THE HOT LIST
THE BEST OF TV AND STREAMING THIS WEEK
GEEK ADVENTURES
HOW TO BUILD A GIRL Amazon Prime
■ COKY Giedroyc’s coming-of-age film is based on Caitlin Moran’s best-selling autobiographical novel and mixes comedy and drama to great effect. Beanie Feldstein plays geeky, working-class sixth-former Johanna in the Midlands in the 1990s whose heroes include Karl Marx, Sylvia Plath and David Bowie. When she answers an ad for talent in a music mag with an idiosyncratic review, she gets a job as a writer, reinvents herself as hip London journo Dolly Wilde and embarks on a great journalistic adventure.
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
ROGUE TRIP Disney+
■ A NEW National Geographic travel documentary series in which father and son Bob and Mack Woodruff visit some of the world’s more overlooked and misunderstood destinations in search of beauty and inspiration. In this first six-part series, the duo go off the beaten track to travel to Columbia, Papua New Guinea, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Lebanon and Ukraine where they find much to admire in some troubled places.
BOWING OUT
TRAVEL MAN’S GREATEST TRIPS: OUT AND ABOUT Channel 4, Friday, July 31, 8pm
■ A VERY different kind of travel programme as Richard Ayoade marks the end of his stint on the show (Joe Lycett is taking over) by delving into the archives to find some of his most memorable journeys. The highlights that Richard picks out include going up the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai, the world’s tallest building, with a rather green-looking Johnny Vegas and whale watching in Tenerife with Lena Dunham. Witty, silly and quirkily insightful.
FURRY FUN
MUPPETS NOW New episodes on Fridays, Disney+
■ KERMIT and co are back with a new weekly show starting this Friday. Expect the usual mayhem from old favourites like Miss Piggy, Gonzo and Fozzie Bear along with appearances from special guests including RuPaul, Seth Rogan and Aubrey Plaza. Look out too for a new Muppet character Joe, a weasel from the legal department, who brings an extra edge to proceedings.
BAWDY GEORGIANS
HARLOTS BBC Two, Wednesday, August 5, 9pm
■ PREVIOUSLY only available on short-lived channel ITV Encore, all three seasons of this bawdy drama about the brothels of Georgian London are now switching to BBC Two. With a top-notch cast including Jessica Brown Findlay, Samantha Morton and Lesley Manville, Harlots looks at 18th century society through the rivalry between two madams with Morton’s Margaret Wells trying to reconcile being a mother with her role as a brothel owner as her business comes under attack.