TV ON DEMAND We dig out the hidden gems so you don’t have to...

NETFLIX, SKY/NOW, BRITBOX, DISNEY+, APPLE TV+ & BT

SUPERNOVA SKY/NOW FILM

Moving romance starring Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci (above) as Sam and Tusker, who have been partners for 20 years. However, their relationship is put under increasing strain by Tusker’s dementia. Beautifully played by both leads, this is a musing on life and love as well as a thoughtprovoking look at mortality. From Saturday

SERVANT APPLE TV+ DRAMA

Part black comedy, part creepy horror, M. Night Shyamalan’s Servant revolves around Dorothy (Lauren Ambrose) and Sean Turner (Tony Kebbell, below right), a wealthy Philadelphia couple, and Leanne (Nell Tiger Free), the weird nanny they hire who turns out to have been involved in a bizarre religious cult. Oh, and Julian (Rupert Grint, below left), Dorothy’s drunken, drug-taking brother who is now, apparently, a changed man. The threat of the cult is looming large in this, the third series.

From Friday

PIG SKY/NOW FILM

Rob (Nicolas Cage) is a chef turned reclusive truffle-hunter, living out in the Oregon woods. When his beloved truffling pig is stolen by a criminal gang, he sets out to recover it. That may sound odd, and it is, but this turns out to be a moving meditation on love and loss. You might think you know what to expect from a Nicolas Cage performance, but you won’t be expecting this. From Sunday

THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE NOW DOCUMENTARY

Eye-opening documentary telling the incredible story of Giovanni Di Stefano. The convicted fraudster posed as a lawyer, gaining notoriety for defending such figures as Saddam Hussein and Slobodan Milosevic, while also attempting to act on the behalf of Manuel Noriega and Charles Manson. From Monday

WODEHOUSE IN EXILE BRITBOX DRAMA

P.G. Wodehouse, masterful creator of Jeeves and Wooster and a magical world of upper-class twittery conjured in flawless English, was nicknamed ‘Plum’ after his first name, Pelham.

But in 1940 that nearly became ‘Pariah’. Interned by the Nazis, he was coerced into making a series of broadcasts about life in the Third Reich. His subsequent disgrace meant he never returned to the UK. Wodehouse is played with blinking innocence by Tim Pigott-Smith, with Zoë Wanamaker as his wife Ethel.

From Thursday

THE CRIMSON FIELD BRITBOX DRAMA

Drama about the volunteer nurses working in a First

World War field hospital in northern France. Some of the nurses are there out of duty, others are running away from problems.

And it’s a daily struggle to patch up the wounded and send them back to the front. The show was ditched after its first six-part run but shows are often cancelled for reasons unrelated to their quality, and this deserved more. Writer Sarah Phelps had storylines mapped out from 1914 to the end of the war. Starring Hermione Norris (above), Suranne Jones and Oona Chaplin. From Thursday

THIS IS US DISNEY+ DRAMA

The last-ever series of the hit US drama following the fortunes of one family since the 1980s is finally hitting our screens. Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore play Jack and Rebecca Pearson, whose three children (played by Justin Hartley, Chrissy Metz and Sterling K. Brown) are now navigating their way through the world – with varying degrees of success. If you need a reminder of what has gone on before, the first five series can be streamed. Available now

OZARK NETFLIX DRAMA

It started out as just a little light moneylaundering for some dodgy people, but now Marty and Wendy Byrde (Jason Bateman and Laura Linney, above) are in so, so deep with an ultra-violent drugs cartel that getting out alive seems highly unlikely. Even their kids are becoming involved. This is the fourth and final season (14 episodes are being released in two batches of seven) of the excellent crime drama that has been one of Netflix’s most popular, critically acclaimed shows. From Friday

TOO HOT TO HANDLE NETFLIX REALITY SHOW

Get ready to see a brand new batch of horned-up naughty singletons, including a legal secretary from Kent and a self-proclaimed Harry Styles lookalike from Middlesbrough, who have just arrived for what they think will be the sexiest vacation of their lives. However, there’s a twist: these glam singles aren’t allowed to have sex, or even kiss. If they do, they’re punished by Lana, a cone-shaped robot who deducts fines from the group’s overall prize money. From Wednesday

THE LUMINARIES NETFLIX DRAMA

Adapted from Eleanor Catton’s Booker Prize-winning novel, this is a murder mystery set in wild west New Zealand during the 1860s gold rush. Eve Hewson (right) plays Anna, an ingenue immigrant who runs into trouble in the form of Eva Green’s mysterious fortune-teller. Within months, Anna will be an opium-addicted prostitute, accused of murder. So what happened? The complex plot is not helped by the lighting but it’s hugely atmospheric and the stars are very watchable. From Wednesday

MASS SKY/NOW DRAMA

Heartbreaking drama starring Jason Isaacs (above) and Martha Plimpton as a married couple whose son was killed in a school shooting. Six years after the tragedy, they agree to meet and discuss what happened with the parents (Ann Dowd and Reed Birney) of one of the perpetrators. From Thursday

LA FORTUNA BT/AMC DRAMA

Based on a graphic novel, this six-part drama stars Stanley Tucci as piratical fortunehunter Frank Wild, a man with a cavalier attitude to the law who discovers a sunken galleon and takes its priceless treasure back to America, sparking a legal battle with the Spanish. A young, inexperienced Spanish diplomat (Álvaro Mel) reluctantly becomes the leader of the recovery effort, helped by an eccentric but brilliant American lawyer, Jonas Pierce (Clarke Peters).

Director Alejandro Amenábar (The Others) also recreates the story of how the ship came to sink in the first place. From Monday

YULI: THE CARLOS ACOSTA STORY iPLAYER PROFILE

A gripping account of the rise to fame of Cuban ballet star Carlos Acosta (right). Initially content to spend his days kicking a football around with his mates, he was pushed into dance classes by his father, who wanted to give him a focus, inadvertently setting his son on the path to stardom. As we get to see, Acosta’s journey was far from easy. Available now

MALORY TOWERS iPLAYER FAMILY DRAMA

It’s a second term of adventures at the all-girls’ boarding school created by Enid Blyton. This is more racially diverse and inclusive than the original books but the events tackled by the pupils – including midnight feasts and ghost hunts – remain much the same. Available now

HIDDEN ASSETS iPLAYER THRILLER

Angeline Ball stars in a crime drama set in Ireland and Belgium. She plays an officer with the Irish Criminal Assets Bureau who stumbles on a link between a drug dealer, rough diamonds, bombings in Antwerp and a wealthy family. She and a Belgian officer investigate. Available now

SCREW ALL4 COMEDY DRAMA

It’s been described as like Porridge without as many laughs, but this is warm, witty and compelling in equal measure, with a fine central performance from Nina Sosanya as Leigh, a guard so dedicated to the job that she appears to be living on the premises. Available now

FRASIER ALL4 CLASSIC COMEDY

Arguably the wittiest US sitcom of all time, this finds highbrow psychiatrist Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer, above with Eddy), having returned to his home of Seattle, living with his grumpy, injured, ex-cop father (John Mahoney). This award-winning comedy of hubris, sibling rivalry and often glorious farce ran from 1993 to 2004 and also starred the wonderful David Hyde Pierce as Frasier’s uber-fastidious brother Niles. Catch all 11 seasons. Available now

FOUR LIVES iPLAYER DRAMA

Comedian Stephen Merchant is clever casting as multiple rapist and killer Stephen Port, who murdered four young gay men in East London. In this three-part drama, Sheridan Smith plays Sarah Sak, the mother of the first victim, who beats her head against the brick wall of police indifference and homophobia as incompetent officers fail to see the blatantly obvious connections between the murders. Many were found wanting but were neither disciplined nor sacked – and five were even promoted. Jaw-dropping. Available now

FATHER BROWN iPLAYER DRAMA

Most BBC daytime dramas are a bit flabby. But with its post-war period and the Middle England village setting, Father Brown has succeeded, been promoted to primetime and recorded its 100th episode this week. Enjoy its in-vogue ‘cosy crime’ credentials and gentle comedy, plus a twinkly portrayal of G.K. Chesterton’s priestly sleuth by Mark Williams (below, with Sorcha Cusack). Available now