Six must stream shows

With cinemas closed, feature and television productions suspended and nowhere to go as we enter the Covid 19 lockdown thank heavens for streaming, which has a plethora of options to keep everyone entertained and distracted.

SELF MADE: INSPIRED BY THE LIFE OF MADAM CJ WALKER

Based on the real-life story of America’s first female black millionaire, beauty product mogul Madam CJ Walker, this fourpar miniseries is an inspiring and timely tale of a sinfully overlooked character and period in the early 20th century of America’s history. Octavia Spencer, pictured, and Blair Underwood star in a story that has plenty of warmth, guts, humour and heart and offers a different take on the perennial American Dream

NETFLIX TIGER KING

This 7-episode docuseries is the “have to be seen to be believed,” off-the-nutter-charts story of backstabbing and intrigue in the world of American big cat breeders. The lead character, Joe Exotic, is a maniacal eccentric tiger breeder with a chip on his shoulder and an axe to grind against the animal rights activists who bay for his blood. The story is so insane it has to be true and leads to attempted murder, mayhem and incredible levels of sheer craziness.

ZAC AND MIA - SEASON 2

If you need a reminder of the fact that some people’s lives are jus worse than yours, even in the time of corona, then look no furthe than this heartfelt and moving series about two young teens who discover each other while both undergoing treatment for cancer. It’s not all doom and gloom and there’s still plenty of youthful joy and discovery in among the tragic realities of facing their terrifying illness at such a young age.

KINGDOM

Stephen Fry stars as a smalltown solicitor in this light, ever so British but hard not to like comedy of manners series that elicits plenty of warm chuckles.

The subscription service for serious cineastes and lovers of the unusual, Mubi offers a feast of films from around the globe, curated and offered for limited periods before new films arrive.

SERVANT

M. Night Shyamalan brings his particular and sometimes tiring blend of horror and psychological thriller to this creepy tale of a young Philadelphia couple whose grief over the loss of a child opens them up to manipulation by a horrifying supernatural force

TRAFFIK

The seminal 1989 multi-character miniseries that inspired Steven Soderbergh’s Oscar-winning Hollywood film, this hardhitting and superbly acted show is still a relevant and provocative examination of the global impact of drugs on families and society at large.