BOX SETS AND ON DEMAND

How I Met Your Father (Disney+, from Wed)

From 2005 to 2014, the sitcom How I Met Your Mother followed New York architect Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) as he navigated the city’s dating scene before finally meeting the woman who would become his wife and the mother of his children. It was told in the form of a flashback as an older Ted narrated his experiences to his adolescent offspring. Now we’re being treated to a spin-off in which Kim Cattrall plays Sophie who, in the year 2050, begins telling her son about his birth after getting together with his dad. Hilary Duff plays the younger Sophie, a hopeless romantic photographer searching for her soulmate. The opening episode sees her embark on a date with a marine biologist, an event that leads her in an unexpected direction.

Our Father

(Netflix, from Wed)

Over the years we’ve grown accustomed to jaw-dropping documentaries from the streaming giant. It’s become the go-to place for those who love taking a deep dive into true crime stories, and although Our Father doesn’t focus on the sort of misdemeanours we’d usually associated with the genre – there are no bizarre deaths – it’s no less shocking for it. Instead, it focuses on the activities of Donald Cline who, during the 1970s and 1980s, was a hugely respected fertility doctor based in

Indianapolis. However, what many of the women he helped conceive didn’t realise is that he was replacing donor sperm with his own - something he did at least 50 times. The programme unfolds like a detective story as one of the children begins piecing together what happened after taking an online DNA test.

The Greatness Code (Apple TV+, from Fri)

The sporting documentary series debuted in the summer of 2020 with profiles of seven amazing

athletes, including LeBron James, Tom Brady, Alex Morgan and Usain Bolt. Its aim was to use a mix of live action and visual effects to offer in-depth insights into key moments in their careers when they could be described as having touched greatness. Now the programme is back for a second run with the focus on footballer and children’s campaigner Marcus Rashford, Super Bowlwinning NFL quarterback Russell Wilson, six-time X Games gold medalist and professional street skateboarder Leticia Bufoni, Paralympic athlete Scout Bassett, NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace and alpine ski racer Lindsey Vonn.

The Lincoln Lawyer (Netflix, from Fri)

Michael Connelly is one of the most respected crime writers around. He’s the creator of detective Harry Bosch, who has featured in a top-rated TV series starring Titus Welliver; a spin-off popped up on Amazon Freevee only last week. In 2005, another of his characters, criminal defence attorney Mickey Haller (whose cases sometimes cross with Harry’s), transferred to the big screen in The Lincoln Lawyer. Matthew McConaughey played him, but in this small screen version, it’s Manuel GarciaRulfo who takes the role.

The series has been developed by TV legend David E Kelley and is based on Connelly’s 2008 novel The Brass Verdict. The good news is, if the show is successful, there are five more books awaiting adaptation.

How I Met Your Father