PICKOFPAYTV AND MOVIES

NETFLIX

NEW! BAKING IMPOSSIBLE (Episodes 1-6) ★★★ Teams of ‘bakineers’ strive to make edible creations that are submitted to stress tests in this ambitious new US baking contest. Examples include an edible boat and mini golf course. From Wednesday.

NEW! BAD SPORT (Season 1) ★★★ True-crime stories from athletics, including the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics figure skating fixing scandal. From Wednesday.

NEW! SEXY BEASTS (Season 2) ★★ Netflix’s undercooked but fun-looking dating show in which love is sought from under monster make-up. From Thursday.

NEW! THE BILLION DOLLAR CODE (All four parts) ★★★ German computer pioneers take on Google in this offbeat, based-on-truth courtroom drama set in the 1990s. From Thursday.

PRETTY SMART (Season 1) ★★★ Chelsea knows a lot about books, but can her seemingly vacant LA sister teach her something else – how to be happy? This brightly coloured US sitcom is all about coming together, and demands to be approached without cynicism. From Friday.

NEW! AMAZON PRIME FEAR THE WALKING DEAD

NEW!

(Season 6) ★★★ This spin-off prequel started with the dead rising in LA. The latest season focuses on Morgan (Lennie James), from the main show. From tomorrow.

THE GOLDFINCH (2019) 15 u ★★★ Donna Tartt’s novel about a life transformed is a tough one to film, and this box-office misfire doesn’t come close. But it does look nice. From Monday.

MOVIE

MOVIE THE CURSE OF THE WERERABBIT (2005) U n ★★★★ This cracking tale from Aardman’s Wallace and Gromit files is a real crowd-pleaser. Here, the claymation heroes are in a spot of bother with a mutant bunny. From Thursday.

MOVIE

JUSTIN BIEBER: OUR WORLD ★★★ This intimate documentary goes behind the scenes as the Canadian pop star (left) stages his first full concert in three years. From Friday.

NEW! JOKER (2019) 15

u ★★★★ Dark, double-oscar-winning origin movie for Batman’s nemesis. Joaquin Phoenix is fully committed in the lead and picked up one of the awards, but the tone of the film is very much to taste. From Friday.

DISNEY+ AMONG THE STARS

NEW! (All six parts) ★★★★ This new Nasa documentary follows the astronaut Chris Cassidy on his final mission. The level of access and quality of footage are extraordinary, both on the ground and in space – it’s easy to take that quality for granted after a while. From Wednesday.

MOVIE BLACK WIDOW

(2021) 12 u ★★★★ Scarlett

Johansson’s solo outing as the assassin is now available to all subscribers. There are plenty of nods to Bond, including a clip of Moonraker. From Wednesday.

SKY / NOW

DRAMA MANIFEST (Seasons 1-3) ★★★ There’s a touch of Lost to this US mystery

about an airliner that goes missing for five years, and then returns. Manifest was cancelled after these first three seasons, but Netflix has since resurrected it for a 20-episode fourth and final run.

THE OFFICE US (All nine seasons) ★★★★ It may not have the depth of the original, but the US version is fun to watch and packed with talent such as Steve Carell, John Krasinski and Mindy Kaling.

It’s also, essentially, a 201-episode romcom.

COMEDY BEST OF THE REST NEW! JACK IRISH (Acorn TV)

★★★★ The third and final season of an Aussie noir that oozes atmosphere, and has a great star in Guy Pearce as world-weary private eye Jack (left). These last four parts dig deep into Jack’s past, and maintain the show’s wry sense of humour. From Monday.

NEW! ACAPULCO (Apple TV+) ★★★ Warm, coming-of-age comedy set at an Acapulco resort in 1984. It’s told from the perspective of the successful Maximo as he explains his

youth to his nephew. Weekly, from Friday.

PAY MOVIES

RIDE THE EAGLE (2021) 15 u (BT Film Store, Sky Store, Virgin) ★★★★ In a winning, indie-style movie that neatly balances drama and comedy, Leif (Jake Johnson) learns about his estranged mother (Susan Sarandon) through a list of tasks she leaves him after her death.

IN THE HEIGHTS (2021) PG ● (BT Film Store, Sky Store, Virgin) ★★★ This movie of Hamilton creator Lin-manuel Miranda’s modern Manhattan musical was a boxoffice bomb, even allowing for Covid, but it’s a vibrant experience. Both from Monday.