From The Dig to Twist and The Lie: The best on demand TV to watch this week 

NETFLIX

 

The Dig

Wonderful, moving dramatisation of the 1939 dig at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk that unearthed an Anglo-Saxon ship burial and a hoard of buried treasure. Ralph Fiennes is Basil Brown, the self-taught archaeologist who made the discovery. 

Wonderful, moving dramatisation of the 1939 dig at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk. Ralph Fiennes (above) is Basil Brown, the self-taught archaeologist who made the discovery

Carey Mulligan is Edith Pretty, the ailing landowner with whom he forms a bond. Both give fabulous performances and the cinematography is stunning. The find meant that historians’ view of the ‘Dark Ages’ had to be revised and took on a special significance on the eve of the Second World War. From Friday

 

Snowpiercer 

The sci-fi drama inspired by director Bong Joon-ho’s movie of the same name is back for its second run. Sean Bean joins the cast as the villainous Mr Wilford, who is in control of the Big Alice train – but he wants Snowpiercer under his command too and will stop at nothing to achieve his goal. 

Daveed Diggs and Jennifer Connelly are among the returning cast. From Tuesday

 

Penguin Bloom 

This moving true-life drama stars Naomi Watts (above) as Sam Bloom, a mother left paralysed from the chest down after an accident

This moving true-life drama stars Naomi Watts (above) as Sam Bloom, a mother left paralysed from the chest down after an accident

This moving true-life drama stars Naomi Watts as Sam Bloom, a mother left paralysed from the chest down after an accident. The film charts how she battled depression with help from a wounded magpie called Penguin, which was being cared for by her children. From Friday

 

History Of Swear Words 

Nicolas Cage (above) hosts this jokey history of six swear words with a single 20-minute episode devoted to each

Nicolas Cage (above) hosts this jokey history of six swear words with a single 20-minute episode devoted to each

Nicolas Cage hosts this jokey history of six swear words with a single 20-minute episode devoted to each. There are contributions from performers and comedians such as Nick Offerman and Sarah Silverman, as well as from lexicographers and historians. Available now

 

Lupin 

Just as the great cop show Spiral ends, here’s another terrific French series, but this time our hero is often operating on the other side of the law. Assane Diop (Omar Sy) tries to find out why his late father was framed for the theft of a priceless necklace. 

Diop takes his inspiration from the fictional ‘gentleman burglar’ Arsène Lupin, a character occupying the same place in the French canon as Sherlock Holmes does in ours. 

This is slick, fast-moving and funny, and Omar Sy is a charismatic lead, alongside Ludivine Sagnier (above) as Assane Diop's ex-wife Claire

This is slick, fast-moving and funny, and Omar Sy is a charismatic lead, alongside Ludivine Sagnier (above) as Assane Diop’s ex-wife Claire

This is slick, fast-moving and funny, and Sy is a charismatic lead, alongside Ludivine Sagnier as his ex-wife Claire. Lupin became the first French series to enter Netflix’s Top Ten in the US. Available now

 

Kingdom 

South Korean drama set in the 16th Century. Rumours of the king’s death are spreading. When trying to find out what has happened to his father, prince Lee Chang finds evidence of a contagion that resurrects the dead. 

With lavish sets, beautiful costumes and thrilling action sequences, Kingdom breathes new life into the undead genre. Available now

 

Riverdale 

The fictional town of Riverdale is one of the few places with more crime than Midsomer. Series four of the drama was cut short by the pandemic but the fifth series sees Archie, Jughead, Betty and Veronica at the senior prom and then jumps forward seven years. 

As usual, it’s packed with film and pop references. Available now

 

Hillbilly Elegy 

The film of J.D. Vance’s bestselling memoir about growing up in an impoverished, ‘white trash’ – his words – family in Kentucky was the subject of a bidding war which Netflix won. 

It now has big Oscar hopes for the drama. Ron Howard directs. Available now

 

SKY, BRITBOX, ACORN TV & APPLE TV+

 

Twist

Favourite characters such as the Artful Dodger and Bill Sikes been reimagined as women, to be played by Rita Ora (above) and Lena Headey, respectively

Favourite characters such as the Artful Dodger and Bill Sikes been reimagined as women, to be played by Rita Ora (above) and Lena Headey, respectively

Describing Twist as a ‘modern interpretation’ of Charles Dickens’s much-loved novel doesn’t quite do justice to such a radical overhaul. Not only have favourite characters such as the Artful Dodger and Bill Sikes been reimagined as women, to be played by Rita Ora and Lena Headey, respectively, but Oliver – now better known as Twist and played by Jude Law’s son Raff – is in his 20s, living as a freerunning street artist in modern-day London among characters such as Red (Sophie Simnett).

Makes you grateful for Michael Caine as Fagin. Sky Cinema, from Friday

 

All Creatures Great And Small 

While the reboot of James Herriot’s much-loved Yorkshire vet series was the hit of last year, for many older viewers this, the BBC series, from 1978 to 1990, couldn’t be bettered. 

That may be because it came at the peak of the books’ popularity. But it was also the inspired casting of Christopher Timothy as James, Peter Davison as Tristan and Robert Hardy as Siegfried that brought such high ratings. 

The inspired casting of Christopher Timothy (above with Lynda Bellingham) as James, Peter Davison as Tristan and Robert Hardy as Siegfried brought such high ratings

The inspired casting of Christopher Timothy (above with Lynda Bellingham) as James, Peter Davison as Tristan and Robert Hardy as Siegfried brought such high ratings

Some fans thought the animals were the real stars, including Tricki-Woo the pampered pekingese, and the numerous cows in receipt of some undignified attention from Mr ’Erriot’s forearm. Britbox, from Thursday

 

Olive Kitteridge 

Wonderful mini-series adaptation of Elizabeth Strout’s Pultizer Prize-winning novel, depicting events in a coastal town in Maine over a quarter of a century as seen through the eyes of Olive Kitteridge (Frances McDormand), a cantankerous maths teacher. 

No one would mistake this slice-of-wasted-life drama for a light comedy but it’s a compelling watch. Sky/NOW TV, available now

 

Palmer 

A compelling drama starring Justin Timberlake as Eddie Palmer, a former college football star who threw away his chance for a bright future during a moment of madness that resulted in him spending 12 years behind bars. 

On his release, Eddie returns home to live with his grandmother, who encourages him to grab life by the scruff of its neck. He struggles to do so, until he becomes an unlikely father figure to a hard-living neighbour’s young son. 

Juno Temple and a scene-stealing Ryder Allen co-star. Apple TV+, from Friday

 

River 

DS Jackie ‘Stevie’ Stevenson (Nicola Walker) and DI John River (Stellan Skarsgård) are racing around London trying to solve the mystery of who killed… DS Stevenson. Yes, River sees dead people, or believes he does, which amounts to the same thing really. 

Walker and Skarsgård are brilliant together, and Adeel Akhtar is great as River’s very patient new partner. This is a terrific, atmospherically noirish drama, Bafta-nominated back in 2015. 

Along with River’s quest for justice we also get a penetrating study of grief. Britbox, from Thursday

 

The Wipers Times 

Ian Hislop and Nick Newman penned this charming, award-nominated drama from 2013. It’s based on a true story from the First World War when Captain Fred Roberts found an abandoned printing press in Belgium, enlisted the help of a printer turned soldier to get it working and set about producing a satirical, morale-boosting magazine for the troops; its title came from a mispronunciation of Ypres. 

Captain Fred Roberts found an abandoned printing press in Belgium. Michael Palin, Emilia Fox, Ben Chaplin (above, with Fox) and Julian Rhind-Tutt are among the cast

Captain Fred Roberts found an abandoned printing press in Belgium. Michael Palin, Emilia Fox, Ben Chaplin (above, with Fox) and Julian Rhind-Tutt are among the cast

Michael Palin, Emilia Fox, Ben Chaplin and Julian Rhind-Tutt are among the cast. Acorn TV, from Monday

 

Why is there such a buzz about..?

Sylvie’s Love (Netflix)

One of the few disappointments of Pixar’s otherwise fabulous new animated film, Soul, comes early on when our pianist hero – buzzing and pretty much floating on air after a barnstorming audition at a New York jazz club – falls down an open manhole and apparently dies. 

Suddenly all that glorious jazz and the super-coolness of brilliant musicians doing what they do best is gone.

Well, Sylvie’s Love is the film that fills that yawning, syncopated void. Along with Soul and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, it’s the third film celebrating black jazz music to be released in the past few weeks, and very touching and enjoyable it is too. 

Eye-catching supporting turns Wendi McLendon-Covey (above)

Eye-catching supporting turns Wendi McLendon-Covey (above)

It’s a bit like La La Land, only without the songs, the dancing and the strange ending.

As the title suggests, it’s a love story that sees talented saxophonist Robert Halloway – played by former NFL star turned pretty decent actor Nnamdi Asomugha – fall very sweetly in love with Sylvie, the pretty daughter of a Harlem record-store owner. 

She’s played by Creed regular Tessa Thompson, revelling in the fashions of the film’s late 1950s, early 1960s setting.

Told largely in flashback, we’re given an early warning that the story may not end happily, but what on earth goes wrong for such an apparently well-matched couple?

Suffice to say it’s complicated, in a film that is always stylish, occasionally a touch contrived and features eye-catching supporting turns from Eva Longoria, Wendi McLendon-Covey (right) and Bridgerton heart-throb du jour Regé-Jean Page.

Matthew Bond 

 

AMAZON & STARZPLAY

 

The Lie

Gripping drama about the parents of a teenager who, after she confesses to killing her best friend, set out to cover up the crime, embroiling themselves in a web of deception. 

A remake of the German movie We Monsters, the film stars Mireille Enos and Peter Sarsgård as the beleaguered mum and dad, with Joey King (above, with Sarsgård) as their daughter

A remake of the German movie We Monsters, the film stars Mireille Enos and Peter Sarsgård as the beleaguered mum and dad, with Joey King (above, with Sarsgård) as their daughter

A remake of the German movie We Monsters, the film stars Mireille Enos and Peter Sarsgård as the beleaguered mum and dad, with Joey King (above, with Sarsgård) as their daughter. Amazon, available now

 

Sweetbitter 

In this series, Tess (Ella Purnell, above) starts a new life in Manhattan with a job at a celebrated restaurant and tries to get to grips with the world of drugs, drink, lust and fine dining

In this series, Tess (Ella Purnell, above) starts a new life in Manhattan with a job at a celebrated restaurant and tries to get to grips with the world of drugs, drink, lust and fine dining

In this series, Tess (Ella Purnell) starts a new life in Manhattan with a job at a celebrated restaurant. However, getting to grips with the world of drugs, drink, lust and fine dining that opens up leads to problems. StarzPlay, available now

 

Damages 

Glenn Close has won two Golden Globes and three Emmys for her TV work – and a trio of those gongs came for this. She plays a lawyer who realises that relations between herself and her protégée are being strained. Amazon, available now

 

The Great Escapists 

Jeremy Clarkson and James May have both had solo projects recently, and now it’s the turn of their Grand Tour colleague Richard Hammond to embark on his own adventure. 

He and MythBusters host Tory Belleci are dumped on a desert island and challenged not just to survive but turn the place into their own corner of paradise. Amazon, from Friday

 

Coup 53 

When the popular Iranian prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh nationalised British oil interests in the country, MI6, with the help of the CIA, engineered his removal and replaced him with the young Shah in 1953. 

The effects of this coup are still playing out today. It was masterminded by a shadowy MI6 operative called Norman Darbyshire, who was once interviewed but refused to be filmed in the 1980s. 

Ralph Fiennes reads the transcript of the interview for this eye-opening documentary. Amazon, available now

 

FILMS

Synchronic 

A New Orleans paramedic (Jamie Dornan, above) deals with a new street drug

A New Orleans paramedic (Jamie Dornan, above) deals with a new street drug

This begins as a promisingly gritty urban thriller about a New Orleans paramedic team – played by Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan (below) – dealing with the devastating effects of a new street drug that can leave its victims dead or dreadfully injured. 

Then Mackie’s character suddenly sits down, addresses a video camera and tells us everything he’s learnt about ‘Synchronic’. Let’s just say it’s definitely ‘deep breath’ time and much stranger than anything we’re expecting. Most platforms, from Friday

 

Beginning 

A community of Jehovah’s Witnesses is subjected to a terrifying arson attack, which divides the couple that run the community. He’s still committed and departs for the city to raise funds for a new prayer hall. 

But his wife stays behind to look after their son and deal with whatever happens next. This is a slow, arty, unsettling film that mixes long periods of stillness with sudden bursts of violence. 

Ia Sukhitashvili is amazing in the central role. MUBI, from Friday

Matthew Bond