BOX SETS AND ON DEMAND

James May: Our Man in Japan (Amazon Prime, from Sun)

Taking a break from The Grand Tour, ‘Captain Slow’ heads east for this series in which he samples the culture of, you guessed it, Japan. So cue the obligatory shot of a bullet train zipping past Mount Fuji, and perhaps less predictably, James being told off for actually eating some of the dinner apparently laid on for him. (He doesn’t realise the food is basically a prop for the media). Of course May knows all the travelogue cliches, and is determined to give us a little something different, such as the scene in which he dresses in samurai armour and rides a bike, as you do. We also discover the perils of mispronouncing senseii. As he travels by land, sea, air and go-kart, this is bound to brighten up one of the darkest times of the year.

The Adulterer s2 (Walter Presents, from Mon)

Sylvia Hoeks seemed to have come out of nowhere when she was cast as mesmerising femme fatale Luv in Blade Runner 2049. However, she’d been honing her craft on film since 2005, with offerings such as Frankie, Duska and Tiramisu. Now she’s back in season two of this compelling drama. (The first was the most viewed Walter Presents show of 2019, and little wonder). Once more it centres on Iris and Willem, who are now openly in a happy relationship. While Elsie is having a hard time in prison for the attempted manslaughter of Iris, Pepjin is fighting for sole custody of Menno. When Marit finds a note to say Willem is going away for a while to ‘think things over’, Iris doesn’t believe it. Did Willem leave of his own accord, was he kidnapped or even killed?

Cheer (Netflix, from Wed)

There is a lot more to cheerleading than shaking pom poms and dancing in sync with the other members of your team. This six-part documentary series follows the cheerleaders of Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas. The small junior college has won 14 National Championships since 2000, and part of their success is down to leader Monica Aldama. Apparently the only thing more brutal than their workouts and more amazing than their performances are the stories of adversity and triumph behind the team members. Cameras follow the squad as they cope with injuries, sacrifice, personal setbacks and triumphs. The focus of their energy is making it to the final competition at the National Championship, and naturally there’s plenty of drama along the way.

Treadstone (Amazon Prime, from Fri)

You’ve probably already heard of this new series, which has been made by those behind the Bourne franchise - it’s actually a spinoff from the movies focusing on Operation Treadstone, the fictional black ops arm of the CIA that features in the films. It was made available to American viewers in September, but we’ve been made to wait until now to see it - and word of mouth suggests it’s every bit as enthralling as its trailers suggest. For the uninitiated, Operation Treadstone uses behaviour modification to turn its recruits into almost superhuman assassins. Its origin story, which begins in 1973, is featured here, as sleeper agents are awakened ahead of their missions. Jeremy Irvine heads the cast.

James May