TV ON DEMAND

We dig out the hidden gems so you don’t have to

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He may still be best known for writing Taxi Driver, but Paul Schrader has continued to make challenging movies. This is an intense thriller in which Oscar Isaac (right) plays a professional gambler approached by an angry young man who wants his help in taking revenge on a mutual acquaintance. From Friday

TESS OF THE D’URBERVILLES BRITBOX DRAMA

Gemma Arterton and Eddie Redmayne star in one of Thomas Hardy’s great tragedies, about Tess (Arterton), an ill-fated country girl. David Nicholls, the One Day author, wrote the screenplay for this fourparter. From Thursday

THE VIRGIN QUEEN BRITBOX HISTORY

Four-part drama with Anne-Marie Duff as Elizabeth I. The story of her long, eventful life and reign, originally shown by the BBC in 2005, makes for riveting viewing. From Thursday

WHO KILLED THE KLF? SKY/NOW PROFILE

They were briefly the biggestselling singles act in the world, with a series of hits (most notoriously getting country legend Tammy Wynette to sing on their irresistible but nonsense song Justified & Ancient), then the British dance duo disappeared in a pile of burnt bank notes. But what really happened to them? Available now

D.B. COOPER: WHERE ARE YOU? NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY

In 1971, a man calling himself Dan Cooper (below) hijacked a plane from Portland to Seattle. He extorted a $200,000 ransom, negotiated a flight to Mexico, then parachuted into Washington State with the cash, never to be seen again. This fascinating documentary series speaks to experts in the case. Available now

SURFACE APPLE TV+ DRAMA

In this eight-part series, Sophie (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is trying to put her life back together after a failed suicide attempt that has affected her memory. But flashbacks are making her uncertain that what she’s been told is true. If her life was as perfect as it appears to be, why did she attempt to take her own life? And does her husband (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) have her best interests at heart? From Friday

THE LAST MAN ON EARTH DISNEY+ COMEDY

Phil Miller (Will Forte) believes himself to be the last human to be left alive after a terrible virus has ripped through humanity, so when he does meet the first other human he’s encountered in two years, Carol (Kristen Schaal), he quickly agrees to marry her. And then Melissa (January Jones, right, with

Mel Rodriguez) turns up…

From Wednesday

SCREAM PARAMOUNT+ HORROR

There is a typically meta debate in Scream 2 that sequels are never as good as the original. This is the fifth film in the slasher horror series but it is actually billed as a relaunch. Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox reprise their roles from the first film, as well as David Arquette as ex sheriff Dewey. Ghostface

(left) is back and killing teenagers again. All the victims have links to the original murders. The film maintains the franchise’s self-referential traditions and keeps up the black humour. It’s very gory and, if you like this sort of thing, pretty good. From Friday

NOT OKAY DISNEY+ COMEDY

Privileged 20-something and wannabe online influencer Danni (Zoey Deutch, right) fakes a social media-friendly trip to Paris in order to get more followers. She hadn’t bargained on taking into account a terrorist incident in the French capital but her fake story goes viral and she’s viewed as a hero – for a while. But then the truth comes out...

From Friday

RIPPING YARNS BRITBOX COMEDY

While not globetrotting in the footsteps of that great Victorian Jules Verne, Michael Palin also paid homage to another bygone era, that of the Edwardian trend for tales of derring-do in boys’ comics. The series won a Bafta and featured a parody of Tom Brown’s Schooldays, called Tomkinson’s Schooldays, and a character called Roger of the Raj.

From Thursday

BETTER THINGS iPLAYER COMEDY

Sadly, Pamela Adlon’s comedy drama about a divorced Hollywood actress raising her three daughters is coming to an end. The final series begins on BBC2 on Sunday, but all five seasons are available on iPlayer. Adlon stars as Sam Fox who has to deal with her three daughters’ problems, while also dating various middle-aged men and trying to secure acting jobs.

However, the show is often stolen by Celia Imrie as Sam’s foul-mouthed British mother. See Deborah Ross, Page 51. Available now

THE ROADS TO FREEDOM iPLAYER DOCUMENTARY

The BBC’s centenary celebrations continue with a welcome chance to revisit another classic from the corporation’s archives – thanks, no doubt, to the campaigning of the MoS’s Peter Hitchens. Based on novels by Jean-Paul Sartre, this taboo-breaking 13-part drama has only been shown once since its original broadcast in 1970. It takes place in Paris between 1938 and 1940 and follows the lives of lovers played by Michael Bryant and Rosemary Leach. From Wednesday

I CALL HIM BY HIS NAME iPLAYER DOCUMENTARY

A heartbreaking documentary from Fergal Keane in which the only survivor of those trying to defend the Ukrainian town of Bucha from Russian invaders retells his chilling story. Relatives of those who died share their memories. Available now

MIRIAM AND ALAN: LOST IN SCOTLAND ALL4 DOCUMENTARY

Over the course of three episodes, friends Miriam Margolyes and Alan Cumming (pictured, left) explore their Scottish roots in a saucy, light-hearted road trip to remember. Highlights include meeting a pagan witch, trying out kosher haggis and Cumming learning all about his links to Cawdor Castle, of Macbeth fame. Available now