Five things for you to watch this weekend
SIDNEY — APPLE TV+
When he died earlier this year, actor Sidney Poitier left behind a remarkable legacy, not only as the first black man to win a best actor Oscar in 1964 for his work in Lilies of the Field, but also for his lifelong dedication to civil rights and equal treatment for actors of colour in Hollywood. Here in all its undeniably moving sweep is his life story — from his poor upbringing in rural Bahamas to his journey to the US and his humble beginnings in the theatre before becoming the face of a new, defiant and dignified black representation on screen.
ANTHONY — BRITBOX
In 2005, black teenager Anthony Walker was murdered by two white men after an unprovoked and racially motivated attack in a Liverpool park. Writer Jimmy McGovern takes the imaginative step of imagining what Walker’s life might have been if he hadn’t been killed. The result is a smart, provocative and troubling examination of racism and its consequences that offers a heartbreaking vision of what normal life for anyone, regardless of their race, could and should be.
MONSTER: THE JEFFREY DAHMER STORY NETFLIX
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Ryan Murphy teams up with his longtime favoured acting collaborator Evan Peters to bring the chilling story of notorious Wisconsin serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer to life. Told through the eyes of Dahmer’s many victims, it’s a story of the darkest recesses of human nature and an inept law enforcement department that could have stopped him much earlier than they did, if only they’d been willing to listen and read the signs.
THE GRAND TOUR — A SCANDI FLICK — PRIME VIDEO
There’s perhaps no better way to signal a return to postpandemic normal than to let loose the lads and their cars on the picturesque, seemingly unspoilt landscape of the Arctic Circle in winter. Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond get back to doing what they know best, but this is the Grand Tour and so there are sure to be a few surprises, plenty of juvenile pranks and a lot of grumpy, cold men moaning along the way.
THE REAL BLING RING — NETFLIX
The early 2000s was a time for the exploits of the “Bling Ring”, burglars who made a name for themselves by targeting the homes and possessions of highlevel, tabloid-favoured celebrities such as Paris Hilton. Their brazen crimes were the subject of a long-form magazine article and a film dramatisation directed by Sofia Coppola. Now they’re appearing in person and on camera to tell their side of the story.