From Jack Thorne’s The Eddy to Warrior and Tom Hardy in Taboo: The best on demand TV this week

NETFLIX

The Eddy

The Eddy is a jazz club in an unfashionable part of Paris. It’s owned by Elliot (André Holland), an American musician who’s fighting to keep the place running while trying to get his difficult relationship with his teenage daughter back on track. 

There’s a shocking death in the first episode but, despite the drama, this arty, eight-part series feels like a vehicle for the music more than anything else. 

Joanna Kulig features as a hard-drinking singer in a show where performances and jams are all filmed on jerky hand-held cameras. It’s written by Jack Thorne, of Harry Potter And The Cursed Child fame, and the first two parts are directed by La La Land’s Damien Chazelle. From Friday

 

The Wrong Missy

David Spade heads the cast of this silly but charming romantic comedy. He plays Tim who, after years of searching, thinks he’s finally found the woman of his dreams. After a bout of online flirting he asks her to accompany him to his company’s corporate retreat on an island resort. 

Or at least that’s what he thinks he’s done – until a former blind date, with whom he spent the evening from hell, turns up at the airport. There are no prizes for guessing what happens next, but it’s a lot of fun watching it all pan out. From Friday

 

Becoming

This documentary is an intimate look behind the scenes of the life of former US First Lady Michelle Obama as she embarks on a 34-city tour to promote her memoir. After eight years in the White House, she is struck by the sense of community she encounters and the power created from people sharing stories. From Wednesday.

 

The Tiger King And I

Tiger King took the world by storm with 64 million viewers tuning in to learn about the crazy life of eccentric, mullet-sporting zoo owner Joe Exotic, who kept more than 200 tigers and lions at his animal park in Oklahoma. The Netflix series focuses on Joe’s bitter rivalry with animal-rights activist Carole Baskin. Their feud becomes so intense that he hires a hitman to kill her. 

Netflix has now released this new ‘aftershow’, which is every bit as entertaining. Comedian and super-fan Joel McHale catches up with some key members of the cast. The zoo’s head keeper Erik Cowie still works at the zoo, while owner Jeff Lowe is also interviewed, as is former employee Saff Saffery, whose arm was bitten off by a tiger. 

Meanwhile, John Reinke, the former zoo manager with two amputated legs, says he’d like Matthew McConaughey to play him in the planned Tiger King film. Sadly, Carole Baskin is not seen in this footnote, and Joe Exotic is serving a 22-year sentence that everyone seems to agree was thoroughly well deserved. Available now

 

Dead To Me

A powerful friendship blossoms between widow Jen (Christina Applegate), whose husband was killed by a hit-and-run driver, and Judy (Linda Cardellini), who grieves for her fiancé, when they meet at a therapy group for bereft spouses in this black comedy series. 

The different ways they deal with their grief leads to a deep bond between them, but things soon turn sour when Judy’s dark secret causes a disturbing plot twist, ending the first season on a dramatic cliffhanger. 

Picking up in the aftermath of a bloody backyard reveal, the irrepressible pair once again struggle to keep their secrets buried in season two. With a surprising new visitor in town, a character returning from the dead and Detective Perez (Diana-Maria Riva) hot on their heels, Jen and Judy take drastic measures to protect their loved ones and each other, no matter the cost. From Friday

 

SKY/NOW, BRITBOX, DISNEY + & VIRGIN

Warrior 

Based on a concept created by Bruce Lee (his daughter Shannon is one of the executive producers), this action series takes place during the Tong gang wars in late-1870s San Francisco. 

British actor Andrew Koji, whose previous work includes appearances in Call The Midwife and Peaky Blinders, plays Ah Sahm, a Chinese martial-arts prodigy who travels to America in search of his missing sister. His arrival isn’t a happy one – Ah Sahm is sold to a gangster and becomes embroiled in dangerous events out of his control. NOW TV/Sky On Demand, available now

 

A Fine Romance

Remember this gentle sitcom from the days when Judi Dench was yet to become an international star? The series was written by The Good Life co-creator Bob Larbey and sees Dench play Laura, a translator whose sister lines her up with shy gardener Mike (Dench’s late, real-life husband Michael Williams). 

The pair are, however, like chalk and cheese, and over the course of four series (all of which are being made available) we see them get together, break up and reunite several times. 

Delightful and with some delicious one-liners, they don’t make them like this any more. Dench also sings the theme tune and reteamed with Larbey for As Time Goes By a decade later. BritBox, from Thursday

 

Flack

Sam Neill first worked with Anna Paquin when she was a precocious ten-year-old. He played her stepfather in period drama The Piano; she won an Oscar for her role as Holly Hunter’s daughter. They reunite 27 years later in the slick comedy-drama’s second series. 

He plays Duncan, who is about to rekindle his relationship with his ex-wife and London PR company boss Caroline (Sophie Okonedo). Robyn (Paquin), meanwhile, pulls out all the stops at Caroline’s firm, despite multiple problems in her private life. Sky/Virgin, available now

 

Prop Culture

Presenter Dan Lanigan is like a kid in a sweet shop throughout this eight-part series. A collector of movie memorabilia, he has been let loose inside the Disney archives, which store costumes, props, set designs and more from much-loved films such as the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise, Mary Poppins, The Muppet Movie and The Nightmare Before Christmas. 

Lanigan discusses each object he finds with those who created it and the actors who used them – and then he puts them back where he found them, of course. Disney+, available now

 

Code 404

Stephen Graham plays it for laughs in this new show – and that alone makes this comedy worth tuning in for. Daniel Mays plays John Major (not that one), a detective who is killed during an undercover sting. 

However, the small matter of death doesn’t prevent him from doing his duty and he returns as part of an AI initiative, allowing him to work alongside his old partner Roy Carver (Graham). But it soon becomes clear that John isn’t quite the man he used to be… NOW TV/Sky on Demand, now available

 

To Walk Invisible

How did three sisters living in a parsonage on the edge of the Yorkshire moors come to write some of the greatest, most enduring novels in the English language? 

Writer and director Sally Wainwright’s intense two-hour drama focuses on the dynamics of a family beset by money worries, exploring Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë’s relationships with each other and with their wastrel brother Branwell. 

Tremendous performances from the whole cast but Chloe Pirrie as Wuthering Heights author Emily is particularly brilliant. BritBox, from Thursday

 

In Search Of Greatness

Built around interviews with football legend Pelé, Canadian ice hockey player Wayne ‘the Great One’ Gretzky and American footballer Jerry Rice, this documentary explores just what it is that makes record-breaking athletes better than everyone else. It’s not necessarily speed or strength or build. It’s something more difficult to measure or quantify: creativity. Various digital platforms, from Wednesday

 

The Mandalorian

Monday is unofficially known as Star Wars Day (as in ‘May the Fourth be with you’), and to mark that occasion Disney+ has the global premiere of not one but two huge Star Wars properties. 

First is the debut – for free – of the most recent film, The Rise Of Skywalker, and second is a new series that goes behind the scenes on its own, The Mandalorian. 

Add in the fact that the series is also available as a bingeable box set from today and it’s enough to keep any budding Jedi happy. Disney+, from Monday

 

    

BBC iPLAYER, ALL 4 & YOUTUBE

Taboo

There’s lovable Tom Hardy who reads children’s stories on CBeebies (funny how many mums stick around to watch when he’s on), and then there’s terrifying Tom Hardy, and it’s the latter who stars in this stylish, violent period drama which he co-created with his father Chips and Peaky Blinders’ Steven Knight. 

James Delaney, a mysterious figure long thought dead, returns from Africa to attend the funeral of his father in London in 1814 and claim his inheritance. 

His legacy is a poisoned chalice that will bring him into conflict with the powerful and ruthless East India Company and the British crown. Should he be worried? They should. BBC iPlayer, available now

 

Tourist Trap

If they were real people you would imagine that the staff of Wow! Wales would currently be furloughed – there can’t be much call for promoting the province as a holiday destination right now. 

But then again, they didn’t do a very good job of that anyway. Sally Phillips (Miranda) stars as Elaine, the PR company’s new CEO, determined to make a success of her role. 

However, with little experience of Welsh life and a team for whom the word ‘motley’ could have been invented, that’s not going to be easy. Elis James, Mike Bubbins and Mali Ann Rees co-star in this underrated mockumentary. BBC iPlayer, available now

 

Stacey Dooley: Lockdown Heroes

The reporter’s day job usually involves jetting off around the world to investigate serious issues, but for obvious reasons Stacey Dooley currently can’t do that. So the BBC has tasked her with finding some of the pandemic’s unsung heroes from the safety of her own flat. 

Social media is her research tool, and she’s used it to locate teacher Charlotte, who is now managing a team of seamstresses making scrubs for NHS staff. She also hears from Freya, who rather than returning home decided to stay in Athens to help refugees, and Jonathan, who’s supporting Glasgow’s homeless. BBC3/iPlayer, from Wednesday 6am

 

Antony And Cleopatra

Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo were each described as ‘at the top of their game’ in Simon Godwin’s 2018 National Theatre production of Shakespeare’s tragedy. It’s not hard to see why the critics loved it: Fiennes plays Mark Antony, who falls in love with the Queen of the Nile, with a fiery passion as befits a member of Rome’s elite. 

Okonedo in turn is both gutsy and radiant as Cleopatra, last of the Ptolemies, fatally attractive to an ambitious general drawn by her Oriental allure. 

Played in modern dress, the production stresses the political background to the love story. ‘It’s not quite Romeo And Juliet and not quite Julius Caesar,’ said director Godwin, ‘but a bit of both.’ With a sting in its tail. YouTube, from Thursday

 

Craft Party

If you thought Kirstie Allsopp had cornered the market in craft shows, think again. Her most recent series offered a few ideas to keep kids happy during the lockdown (her son Oscar even popped up to show her how it’s done), but this programme is packed full of them. It’s like the 1980s show Why Don’t You… but for the 21st Century. 

Here, youngsters demonstrate how to throw perfect themed parties (something nobody will be able to do for a while yet) by making a variety of props and food to accompany them. Unicorns, superheroes and slime are just some of the topics. BBC iPlayer, available now

 

Twin

This eight-part atmospheric thriller, set amid the lowering skies, fjords and islands of northern Norway, sees Game Of Thrones star Kristofer Hivju playing estranged, chalk-and-cheese twins Erik and Adam. While Adam runs a tourist business, Erik is a surfer dude on his uppers. 

An accidental death during a reunion after 15 years means Erik is forced to pretend to be his similarly hirsute sibling, and in doing so he finds that his brother was not so squeaky-clean after all. BBC iPlayer, available now

 

The Other Mother

Malone, nearly four and at pre-school, draws disturbing pictures and insists his mother and father are not his real parents. His worried teachers call in a psychologist, who believes the child and goes to the police. 

Is it simply a case of an ‘overactive imagination’, as his loving parents say? Or might the boy have been abducted? It’s tricky for the police, preoccupied with investigating a serious jewellery robbery. A six-part French thriller set in the port town of Le Havre. All4, all episodes from today

 

AMAZON

Fleabag Live

The original one-woman play that spawned the TV series that conquered the world. It was first performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2013, and when it was staged in London last year, where this was recorded, it was the hottest ticket in town. 

The show is simply a troubled young woman sitting on a stool, giving a monologue about the state of her life. It really showcases writer and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s extraordinary talent. Proceeds go to charity. Available now

 

Rig 45

The first series was a multilingual tale of a murder on a North Sea oil rig. In the second, English is the dominant language, and the action remains as gripping as ever. 

The story takes place just a few months after the previous run and focuses on police inspector Emma Marshall’s investigation into a body found washed ashore. Evidence suggests it has come from the rig, and she and her team begin to wonder if the company that owns it might have something to hide. StarzPlay, from Thursday

 

Fringe

Cult sci-fi series created by J. J. Abrams about the fictional ‘Fringe’ division of the FBI, which investigates unexplained phenomena. It’s a sort of updated The X-Files and, like that series, earlier episodes feature standalone plots, yet there is an overarching story as the show progresses. StarzPlay, available now

 

FILMS

1917

All 1hr 59mins of director Sam Mendes’s Oscar-winning masterpiece are devoted to one day in the lives of two British Tommies, George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman. 

They’re dispatched to call off an attack, but it’s in the tension-packed torpor and moments of paralysing terror that the film somehow captures the real horrors of the Western Front. Sky Store/Rakuten, from Monday

 

The Gentlemen

Guy Ritchie’s return-to-form thriller sees a standout turn by Hugh Grant as a sleazy PI. It’s a pacy yarn in which a stellar cast (Colin Farrell, Michelle Dockery and Matthew McConaughey) enjoy themselves to the full. Rakuten, out now