Things to stream
Yvonne Orji – Momma, I made it Showmax
The Insecure co-star steps out in front of a live audience and behind the microphone for this comedy special in which we get to know some interesting things about her life and laugh long and hard at the ironies of her strict Nigerian American upbringing.
Central Park Apple TV
Apple gets aboard the mature animation boat with this zany, whimsical musical comedy about a family who live in the lungs of the Big Apple. Featuring the voice talents of Josh Gad and Kristen Bell, it’s a heartfelt, hugely enjoyable love letter to the city and its eccentric characters. New episodes air weekly and the first two are available to watch for free on the streaming platform.
Homemade Netflix
Covid-19 may be crippling cinemas but it’s not crushing the spirit and imagination of filmmakers, as evidenced by this collection of short films about life around the world under lockdown by 20 of the current moment’s most astute directors. You can watch the films in whatever order you choose and there are plenty of beautiful and moving meditations on our situation and the future we might create as a result. Directors include Paolo Sorrentino, Ladj Ly, Ana Lily Amirpour, Johnny Ma, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Kristen Stewart, to name just a handful.
Stateless Netflix
Co-creator Cate Blanchett stars in this series about the experiences of a disparate group of people caught in the limbo of a detention centre. Based on real-life experiences, it’s sometimes difficult to watch but is an urgent and relevant series that reframes our ideas about immigration and government attitudes in the age of Donald Trump.
Ennio Morricone Tribute Apple TV
In the light of the death of legendary Italian film composer Ennio Morricone this week, Apple TV has collected 16 of the over 500 films that the maestro scored for the delight of our eyes and ears. It’s a mixed bag, but the selection does include Sergio Leone’s seminal Spaghetti Western quartet and Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, the film that finally won Morricone a muchdeserved and overdue Oscar for his work in 2016.