PICK OF PAY TV AND MOVIES

NETFLIX

LAST CHANCE The Bridge (Seasons 1-2)

Two cases occupy the detective duo in the first two series of this superb DanishSwedish drama. Yet the show’s biggest puzzle is icy Swedish investigator Saga (a brilliant Sofia Helin). Until Wednesday.

NEW! The Expanse (Season 1) Grand new space thriller from the US, set in a colonised solar system on the verge of war. Jared Harris guest stars. From Thursday.

NEW! The Crown (Season 1) Netflix’s finest series to date is a biopic of Elizabeth II that stints on nothing, from sets to costumes, cast to script.

Claire Foy (right) is the queento-be, and shimmers with an emotion barely kept in check by duty – a duty hastened by the death of her father,

George VI (a superb Jared

Harris). This stunning first season maintains its early momentum, and puts ITV’s Victoria in the shade.

The King’s Speech MOVIE (2010) 12

Colin Firth plays the stuttering George VI in a superb, subtle drama that serves as a kind of prequel to The Crown.

AMAZON PRIME

DRAMA The Man In The High Castle

(Season 1) Amazon’s grand drama is set in a world where the Japanese and the Nazis won the Second World War, then carved the US up between them. Victoria’s Rufus Sewell is a highlight among the cast – as a Nazi who keeps the rebellious Americans in check – in a series that is due to return for a new, second season on December 16.

Versailles DRAMA (Season 1) Epic set in 17th-century France that is centred on the efforts of Louis XIV (George Blagden, also in Vikings, also on Amazon) to fight off court conspiracies and to lure women into his bedchamber. It had a lukewarm reception in the UK, but someone must like it – a second and third series are on the way.

COMEDY Parks And Recreation (All seven seasons) The first season isn’t up to much, but the rest of this sunny comedy, starring Amy Poehler as a smart, enthusiastic bureaucrat, is a consistently lovely experience.

MOVIE Jailhouse Rock (1957) U

One of Elvis’s best movies has him in prison for manslaughter, and discovering a flair for showbiz on the inside. From Thursday.

SKY ON DEMAND/ NOW TV

NEW! Legends (Seasons 1-2) Sean Bean plays an ageing genius of undercover work in this twist-filled series, which would be altogether average without him. The focus shifts to Europe in season two, and the show takes on more of a John le Carre air. From Tuesday.

COMEDY Halloween Shorts (Eight short films) In Jamie Demetriou’s quirky seasonal film, a young man is worried he’s turning into a car.

There’s also a Hammer spoof from Matthew Holness, and a film from Ross Noble (above, right) about the perils of school catchment areas, starring Richard Herring.

NEW! Trophy Wife (All 22 episodes)

A party girl marries a middle-aged lawyer in a US comedy that was cancelled before its time, and plays much sharper than its concept suggests. From Tuesday.

MOVIE The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

(2015) 12 Sparkling with wit and refreshingly authentic action, this revival of the 1960s TV series is an unexpected treat.

BEST OF THE REST

NEW! Trump’s Youngest Superfans

(BBC3 via iPlayer) What is the appeal of Donald Trump to young people, particularly those in the African-American community? Angela Scanlon meets his junior supporters for this eyeopening film. From Thursday.

COOKING Mary Berry At Home (BBC Store) Bake Off may be gone, but you can still see more Mary Berry in her 1996 series, which is full of pleasingly straightforward recipes.

PAY MOVIES

Central Intelligence (2016) 12 (BT TV

Store, Sky Store, Virgin) Buddy action comedy, starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, that’s packed with good spirits and slapstick. He’s a CIA agent who was bullied at school; now, he takes it out on the baddies.

Elvis & Nixon (2016) 15 (Sky Store, Virgin)

Michael Shannon and Kevin Spacey star as the rocker and the President in a film that gleefully fictionalises a real meeting between the two. There’s a lot of fun in that idea, and none of it is lost. Both from Monday.