viewers as it does actually feature some interesting arguments. It covers subjects such as how cold swimming can improve the immune system and how the use of controlled doses of psychedelics such as magic mushrooms can be used to treat anxiety issues. 

The series might have been criticised by some for its unproven ‘pseudoscience’, but it has also sparked plenty of healthy debate about the validity of the alternative therapies that Gwyneth and her Goop team put to the test.

Kirsty Tyler 

 

SKY/NOV TV & BRITBOX

Babylon Berlin

The most expensive non-English language series ever made is a stunning TV treat with spectacular set pieces, amazing sets and gorgeous costumes. It has become a global hit of proportions unprecedented for a German show. 

In the previous two seasons, chief inspector Gereon Rath (Volker Bruch) and his charming, streetwise sidekick Charlotte Ritter (Liv Lisa Fries) have tangled with Nazis, communists and gangsters in Weimar Berlin, a febrile, decadent city of the desperate. This series kicks off with the murder of a film star by a sinister masked figure. Sky/NOW, available now

 

The Twilight Zone

A revival of the influential Fifties sci-fi horror anthology show. This season of ten morality tales with a twist includes some based on stories from the original series. 

It’s executive produced by Get Out and Us director Jordan Peele, who also appears in each episode as the narrator delivering a brief introduction and a salutary message at the end. 

The opener, Nightmare At 30,000 Feet, is a homage to one of the best-known original episodes. Not one for nervous fliers. Sky/NOW, available now

 

Broad City

Created by Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, this odd-couple sitcom is based on the pair’s real-life friendship and their attempts to make it in New York. 

Marijuana enthusiast Ilana seeks to avoid working as much as possible, while Abbi tries to make a career as an illustrator but often gets sidetracked into her mate’s outlandish schemes. 

Among the guest stars over the five seasons are the executive producer Amy Poehler, as well as Hillary Clinton and Ru Paul. Sky On Demand, available now

 

Babylon

Created by Danny Boyle, Robert Jones and Peep Show’s Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, this only ran for seven episodes in 2014. Brit Marling stars as American Liz Garvey, who’s tasked with dragging the Met into the 21st century by police commissioner Richard Miller (James Nesbitt). Look out for Bertie Carvel, Paterson Joseph, Nicola Walker and Daniel Kaluuya among the cast. BritBox, available now

 

The New Pope

Jude Law won plaudits for his performance in Paolo Sorrentino’s The Young Pope, playing Lenny Belardo, the former Archbishop of New York who becomes Pope Pius XIII and causes upheaval in the Vatican. 

Sir John Brannox (John Malkovich, above), a charming English aristocrat with a dark past, is placed on the papal throne in this sequel to The Young Pope

Sir John Brannox (John Malkovich, above), a charming English aristocrat with a dark past, is placed on the papal throne in this sequel to The Young Pope

As this sequel begins, the Supreme Pontiff is in a coma after several failed heart transplants. Sir John Brannox (John Malkovich), a charming English aristocrat, is placed on the papal throne, adopting the name John Paul III. 

The new pope seems perfect, but he is concealing a dark past which his enemies use to their advantage. Sky On Demand, from Wed

  

BBC iPLAYER, ALL 4 & ITV HUB 

Baghdad Central

This superior six-part drama may have slipped your viewing radar but it’s well worth a catch-up. Following the fall of Saddam Hussein, former police inspector Muhsin al-Khafaji (Altered Carbon star Waleed Zuaiter) has lost virtually everything – his job, his house and his wife.

This superior six-part drama set after the fall of  Saddam Hussein may have slipped your viewing radar but it’s well worth a catch-up. Above: Clara Khoury

This superior six-part drama set after the fall of  Saddam Hussein may have slipped your viewing radar but it’s well worth a catch-up. Above: Clara Khoury

He then finds himself attempting to track down his missing, estranged elder daughter Mrouj (July Namir), a search that takes him up against her femme-fatale university tutor Zubeida (Clara Khoury). 

Eventually, a case of mistaken identity sees Khafaji arrested and tortured at the hands of the US military, before former British cop Frank Temple (Bertie Carvel) recruits him as a police officer in the Green Zone. All 4, available now

 

White House Farm

Widely acclaimed, this six-part drama revolves around the horrific real-life murders of Nevill Bamber, his wife June, their adopted daughter Sheila Caffell (a model nicknamed ‘Bambi’, played here by Cressida Bonas) and her two sons, Daniel and Nicholas Caffell, in August 1985. 

The police, in particular head officer DCI Thomas ‘Taff’ Jones (played by Stephen Graham), initially believe that Sheila killed her sons and parents before committing suicide. 

However, the dissenting DS Stan Jones (Mark Addy) has other ideas and eventually focuses his investigation on Jeremy Bamber (Freddie Fox), the murdered couple’s adopted son. ITV Hub, ends Friday (BritBox, from Thursday)

 

Liar

Last Chance To See 

Rio And Kate: Becoming A Stepfamily

This intimate film follows the Ferdinands as Rio’s fiancée Kate adapts to becoming a mother to the former footballer’s three children. 

The couple open up as they deal with the challenges of becoming a stepfamily. BBC iPlayer, ends Friday 

Harry and Jack Williams’s addictive thriller returned to ITV last week, and viewers who missed the first series have just a few days left to catch up before starting on the second run. 

The drama kicks off with the ultimate he said/she said scenario – the morning after a seemingly innocuous first date between Joanne Froggatt’s recently single schoolteacher and Ioan Gruffudd’s attractive, widowed surgeon, accusations of rape begin to emerge. But who is telling the truth? ITV Hub, ends Wednesday

 

Tyson Fury: The Gypsy King

The new WBC heavyweight champion of the world and destroyer of boxing’s most fearsome puncher, Deontay Wilder, is, it turns out, just a big old softie who dotes on wife Paris and his five young kids (three sons, all called Prince, and daughters Venezuela and Valencia Amber). 

The Gypsy King was filmed across a year for this frank and funny three-part series – part ‘at home with’, part ‘in training camp with’. Fury is a compelling character, one minute opening up his troubled heart about his mental struggles, the next absconding off to the pub with his mates. 

Reminiscent of classic reality show The Osbournes, it’s as chaotically entertaining as the man himself. ITV Hub, available now

 

FILMS 

Le Mans 66

It’s probably the most remarkable motor-racing story you’ve never heard of: how a cantankerous, middle-aged British mechanic ended up spearheading Ford’s attempt to unseat Ferrari at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1966. 

Christian Bale (above) and Matt Damon are perfectly paired as Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby in this retelling of the most remarkable motor-racing story you’ve probably never heard of

Christian Bale (above) and Matt Damon are perfectly paired as Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby in this retelling of the most remarkable motor-racing story you’ve probably never heard of

Christian Bale and Matt Damon are perfectly paired as the gifted driver (Ken Miles) and his endlessly patient team boss (Carroll Shelby), and the high-speed retro action – all tyre smoke and beautiful Sixties sports cars – is a joy to watch. Sky Store & Rakuten, from Monday

Sorry We Missed You

Misery maestro Ken Loach aims an acerbic blow at today’s heartless ‘gig economy’. In Newcastle, father-of-two Ricky Turner (Kris Hitchen) is trying to haul his family out of debt. He signs on as a delivery driver, operating without holiday, sick pay or job security. Inevitably, things go wrong, but for Loach it’s the effect on his family that’s important. 

Their fracturing relationship proves the lie to the jargon-driven, can-do attitude that zero-hours culture thrives on. Don’t look for a happy ending. Instead, Loach makes a compelling and hard-hitting point. Sky Store, from Monday

 

Last Christmas

Emilia Clarke swaps the dragons of Game Of Thrones for an elf costume, working in a festive-themed shop and addicted to one-night stands and the music of Wham!. 

Emilia Clarke swaps the dragons of Game Of Thrones for an elf costume, working in a festive-themed shop and addicted to one-night stands and the music of Wham! in Last Christmas

Emilia Clarke swaps the dragons of Game Of Thrones for an elf costume, working in a festive-themed shop and addicted to one-night stands and the music of Wham! in Last Christmas

Bursting with goodwill for all, it’s a film to lighten a sodden March evening. Sky Store & Rakuten, from Monday