What to watch this week

The Sympathizer (8.30pm, Monday, SoHo)

Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 2015 novel, this is a seven-part espionage thriller and crossculture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his resulting exile in the United States. Directed by the internationallyacclaimed trio of Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener), Park Chan Wook (Old Boy) and Marc Munden (The Third Day), the cast includes Sandra Oh, Robert Downey Jr. and Cowboy Bebop’s Hoa Xuande. Episodes will also be available to stream on Neon.

We Were the Lucky Ones (Wednesday, Disney+)

An adaptation of a 2017 book by Georgia Hunter, this eight-part World War II tale dramatises the Holocaust from the perspective of a Polish Jewish family. Joey King (The Kissing Booth) and Logan Lerman (Hunters) are siblings Halina and Addy, while writer-director Erica Lipez has previously been involved with series like The Morning Show, Suits and Bates Motel. “Devastating, and profoundly moving, Lucky Ones illustrates the scope of World War II, the inhumanity of others and the anguish of disconnection and loss,” wrote Variety’s Aramide Tinubu.

The Great British Sewing Bee (8.30pm, Friday, TVNZ 1)

Break out your bobbins, this beloved UK reality competition is back for its ninth season. Host Sara Pascoe returns to usher 12 of Britain’s best home sewers on their journey, as they create exquisite and imaginative garments in the hopes of impressing judges Esme Young and Patrick Grant.