PICK OF PAY TV AND MOVIES

NETFLIX

Mowgli: Legend Of The Jungle

(2018) 15 Andy Serkis is well-known as the king of motion-capture performances – Gollum in The Lord Of The Rings, Caesar in Planet Of The Apes – and he directs this mesmerising Jungle Book adaptation, which uses motion capture very well. The voice cast includes Serkis as Baloo and a fang-drippingly sinister Benedict Cumberbatch as Shere Khan. From Friday.

Dumplin’ (2018) 15

In a heartfelt comedy driven by the music of Dolly Parton, Jennifer Aniston stars as a beauty pageant legend who’s the mother of an overweight daughter. Their lives both change when said daughter decides to compete in a pageant, but on her terms. From Friday.

Fargo (Seasons

The stylish TV series inspired by the Coen brothers’ hit spends season one with a meek insurance salesman (Martin Freeman) and a contract killer (Billy Bob Thornton). Nailed It! Holiday! Festive special for the upbeat US baking contest in which amateurs try – and often fail – to replicate masterpieces. From Friday.

AMAZON PRIME

The Americans (Seasons 1-5)

It’s been relegated to an absurdly late slot on ITV4, so here’s a more sociable way to catch all but the final season of this layered drama about KGB agents in the US.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

(All seven seasons) Joss Whedon’s snappy series uses vampires and monsters as metaphors for adolescence, and has weathered well. The spin-off Angel, starring David Boreanaz, is also available.

The Marvelous Mrs Maisel

(Season 2) Amazon’s top-tier 1950s drama about a Jewish housewife turned stand-up comic returns on brilliant, rat-a-tat form, flitting from New York to Paris to the Catskill Mountains. There’s laughter, drama and shocks as Midge (Rachel Brosnahan, left), wrestles with who she is to her parents, friends and colleagues, plus scenes of an almost balletic grace – including an impromptu set in a French nightclub. From Wednesday.

Early Man (2018) PG

Delightful Aardman comedy set during a high-stakes Stone-Age football game, with the voices of Eddie Redmayne, Timothy Spall and Tom Hiddleston.

SKY ON DEMAND/ NOW TV

A Discovery Of Witches

(Season 1) Adapted from Deborah Harkness’s novels and turned into a sort of Twilight for grown-ups, Sky’s drama is a romance set in a world of vampires and witches. The affair is between academic witch Diana and enigmatic vampire Matthew (a perfectly cast Matthew Goode, right). From Monday.

NEW! The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair (All ten

parts) Patrick Dempsey plays a literary icon suspected of killing a 15-yearold in this winding US drama. From Friday.

Brothers And Sisters

(All five seasons) Sally Field stars as the rich, widowed mum to daughters played by Rachel Griffiths and Calista Flockhart in this soapy drama. Until Tuesday.

Battle Of The Sexes (2017) 12

Lively, layered dramatisation of the tennis match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King. Steve Carell’s Riggs is a clownish hustler, and Emma Stone gives a subtly sensitive performance as King.

BEST OF THE REST

Cobra Kai (YouTube Premium)

This Karate Kid sequel series, which is much better than it has any right to be, picks up the fortunes of Daniel and his nemesis 30 years on – and neither has left the past behind. Parts one and two are free.

NEW! Britain’s Youngest Football Boss (BBC3 via

iPlayer) Lively new series about 19-year-old Jack, who is charged with changing the luck of West Ham United’s women’s team. From Wednesday, 10am.

PAY MOVIES

Mission: Impossible – Fallout (BT TV Store, Sky Store, Virgin)

An action movie that does everything an action movie should (and then some), this latest outing for Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt is a nonstop rush of heart-stopping set pieces. Marvel’s Ant-Man And The Wasp is also out on the same day. Hotel Transylvania 3 (2018) U (BT TV Store, Sky Store, Virgin) Mavis (Selena Gomez) and her Dracula dad (Adam Sandler) go beyond the hotel, and on a cruise together, in a harmless animated sequel with nice gags. Both from Monday.