Also coming to streaming

Under the Banner of Heaven (ITVX, from February 26) Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin

Lance Black grew up in a Mormon household, which makes him the ideal person to pen the scripts for this seven-part crime drama. It’s based on the book by Jon Krakauer, and tells the true story of the investigation into the 1984 murder of Brenda Lafferty and her baby daughter Erica; they were killed by Brenda’s brothers-in-law, Dan and Ron Lafferty, who were both members of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. They disapproved of her, believing she had convinced Dan’s wife to leave him after she refused to allow him to enter into a polygamous marriage with her daughters from another relationship. Andrew Garfield heads the cast as Detective Jeb Pyre, a Mormon who begins to question his faith as the case develops.

Shogun (Disney+, from February 27)

In 1980, Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune starred in Shogun, an epic TV adaptation of James Clavell’s 1975 blockbusting novel. The series was a global success, and Disney will be hoping this new 10-part take on the same story proves to be just as popular with viewers. The action takes place in Japan in 1600, just as the nation is about to enter into a century-defining civil war. Cosmo Jarvis stars as John Blackthorne, an Englishman whose ship is mysteriously marooned in a fishing village. He has secrets that could help Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) defeat his enemies. Thrown into the mix is Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai), a translator torn between the two men, her Christian faith and her late father’s legacy.

American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders (Netflix, from February 28)

On August 10, 1991, freelance writer Danny Casolaro was found dead in the bath of a hotel in Martinsburg, West Virginia. His wrists had been slashed up to a dozen times, with the authorities ruling his death a suicide. However, in the years since, rumours have spread that his demise may actually have been a murder – his notes suggest he was in the city to meet a mysterious source about a conspiracy known as The Octopus, the name of a rumoured secret group connected to several unexplained deaths, political scandals and stolen government spy software. Various news organisations investigated, but found nothing incriminating. However, in this four-part series, Netflix’s latest true crime documentary, researcher Christian Hansen sets out to uncover the truth.