The best on the box
Top television picks for the week ahead.
James Croot’s Love and Friendship 8.30pm, Saturday, Rialto
Based on an epistolary novel (Lady Susan) eventually published more than 50 years after Jane Austen’s death, Whit Stillman’s witty 2016 black comedy of manners and machinations feels like it has more in common with the works of Oscar Wilde and Wes Anderson than Sense & Sensibility. That the luminous Kate Beckinsale is our corsetted anti-heroine helps immensely. While best known in the past decade for a string of latexclad action roles, this evokes memories of her sterling work in the likes of Much Ado About Nothing and Cold Comfort Farm in the 1990s.
FA Cup Final 4.30am, Sunday, ESPN
Arsenal take on Chelsea in a London derby that marks the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. The Blues’ are chasing the league and cup double under their new boss Andre Conte, while victory for the Gunners’ beleaguered, long-serving manager Arsene Wenger would be his seventh, making him the most successful manager in the history of the 145-year-old competition.
The Remains of the Day 8.30pm, Sunday, Rialto
Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Christopher Reeve and Hugh Grant star in this superb 1993 adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s book about a butler and a housekeeper. ‘‘Looks grand without being overdressed, it is full of feeling without being sentimental. Here’s a film for adults,’’ wrote The New York Times’ Vincent Canby.
Are You Being Served 8.30pm, Sunday, Jones!
Picking up where the popular classic British comedy left off, this 2016 special is set in 1988. ‘‘There are mistaken identities, misunderstandings and more double entendres than a Carry On box set,’’ The Telegraph’s Michael Hogan wrote of the new production.
The Queen 8.30pm, Sunday. Maori TV
Helen Mirren deservedly won an Oscar for her role as Elizabeth II in this 2006 drama which focuses on the fallout from the death of Princess Diana. ‘‘A fascinating mix of high-minded gossip and historical perspective, examines the clash of values – of ritual and traditions versus media savvy and political ambition – that leads to a crisis for the British monarchy,’’ wrote The Hollywood Reporter’s Kirk Honeycutt.
20,000 Days on Earth 8.30pm, Tuesday, Maori TV
Writer and musician Nick Cave marks his 20,000th day on Earth in this 2014 documentary. ‘‘It is as intimate and honest a portrait of a rock artist’s creative roots as any film has attempted,’’ wrote The New York Times‘ Stephen Holden.