We dig out the hidden gems so you don’t have to...
THE ROOKIE
NEW SERIES
Binge-worthy tale of a 40-year-old cop virgin
It used to be said that life begins at 40 and, for many of us, reaching that milestone has forced us to take a long look at our lives. John Nolan, the central character in this hit US drama, certainly does. After helping cops during a bank robbery, he decides to join the force himself, becoming the LAPD’s oldest rookie. The role is a dream for Castle’s Nathan Fillion, who’s clearly loving every minute of playing the likeable Nolan. It was no surprise when the success of the first run meant a second was commissioned; it’s about to be released as a box set so viewers can binge-watch at their leisure.
Sky, from Friday
WAR OF THE WORLDS
The aliens are coming: who will survive?
Not to be confused with last year’s period mini-series from the BBC, this US-French version of the H. G. Wells classic is set in modern-day Europe. Astronomers detect a transmission from another galaxy – proof of intelligent alien life. Unfortunately, these ETs aren’t interested in being friends and wipe out most of humankind on arrival. This isn’t an all-lasers-blazing specialeffects fest but a character-led drama about survival. Starring Gabriel Byrne, Elizabeth McGovern and Normal People’s Daisy Edgar-Jones as a blind teenager who might hold the key to outwitting the aliens. Sky, from Monday
BE WATER
NEW SHOW
Enter the greatest kung fu fighter
At one end of the 1970s kung-fu craze was karate-chopping hound Hong Kong Phooey, while at the other was the real thing: Bruce Lee. The son of a Chinese opera singer, Lee (right) taught martial arts in Seattle before trying his hand at the movies. But Hollywood wasn’t prepared for a film star from the Far East so, disappointed, he returned to Hong Kong, where he had been raised. And there, ironically, he made the films that made him a global superstar, including Fists Of Fury and Enter The Dragon. But his star shone too briefly: he died tragically young, aged 32, from a brain swelling. ESPN’s intimate portrait of the high-kicking icon with the triple-scarred chest and pop-star looks includes interviews with friends and family. ESPN Player, from Monday
SUCCESSION
Power play satire
Ageing media mogul Logan Roy (Brian Cox) has built up his global empire over decades and he runs a tight ship, but with his health declining, his scheming family are circling like vultures. This is the sort of dysfunctional super-wealthy clan in which, in order to curry favour with Dad, one of his sons buys him a football club – Hearts – only to discover that Logan actually supports their arch-rivals, Hibs. Cox is great as the Scottish-born patriarchal bully playing off his awful power-hungry children against each other. He won a best actor Golden Globe for his performance in the King Lear-like drama/ satire, created by Jesse Armstrong, of Peep Show fame. Sky, from Monday
DAS BOOT
NEW SERIES
Tense undersea action on board a U-boat
Jubilation turns to horror and then terror in the tense opening minutes of the new series (featuring Stefan Konarske as Ulrich Wrangel, right) as a U-boat scores a direct hit on a cargo ship, only for the commander to realise that there were women and children on board and then spot a destroyer bearing down on them. ‘Dive, dive, dive!’ As in the first series, the critically acclaimed German drama is divided between events at sea aboard the U-boats and in the port of La Rochelle in occupied France. A third strand unfolds in New York.
Sky, from Tuesday
ECHO IN THE CANYON
NEW SHOW
LA’s hippest hot spot
Film celebrating the mid1960s explosion of music that came out of LA’s Laurel Canyon, a bohemian artists’ enclave settled by members of The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield and The Mamas And The Papas. It features interviews with David Crosby, Brian Wilson, Michelle Phillips, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty (his last) and British-born Graham Nash, who compares 1960s Laurel Canyon to other creative hot spots such as fin-de-siecle Vienna and 1930s Paris. Various platforms including Amazon, YouTube and Apple TV+, from Tuesday