PICK OF PAY TV AND MOVIES

NETFLIX NEW!

HHHH Claims of sexual abuse at USA Gymnastics are explored in this harrowing documentary, which casts an unsettling light on what can be deemed acceptable to achieve success. It’s very sad to watch these adult women reflecting on the experience of their younger selves. From Wednesday.

DRAMA SWEET MAGNOLIAS

(Season 1) HHH The basic decency of small-town America is at the heart of this series based on Sherryl Woods’s books about three South Carolina women. The trio have been friends since childhood, and they support each other through thick and thin.

MOVIE EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: THE STORY OF FIRE SAGA

(2020) 15 HHHH

Will Ferrell had the idea to make this Eurovision comedy 20 years ago, and a terrific cast – including

Rachel Mcadams, Dan

Stevens (right) and Graham Norton – bring it to life in dazzling style here. From Friday.

DRAMA

uLINE OF DUTY

(Seasons 1-4) HHHHH The great BBC thriller about police corruption is back on Netflix, after being absent since April.

AMAZON PRIME DRAMA THE MARVELLOUS MRS MAISEL

(Seasons 1-3) HHHH A Jewish housewife’s journey from despair at her husband’s adultery to success at stand-up comedy is chronicled by this rat-a-tat show. No money has been spared in bringing its 1950s Manhattan setting to life, and the dialogue feels very much of the time.

DRAMA

(All six seasons) HHHH Perry Mason’s Matthew Rhys also stars in this finely layered drama about KGB spies working undercover in the US in the 1980s.

MOVIE MOVIE THE AMERICANS LEGALLY BLONDE

(2001) 12 u HHHH Reese Witherspoon’s career-defining role as Elle Woods, the sorority girl who refuses to be defined by her hair colour – and marches straight into Harvard law school. It’s still a great comedy, not least because of Witherspoon’s shining performance. From tomorrow.

THE FAREWELL

(2019) PG l HHHHH This was the best foreignlanguage film to miss out on an Oscar nomination in 2019. It’s the story of a Chinese-american family who decide not to tell their grandmother she only has months left to live – and throw her a party instead.

SKY ON DEMAND/ NOW TV

(All five parts)

BEST OF THE REST NEW! TALKING HEADS

(BBC iplayer) HHHHH The full box set of this starry revival of Alan Bennett’s monologue series, which is perfectly suited to lockdown filming. From Tuesday, 10.10pm.

NEW! IBIZA DREAMS

(BBC3 via iplayer) HHH Reality shows filmed on Ibiza are usually about drinking, but this is only slightly about that. It’s focused on young people starting businesses on the island, and it’s exciting to see them at the start of that journey. Two make videos, one is a naked butler. From tomorrow, 6am.

PAY MOVIES EMMA.

(2020)U (BT TV Store, Sky Store, Virgin) HHH Anya Taylor-joy is an impressively unlikeable Emma in this funny adaptation of Austen’s social satire about an interfering young woman. An eye-catching supporting cast includes Miranda Hart as Miss Bates and Bill Nighy as Emma’s father.

MINE 9

l(2019) 15 (Virgin) HH Simple and occasionally effective drama in which nine men are trapped in a West Virginia coal mine. It’s quite atmospheric, especially during the collapse, but could have done with fewer cliches. Both from Monday.

u