PICK OF PAY TV AND MOVIES

(All four parts) HHH

AMAZON PRIME NEW! THE GRAND TOUR PRESENTS: A MASSIVE HUNT

HHHH Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May are on the islands of Reunion and Madagascar, where they race absurd cars in incredible settings. These settings include a ‘ring road in the sea’, which cost £112 million a kilometre to build, and looks so impossible that you’d swear it was a special effect. From Friday.

NEW!

(All five parts) HHH Grandly mounted Spanish drama about the rise of a complicated hero, set in the 11th century and told with clear nods to Game Of Thrones. From Friday.

THE EXPANSE

(Season 5, Episodes 1-3) HHHH This sprawling returning series is the best sci-fi show on TV, along with The Mandalorian (see right). The penultimate fifth season picks up with the crew of the Rocinante as humanity starts to leave the solar system behind in search of new worlds. See page 57 for more information. A new episode arrives every Wednesday.

MOVIE EL CID NEW! A CHRISTMAS GIFT FROM BOB

(2020) 12 HHH Smile-inducing festive sequel to A Street Cat Named Bob, the true story of a busker’s friendship with a cat.

uSKY/NOWTV DRAMA CATHERINE THE GREAT

(All four parts) HHHH Helen Mirren leads a drama that’s grand in appearance but very personal in nature, and hinges around the relationship between Catherine (Mirren, right) and her lover and nearequal, Potemkin (Jason Clarke).

COMEDY PROJECT THE MINDY

(All six seasons)

HHH This US TV romcom comes from Mindy Kaling (Late

Night, The Office US). Kaling also stars as an obstetrician/gynaecologist who lives, works and looks for love in New York City.

DISNEY+ BEST OF THE REST DRAMA THE PERSUADERS!

(Britbox) HHH Roger Moore and Tony Curtis star in an extraordinarily camp 1970s series about a lord and a New Yorker who put wrongs right. It has recently been added to Britbox, as have episodes of ITV’S An Audience With…, featuring Peter Ustinov, Victoria Wood and Ken Dodd.

NEW! GROWING UP GRACEFULLY

(Acorn TV) HHH Unusual comedy documentary series from Australia, in which two young women probe the nature of femininity with a 1950s etiquette guide. From Monday.

PAY MOVIES TENET

(2020) 12 (BT TV Store, Sky Store, Virgin, buy & keep only) HHHH This brainbending backwards thriller from Christopher Nolan would have been a huge cinema event even without the pandemic. In the end, it was pretty much the only cinema event of the year. Don’t expect to understand it, but do expect to be thoroughly entertained.

PINOCCHIO

u(2019) PG (BT TV Store, Sky Store, Virgin) HHH This live-action take comes from Italy. It has an eerie and very different look, and might be too dark for young children. Both from Monday.

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