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BOX SETS AND ON DEMAND
Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (Netflix, from Tue)
Mutants have long been the basis for drama, and also a good subject for animated adventures. This rather gorgeous looking saga takes place after the Great Mutant Outbreak of 2017, which caused creatures to grow to a huge size and develop incredible intelligence. As a result, humans scatter underground. Created by Radford Sechrist, a veteran of Megamind and How to Train Your Dragon 2, this offering from the Dreamworks stable centres on Kipo, who gets a crash course in apocalyptic survival. She joins forces with other surface dwellers human and mutant- on her trek to find home, her father and the missing folks of her underground city. Karen Fukuhara (Suicide Squad) lends her voice to the proceedings.
Grace and Frankie (Netflix, from Wed)
Hard to believe we’re already at series six of this vehicle for Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. For newcomers, they play a retired cosmetics mogul and a hippie art teacher whose lives were transformed when their spouses revealed they were gay and left them for each other. The duo formed an unlikely union to face an uncertain future together. In case there was any doubt, Fonda and Tomlin are still at the top of their game, and this series underlines the fact with heavy strokes. Friends veteran Marta Kauffman was one of the brains behind the show, so little wonder it keeps going from strength to strength. As ever with this latest run, there is laughter, tears and the occasional mood enhancer along the way.
Ares (Netflix, from Fri)
You know what it’s like. You’re studying in Amsterdam when you accidentally open a portal to a demonic world from the Dutch Golden Age. Oh, maybe you don’t, because that’s the offbeat premise of this new eight-episode psychological horror series which enters the world of Ares. It’s a secret student society in the heart of the Dutch capital where BFFs Rosa and Jacob surrender to a world of power and wealth. Slowly they realise they’ve entered a demonic place, built on secrets from the Netherlands’ past. It’s a place where true power comes at a shocking price. So there’s plenty to unpack there, and for those tired of cult TV from these shores or the States, this is a refreshing take on a wellworn fantasy theme.
Sex Education (Netflix, from Fri)
Asa Butterfield has proved himself to be one of the brightest young actors of his generation. Projects such as Ender’s Game and Hugo thrust him into the mainstream, while series one of this saga didn’t hurt his career either. The fact Gillian Anderson also featured was an added bonus. For newcomers it centres on Otis Milburn, a socially awkward high school student who lives with his sex therapist mother, Jean. In season one, Otis and his friend Maeve Wiley set-up a sex clinic at school to capitalise on his intuitive talent for sex advice. Now, in series two, late bloomer Otis must master his newly discovered sexual urges in order to progress with his girlfriend Ola while also handling his strained relationship with Maeve.