The best new TV to stream next week – from Blonde to The Old Man
CAN’T decide what to watch over the next seven days?
Well never fear, as The Sun’s TV Mag has all the information you need on what’s worth checking out this week.
What’s New
Beauty & The Geek UK – Discovery+
Remember the hit Noughties American reality series that saw female ‘beauties’ pair up with male ‘geeks’ in a bid to learn from each other and to be in with the chance of winning an impressive cash prize? Well, it’s back! Best pals Matt Edmondson and Mollie King host this revamped UK version which follows the same premise. Each episode sees our mismatched couples take on a string of challenges aimed to uncover their personalities as they embark on a journey of self-discovery and, in some cases, love. But only one couple will be crowned the winners and bag that huge £50,000 prize.
While it might all sound a little superficial, it’s actually a heart-warming and enjoyable series that proves there’s a lot more to people than meets the eye.
Available Sunday
Blonde – Netflix
Already being tipped for big success at next year’s Oscars, Ana de Armas stars as Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe in this powerful and hyper-stylish movie. Charting Marilyn’s turbulent life all the way from childhood, through her rise to fame and onto her tumultuous and ultimately tragic time in the spotlight, the film blends fact and fiction to get inside the head of one of the most recognisable figures of the 20th century.
It won’t be for everyone – the film doesn’t shy away from exploring the abuse that Marilyn, born Norma Jean, suffered during her life, and the sexual content has also already raised a few eyebrows. But the impressive cast, which also includes Adrien Brody as Arthur Miller and Bobby Cannavale as Joe DiMaggio, give their all.
Available Wednesday
Jungle – Amazon Prime
It’s rare these days that you watch something that feels truly original, but Jungle is exactly that. Tinie Tempah, Big Narstie and Ezra Elliott are among the talent starring in this ground-breaking and gritty six-part musical drama series, which tells the interconnected stories of a group of strangers struggling to keep their heads about water in modern day London. Blending dialogue with rap and drill music, and featuring some seriously cutting-edge visuals, the series examines the realities of lives lived in the shadow of crime, drugs and violence.
Available Friday
The Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City – Hayu
Whether they’re from Beverly Hills, New York or Dubai, those Real Housewives never fail to keep us entertained. And hot on the (killer) heels of the latest Cheshire-based incarnation of the show, here come the Salt Lake City divas for a third season of bitching, back-stabbing and generally being fabulous.
Back for more fun are Lisa Barlow, Heather Gay, Meredith Marks, Whitney Rose and Jen Shah, while joining this time as friends are Danna Bui-Negrete, Angie Katsanevas and Angie Harrington. Storylines this time centre on Jen’s ongoing legal battle and the growing feud between Meredith and Lisa, but we can also expect to see the fallout from Jennie Nguyen’s firing and much, much more. Juicy.
Available Thursday
Inside The World’s Toughest Prisons – Netflix
If you’re going to discover what life is like inside the world’s toughest prisons, best to do it from the comfort and safety of your own front room. Fearless journalist Raphael Rowe is back to venture behind the impenetrable walls of the world’s most dangerous maximum security prisons – so that we don’t have to. This series, the show’s sixth, sees Raphael travel to prisons in Moldova, Cyprus, Bosnia and Greece, where he meets inmates and staff, and paints an uncompromising and brutal picture of the reality of life in these fearsome institutions.
Available Wednesday
The Mighty Ducks: Game-Changers – Disney+
It might not be remembered with the same fondness as, say, The Karate Kid, but 1992 ice hockey movie The Mighty Ducks did at least result in last year’s enjoyable spin-off follow-up series Game Changers. Happily, it’s back for a second season, and the team – who won the right to use the Mighty Ducks name at the end of the last series – are off to California to spend some time at an intense and highly competitive summer hockey institute. There, the squad and its coach Alex (Lauren Graham) come up against the charming but hardcore Colin Cole (Josh Duhamel), a former National Hockey League player who now runs the institute. Can the Ducks stay cool in such a hotly competitive environment?
Available Wednesday
The Old Man – Disney+
If cat-and-mouse thrillers filled with espionage and shady governmental goings-on are your thing, The Old Man will be your new obsession. Based on the bestselling book of the same name, the seven-part drama series stars Jeff Bridges as Dan Chase, an aging former CIA operative who jumped ship decades earlier, desperate to find normality with his wife. Fast-forward 30 years and Dan, now living alone, bereaved and off-grid, is suddenly forced to go on the run when his past – in the person of FBI bigwig Harold Harper (John Lithgow) – comes back to haunt him and the safety of his beloved daughter is threatened.
So far, so Liam Neeson in the Taken movies, you might think. But unlike those films, The Old Man’s portrayal of an ageing agent feels much more realistic. Dan’s advancing years are catching up with him, he wheezes and limps, he’s worried about the deterioration of his mental capacities. But what he lacks in fitness, he more than makes for up with cunning, grit and determination.
Jeff is an immense screen presence throughout, bringing real charisma to the role – something that seems remarkable considering that filming had to be paused midway for him to undergo cancer treatment. John is also great as the complicated but compromised Harper.
A word of warning, though: this is a violent show. In fact, there’s an unflinching hand-to-hand fight scene towards the end of the first episode that goes on for almost five minutes solid. That said, these passages of violence never feel gratuitous and serve to show Dan’s desperation to survive.
Realistic and riveting, The Old Man makes for nerve-shredding viewing. And with a second season already commissioned, it appears there’s life in this old dog yet.
First two episodes available Wednesday, then weekly
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Top 5
Andor – Disney+
Diego Luna is back as Rogue One’s maverick rebel Cassian Andor in the latest Star Wars spin-off series. Expect edge-of-your-seat thrills as we navigate Cassian’s transformation from petty thief to die-hard member of the rebellion against the Empire.
The Imperfects – Netflix
Remember Misfits, the show about a ragtag group of youngsters blessed with supernatural powers? The Imperfects is in the same ballpark, centring around three twentysomethings who develop strange powers after a scientist messes with their DNA. Fun.
Sins Of Our Mother – Netflix
Currently awaiting trial after being charged with killing two of her children, Lori Vallow is one of the most notorious people in the US right now. This docuseries tells the story of her alleged crimes and her connections to a sinister doomsday cult.
The Serpent Queen – Starzplay
An intoxicating mix of historical fact and entertaining fiction, this lavish take on the life of legendary 16th-century French queen Catherine de’ Medici (Samantha Morton) is a must for fans of irreverent historical dramas such as The Great.
Am I Being Unreasonable – BBC iPlayer
Everyone loves Daisy May Cooper, and her latest series – in which she plays a frustrated mum with a shocking secret – is hilarious, dark and thoroughly addictive. So it’s a good thing all the episodes are already up on iPlayer, isn’t it?
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