Pam & Tommy — Disney+
It was the most infamous sex tape of its era and the manner of its distribution in the early days of the internet changed the way that all future celebrity sex tapes were consumed. This is the off-the-wall, crazy dramatisation of the true story behind the Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee not-meant-to-be-seen-by-anyone-else tape as told by journalist Amanda Chicago Lewis in her 2014 Rolling Stone article. Starring Lily James and Sebastian Stan as the naive star-crossed celebrity lovers, the solidly entertaining dramedy also takes time to examine the often forgotten story of what the tape and misogynist attitudes did to Anderson’s career. It features a memorable interaction between Tommy Lee and his famously wayward trouser snake that you won’t forget in a hurry.
Dopesick — Disney+
Based on the book by journalist Beth Macy, this is a sprawling, heartbreaking but vital dramatisation of the ways in which Purdue Pharma’s Sackler family and their ruthless quest for ever-larger profits led them to manipulate US federal drug regulations. How they became the country’s largest and most dangerous prescription drug pushers with their lethal opioid OxyContin, spans decades, jumping back and forth in time and interweaving several characters at different levels of the chain. It stretched from the Sackler family to small-town doctors and working-class patients whose lives were often completely upended or tragically ended by addiction as Purdue and sales representatives pushed the drug long after it became clear its claims of low addiction rates were blatant lies. Arguably the most compelling piece of multilevel social drama on television since David Simon’s The Wire, Dopesick is a riveting portrait of the dark side of corporate profiteering featuring a standout cast with empathetic performances putting a human face to the many devastated lives.
Reservation Dogs — Disney+
This is a sharp, drily funny black comedy about a group of listless teenagers living on a Native American reservation in eastern Oklahoma. Produced by Taika Waititi, the show offers eight episodes of slyly observed hang-out vignettes that speak to broader issues of dispossession, economic inequality and marginalisation but also celebrate the resourcefulness and humanity of its eccentric, lovingly realised cast of lovable misfits.
The Beatles: Get Back — Disney+
Peter Jackson cuts up the previously unseen 60 hours of footage of rehearsals and behind-the-scenes footage of the Beatles’ work on their final album Let it Be and the famous 44-minute rooftop concert that marked the final public appearance of the Fab Four. The three episodes running to eight hours provide insight into the band as humans and a fascinating exploration of the creative process behind their hitmaking. It’s a gem not just for Beatles fanatics but for anyone interested in what it takes to make great art in collaboration with others.
Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project — Mubi.com
Launched in 2007, director Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project has done the Lord’s work when it comes to preserving and restoring the rich cinematic legacy of the work of a wide variety of cinematic masters from across the globe. In partnership with the Film Foundation, Mubi is now making a selection of these titles available to viewers in all their restored glory over the coming months. They include Chess of the Wind by Iranian director Mohamad Reza Aslani, Oh, Sun by Mauritanian Med Hondo and Brazilian director Héctor Babenco’s classic street-children survival drama Pixote: The Law of the Weakest.
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