BOX SETS AND ON DEMAND

Hollywood (Netflix, from Fri)

Everything Ryan Murphy touches seems to turn to gold. He’s the creator or co-creator of such series as Nip/Tuck, Glee, American Horror Story and American Crime Story. Now he’s back with another project, this time set just after the Second World War. It follows the progress, or otherwise, of a group of young actors and film-makers who will stop at nothing to make it in Tinseltown. Each episode reveals the difficulties they face, whether due to their race, gender or sexuality; some characters are fictional, while others are based on reality. Queen Latifah and Jake Picking play Hattie McDaniel and Rock Hudson respectively.

The Willoughbys (Netflix, available now)

If you’re a massive Holly Willoughby fan, prepare to be disappointed – this is not a reality TV show in which cameras follow the popular This Morning presenter around. Instead it’s a lively and colourful animation from Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 director Kris Pearn. Based on a book by Lois Lowry, it focuses on the four Willoughby siblings who, after being abandoned by their selfish parents, must make their own way in the big, wide world. However, adapting their old-fashioned approach to modern life will be far from straightforward.

Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story (Netflix, from Wed)

Cyntoia Brown didn’t get a great start in life. Her mother was a drug addict who couldn’t care for her, and after being fostered she began to get involved in petty crime. Eventually she ran away from a youth facility and ended up on the streets of Nashville, where she became a prostitute. In 2004, at the age of 16, she was picked up by a 43-yearold man and later shot and killed him. Brown claimed it was in self defence, but she was tried as an adult and jailed for life. This documentary looks at how factors in her background may have caused her to turn to violence; there’s also an insight into the changes in juvenile sentencing laws that allowed her to go free, as well as a look at how Brown has turned her life, embracing education and becoming a model prisoner.

All Day and a Night (Netflix, from Fri)

This moving feature-length drama explores the life of Jahkor, a softly spoken young man and new father who dreams of being a rapper. However, his life spirals out of control after he becomes unwittingly embroiled in a gang war, leading to a spell behind bars. Jahkor’s incarceration brings him back into contact with his jailbird father, JD, a man he never looked up to or wanted to emulate. While inside, the two men embark on a journey of discovery.

Trying

(Apple TV+, from Fri)

If those working in front of and behind the camera are anything to go by, Apple TV+’s latest series should be a real winner. It’s an eightpart relationship comedy and is the platform’s first British show. Directed by Catastrophe’s Jim O’Hanlon and written by former Mock the Week scribe Andy Wolton, it features Rafe

Spall, Esther Smith and Imelda Staunton. Smith and Spall play Nikki and Jason, who are young and in love. They are also desperate to have a baby – and it appears to be the one thing they cannot have, prompting them to make a momentous decision.

Hollywood on Netflix