Five things to watch this weekend
THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA — SHOWMAX (MONDAYS)
David Simon takes on Philip Roth’s disturbing alternative history novel from 2004 and turns it into prescient, intelligently rendered drama that examines the traumatic effects of seismic social changes on one family. Set in World War 2 US, it’s the story of a Jewish New Jersey family, the Levins, and what happens when antiwar campaigner, Nazi sympathiser and aviation hero Charles Lindbergh is elected as president. There are plenty of pertinent parallels to life in the Trump era, but Simon’s particular skill is to bring to life the Levins as a complicated, sympathetic and flawed group of characters whose personal journeys form the compelling core of the six-episode show.
THE EDDY — NETFLIX
Damien Chazelle (La La Land) and Alan Poul (Tales of the City) collaborate on this gritty, slowburning jazz noir tale of the ups and downs in the fortunes of former jazz protégé Elliot (André Holland) and the purist club he runs on the seedy side of Paris. With musical numbers by reallife musicians and a documentary, French New Wave style to its cinematography, it’s a rough and tumble free-form look at life beyond the tourist attractions.
TRIAL BY MEDIA — NETFLIX
The six-episode docuseries examines the role of the media in some of the most infamous cases in US history. Not always easy to watch but the questions it poses about media circuses and culpability are urgent and important in the age of social media and digital overload.
HAVE A GOOD TRIP — NETFLIX
A celebrity-filled and mostly good-natured journey through the sticky questions about psychedelic drugs and their ofttouted benefits. Stars such as Sting, Carrie Fischer and Anthony Bourdain give accounts of their experiences with mindaltering substances and some of the lessons they have learnt.
UPLOAD — AMAZON PRIME VIDEO
This is the latest in a growing line of shows that deal with the idea of the afterlife and what it might look like. Created by Greg Daniels (The Office, Parks and Recreation), it’s a sci-fi comedy drama set in a near-future world in which people are able to invest in and create their vision of heaven. Whether it’s the place you hoped for when you were dreaming about it and building it is the big question that you can really only answer once you’ve died.