CODA — Apple TV +
An uplifting, sentimental and predictable feel-good film that, thanks to some strong performances and very real characters, manages to touch even the most cynical of hearts. It’s based on a 2014 French film and was the winner of four major awards at 2021’s Sundance Festival before landing a record $25m distribution deal from Apple TV +. The story is that of a wallflower teenager who is the only member of her family who isn’t hearing-impaired. The problem is, while her hard-working Massachusetts fishing family need her help to start a new business and act as their ears, she has dreams of success as a singing star. When her ambitions and theirs come to an inevitable standoff, reach for the tissues and hope they can work things out.
Jewel in the Crown — BritBox
A pinnacle of epic period television, this sprawling 14-part drama about the last days of the British Empire in India is adapted from novelist Paul Scott’s Raj Quartet. It’s lushly realised, exceptionally acted and still stands up as a masterclass in taking a hard, long and honest look at the history of Empire, without resorting to heavy-handed weepy nostalgic longing for “the good old days”. It is still almost as addictive, engrossing and hard-hitting as it was when it debuted in 1984.
Nine Perfect Strangers — Amazon Prime Video
After the success of Big Little Lies, creator David E Kelley and star Nicole Kidman team up for a new glamorous soap opera in this star-studded adaptation of a novel by Liane Moriarty. When a group of strangers, drawn together by their need for escape from the pressures of urban life, find themselves at a luxury health-and-wellness boutique run by an enigmatic spiritual guru, they get far more excitement than the brochures promised. The first three episodes are now available with new episodes added weekly thereafter.
Untold — Netflix
This is a docuseries that takes an intimate and sometimes difficult look at the real stories behind some of the headlines generated by recent sporting history’s more infamous moments. The first episode looks at what really happened in 2004 when a notorious brawl among NBA basketball’s Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons who came to blows, first with each other, and then with an army of angry, drunken fans. The second episode takes us inside the tumultuous life of women’s boxing pioneer Christy Martin to find out what led to her spectacular rise and her even more extraordinary fall from grace in the wake of a series of private life nightmares that almost killed her. New episodes are added weekly.
Emmys Collection 2021 — Showmax
As the announcement of this year’s Emmy Awards draws closer, Showmax has gathered all its nominated content for one convenient catch-up pit stop. There are Hugh Grant and Nicole Kidman’s back-stabbing drama of deceit and betrayal The Undoing; Ethan Hawke’s shamefully overlooked and brilliant performance as abolitionist John Brown in The Good Lord Bird; and Michaela Cole’s darkly biting dissection of the pitfalls of relationships in the #MeToo era in I May Destroy You — everything you need to remind yourself of the best of 2021’s nominees is just one click away.
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