Your Friends And Neighbours
Jon Hamm stars in a drama about an unemployed financier who turns to burglary, now back for series two
Year: 2025
Certificate: 15
Still struggling to get used to his recent divorce, hedge fund manager Andrew ‘Coop’ Cooper (Jon Hamm) finds his life going completely off the rails when he also loses his job and can’t admit that to anyone who depends on his money. When legitimate work proves hard to find, he hits on a new way of supporting his lifestyle: robbing the homes of his wealthy friends and neighbours.
The first, nine-part series of this drama sees Hamm turn his easygoing charm all the way up to 11 as the quick-witted Coop, who finds himself gaining access to not just valuables but also every little dirty secret that lurks behind the locked doors and high fences in his swanky community.
It’s an intelligent, witty, incident-packed show with a great supporting cast that includes Corbin Bernsen as his entertainingly monstrous boss and Amanda Peet as his ex-wife, plus The Newsroom’s Olivia Munn.
Series two – stop reading now if you’ve yet to catch up – opens with Coop on holiday with his family but still a single man, happy as a clam with the income rolling in from his illegal pursuits. Then, one day, a mystery man (Paradise’s James Marsden, furthering his mid-life career renaissance) moves in nearby, and it seems he could change all that. Marsden is a great addition to a show that actually started as an idea for a novel before writer Jonathan Tropper pitched it over lunch as a TV show to Hamm – who loved it, so Tropper went off to write the script, and a two-series order followed. And here we are. (Two series)
Raising Chelsea
Series following Jamie Laing and Sophie Habboo’s voyage toward becoming parents
Year: 2026
Certificate: 15
Jamie Laing and Sophie Habboo met on the long-running reality show Made In Chelsea, and fans of the show followed the ups and downs of their early romance on TV. Then they got married and now they’re having a baby, and this cheery three-parter tracks that journey from conception onwards.
Jamie recounts how nervous he was about the very idea of having children (‘he took a lot of persuading,’ remembers Sophie, who has her eye on three or four little ones in total) and the series is peppered by appearances from Jamie’s mum, whom he consults about almost everything. Jamie refers to her as mummy, and mummy has a wry, wise eye for the whole shebang: ‘This pregnancy, you’d think the messiah was arriving,’ she reflects.
The series also digs into their work life (Jamie’s firm Candy Kittens, his radio show, the couple’s media company) and their ongoing renovation of a house in Kensington, a project Jamie doesn’t really seem to understand. ‘It’s a perfectly good house, so I don’t know why we’re renovating it.’ Sophie, however, firmly in nest-building mode, disagrees.
Both Laing and Habboo are old hands at reality TV and both feel very relaxed on camera here, to the extent that the series sometimes feels almost like a sitcom – but there are moments of surprising emotion to break that up, later on. (Three episodes)
The ‘Burbs (2026 series)
Comedy mystery based on the 1989 film, starring Jack Whitehall and Keke Palmer
Year: 2026
Certificate: 15
There’s something irresistible about a suburban mystery, a feeling that something is going on just under the pristine surface that no one will tell you about. That’s definitely happening in The ‘Burbs, a new, eight-part take on the 1989 Tom Hanks film, starring Jack Whitehall and Keke Palmer as Rob and Samira, new parents and new additions to a lovely-looking cul-de-sac in a town reputed to be one of the safest in the US.
Well, we say new – Rob grew up on the street and the house belongs to his parents, and he certainly has a past here, it soon becomes clear he’s not being entirely honest with his wife. When she becomes fixated on a creepy, seemingly abandoned house, Rob tries to steer her away, but why? And how much of Samira’s fixation flows from the sleep-deprived hell of being a new parent?
The supporting cast of neighbours is full of cracking comedy turns from actors you might recognise but probably couldn’t name, including veteran Saturday Night Live writer Paula Pell as an ex-Marine and Julia Duffy (Newhart) as the widowed Lynn, who is forever nearly saying the wrong thing. Along with the eccentric Tod (Mark Proksch), a man who spends his downtime listening to his police scanner, they help Samira dive into the street’s secrets in a comedy that’s as funny as it is engaging in its twists. And keep an eye out for the picture of Tom Hanks… (Eight episodes)
Crime 101
Starry LA heist thriller with Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Halle Berry
Year: 2026
Certificate: 15
The slick crime thriller Crime 101 boasts a fine cast and presents all the cliches of the genre in an attractive way, even if it’s not always as satisfying as it could be.
Adapted from a Don Winslow novella and set in and around Los Angeles, the story is as American as the Super Bowl. Yet the writer-director is an Englishman (Bart Layton), the leading man is an Australian (Chris Hemsworth), and the obligatory headcase is played by an Irishman (Barry Keoghan). In addition, there’s Mark Ruffalo as a dishevelled LAPD detective with marital problems, plus Halle Berry and Nick Nolte, not to mention a cameo for Jennifer Jason Leigh. So the cast is 18-carat, to say nothing of the diamonds. Yep, you guessed it: there’s a jewel thief at large (Hemsworth), and a lone detective (Ruffalo) has picked up his scent.
There’s a hazy morality to the story that brings all this together, not to mention a number of screeching high-speed car and motorbike chases that bring chaos and carnage to the LA streets without attracting the attention a single traffic cop in the process. Do such quibbles matter, though? Glossy heist thrillers need exciting car chases as much as they need relentless throbbing music, and Crime 101 offers both, along with a good dose of fun into the bargain. (142 minutes)
Doctor Who
Every episode of the Time Lord’s adventures since the 2005 reboot, and now two lost episodes from 1965
Year: 1963-
Certificate: 15
Longevity is baked into its Doctor Who’s DNA. Debuting in 1963, the character and show have been through several regenerations, most notably the 2005 revival spearheaded by Russell T. Davies.
In 2005, Doctor Who had been off air as a regular series since 1989 and it looked like a dead duck. Davies shook things up. The update refreshed all the right things, keeping the core of the show untouched but making it feel timely and relevant again. Christopher Eccleston in a leather jacket was the first of the new Doctors and his assistant Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) was as key to the show’s success as her eccentric Time Lord companion.
The Doctor then evolved again with Davies at the helm in 2023, with Ncuti Gatwa as a very different Doctor and a lot of Disney cash on screen. Sadly the partnership with Disney ran out of steam after two series and the Doctor will be back on the BBC for Christmas 2026. There is a small treat for Easter before that, though, with the release of two William Hartnell episodes previously thought lost: The Nightmare Begins and Devil’s Planet, which haven’t been seen since 1965.
The Teacher (Series 3)
Tensions escalate at a private school between a teacher and an artful student
Year: 2026
Certificate: 12
Third in an anthology drama about teachers who land in deep water, accused of gross misconduct and worse. The previous two series starred Sheridan Smith and Kara Tointon, and this features Victoria Hamilton, the star of Dr Foster and Cobra who has form playing troubled educators (see series six of Unforgotten).
Hamilton stars as Helen Simpson, the newly-promoted head of drama at a boarding school, who finds her end of year production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream becoming a flashpoint for her woke students, especially Cressida, a vocal, self-described ally who can find fault in anything despite being, in Helen’s words, ‘straight, white and wealthy’. Refusing to allow the cancellation of Shakespeare, the teacher sticks to her guns, but as the tension escalates, and Helen’s son Sam gets involved, it becomes much more than a battle of wills between two different generations.
The series does a good job of exploring the challenges faced by both teachers and young people as they navigate broken homes, identity, depression and bullying. That’s the backdrop against which a vociferous antagonism plays out between Helen and Cressida as their tit-for-tat leads to all-out war and casualties falling all around them. (Four episodes)
Paradise (Series 2)
The full run of this gripping drama’s second series is now available
Year: 2026
Certificate: 15
If you haven’t seen series one of Paradise, read no further than these words and come back when you have. OK? If you have, then here we go. The world of TV apocalyptic dramas is full of misery (The Walking Dead, The Last Of Us) that offer tiny glimpses of humanity, but Paradise is way, way more than that.
Series one opened in an unsettlingly perfect, white picket fence town in which the US President was assassinated. Apparently a murder mystery, that eight-part opening run also turned out to be set in a bunker in the wake of an apocalypse. What set Paradise apart, apart from that considerable twist – and the twists that were to follow – was the way you steadily came to understand what motivated each character, especially the ‘baddie’, Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson), and that it was just so much darn fun to watch.
That is still just as true in series two, which opens on another US institution of a location – Graceland, once home to Elvis Presley. There we meet a tour guide, Annie (Big Little Lies’ Shailene Woodley), and set in motion a storyline that may seem irrelevant at first but won’t for long. The first three episodes also catch up with noble Secret Service agent Xavier Collins (Sterling K Brown) and the situation back in the bunker after he left, and remind you how much more enjoyable and uplifting this show is to watch than The Last Of Us.
After each episode of series two ends you’ll find it hard not to watch the next and, even though there are slow spots towards the start of this run where it feels like you’re going backward instead of forward, trust us – it’s all worth it. Paradise is also one of those shows that’s fun to talk about after you’ve watched and Disney have put up a companion show with cast interviews that could be good fuel for that.
The series two finale is now available and there will be a third series. (Eight episodes)
Babies
Tender love story of a couple navigating the heartbreak of pregnancy loss
Year: 2026
Certificate: 15
From Stefan Golaszewski, creator of Mum and Marriage, this six-part drama stars Paapa Essiedu (The Capture, The Lazarus Project) and Siobhan Cullen (The Dry, Bodkin) as Stephen and Lisa, a couple enduring hope and heartbreak on a difficult road to parenthood.
As with Marriage and Golaszewski’s other shows, it’s about the conversations people have – and don’t have – that are not usually shown on screen. Whether or not to wear a coat out, or the pros and cons of jellybeans. The sorts of conversations and deflections that happen every day as ordinary couples like Lisa and Stephen navigate life and its challenges. In this case, multiple miscarriages.
The effect of this is not to bore you to death, but to bring you closer to the characters so that you feel every moment with them, big and small. For all the laughter at Stephen’s goofy banter, you’re also there to see his helplessness when Lisa is suffering another miscarriage. Through every one of Lisa’s nervous giggles, you know the pain she’s really feeling.
We also follow another couple, Stephen’s best friend Dave (Pennyworth’s Jack Bannon) and his new girlfriend Amanda (Charlotte Riley). Their relationship contrasts sharply with Stephen and Lisa, taking very different paths.
It’s not an easy watch by any means, full of heartache, grief and frustration, but it’s also reassuring to watch real people struggling with their feelings when most TV shows make deep and meaningful conversations look far too easy. It also feels purposeful to have a show that engages with the agony of miscarriage, for both women and their partners. (Six episodes)
The Young Offenders
Feckless Irish teens Conor and Jock can’t help but get into trouble
Year: 2018-
Certificate: 15
The title of this might sound like a turn-off to some, but the Irish coming-of-age comedy, set in Cork, actually has a lot of heart with a tight bromance at its centre. Those bros are Connor and Jock (Alex Murphy and Chris Walley), two lads with identical haircuts but their ‘own individual s*** going on’.
So yes, there’s swearing and bad behaviour but they are ‘loveable eejits’ in every other sense, too thick to be criminal masterminds, and far too sweet not to care about their mams, their girlfriends or each other. Oh, and there’s a lot of bicycle chases, with the boys regularly fleeing the Garda on pushbikes.
Definitely one for anyone missing Derry Girls, which in fairness, was just as sweary. It’s a mark of its success that the show moved from BBC3 to BBC1 for its fourth and the latest fifth series. (Five series)
Rob Beckett: Giraffe
Lively stand-up show filmed at the London Palladium
Year: 2026
Certificate: 15
Rob Beckett opens this stand-up show by bantering with his lively audience – some of whom seem to be heavily lubricated and one of whom claims to have 14 children. Such chat is typical of the energy from a crowd gathered for the ‘mouth of the south’, and is swiftly followed by Rob zeroing in on exactly what it means to have 14 children, especially as the comic himself only has ‘two and I feel exhausted’.
Rob is all about connection with his audience and the everyday practicalities of life. He’s especially amusing on this when it comes to talking about divorce (‘I’d rather have loads of stuff with someone I hate than nothing with no-one’), but also on pets, children and just when he’s drawing on his life in general, something he does with assured confidence across the show.
Beckett actually feels on even more relaxed and confident form than usual here, which makes sense. The show was filmed at the London Palladium at the end of a global tour that took him from Bromley to Brisbane. Comedy, it seems, doesn’t tire him out nearly as quickly as looking after children.
Hunting The Silver Killer
Did a killer get away with two double murders?
Year: 2026
Certificate: 12
This disturbing documentary explores how two separate cases of violent murder-suicide in Wilmslow, Cheshire, could in fact be double murders that went undetected. The implication being that there’s a killer stalking this leafy, well-to-do county in England who could strike again at any time.
Two Senior Coroner’s Officers noticed the similarities between the cases and speak here for the first time about how they tried to raise their concerns and were dismissed by police. Now, the evidence is reviewed by two world-renowned experts – forensic scientist Angela Gallop and forensic pathologist Dick Shephard – who conduct experiments with blood spatter and crime scene re-creations to give their verdicts on whether these violent crimes were in fact double murders.
Whatever the outcome of these new experiments, there’s one irrefutable fact that emerges from this documentary. That one of those Coroner’s Officers paid a high price for raising her concerns after her report was leaked to the press. (46 minutes)
The Real Housewives Of Rhode Island
Punchy instalment in the reality show franchise filmed in the tiny state with the big attitude
Year: 2026
Certificate: 15
‘The smallest state with the biggest attitude’ is the location for this punchy instalment in the Real Housewives reality franchise.
RHORI is filmed in the 37-mile-wide New England state that’s filled with fancy colonial homes, nice if rather windy beaches and women with oodles of attitude. The show has some of the glamour of Beverly Hills to its look, with all that fancy architecture, but also plenty of east coast swagger from the women, reminiscenet of the New Jersey or early New York City cast.
These housewives actually includes an ex-New Jersey series star – Dolores Catania – along with ex-local TV news anchor Rosie DiMare, and Ashley Iaconetti, who met her husband on Bachelor In Paradise and is now a ‘social media powerhouse’ while her husband manages the family coffee shop.
Most colourful is ‘Queen Elizabeth’, aka Liz McGraw, who is famed for running cannabis dispensaries and, after she was married to her husband for six months, discovered through a DNA search that there were actually related ‘somewhere down the line’.
Taking the prize for most intriguing, though, is ex-Miss Rhode Island winner Kelsey Swanson, whose partner is scratched out of the pictures we’re shown in episode one. We’ll leave it to the series to reveal why, but as a parting observation we’d advise that none of these women tell their secrets local gossip Jo-Ellen Tiberi who, by her own admission, just cannot keep a confidence… (12 episodes)
The Pitt
Noah Wyle stars as the head of a hard-pressed ER
Year: 2025
Certificate: 15
In ER, Noah Wyle played Dr John Carter, the bright-eyed trainee with the white coat that had his name embroidered onto it. In The Pitt, it’s easy to see him as the jaded older version of that bushy-tailed medic. Dr Robby (Wyle) cuts a more casual, careworn figure, wears a blue hoodie as he runs the ER at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Centre, handling all that comes his way with a kind but knowing gaze. That includes the four trainee doctors that just joined his staff.
Created by R Scott Gemmill (a writer on ER) and produced by John Wells (who produced ER), this medical procedural has a core that does feel very, very ER, and also shares both that show’s sense of humour and its keen eye for the harsh realities of balancing budgets with humanity. It differs in two ways. Firstly, it unfolds in real time, with each episode tracking an hour on shift at the Pitt with Dr Robby and co and, as such, the pressure builds and builds across each series. Secondly, it’s almost entirely just about work so there’s no Dr Ross and Carol-style romantic subplots.
The first series went down a storm in the US with audiences and critics, picking up five Emmy awards, and is likely to do so everywhere else. Both series run for 15 episodes/hours each and a third has been ordered. Series two is being released weekly following the launch of HBO Max in the UK on 26 March. (15 episodes)
Portobello
Astonishing Italian drama based on a true story
Year: 2026
Certificate: 15
What could the beloved host of a hugely popular Italian TV entertainment show have to do with organised crime? Nothing and everything is the answer in this bewildering drama based on the true story of Enzo Tortora, the host of Portobello, who was put on trial in the 1980s after being falsely accused of involvement with the Camorra, a powerful Neapolitan crime syndicate.
Tortora was innocent of the charges but had been named by a disillusioned Camorra associate who had turned informant, and that was that. This led to a long, long fight for justice through the tangled web of Italian society, a world that’s presented in rich detail by this six-part drama from vaunted Italian filmmaker Marco Bellocchio.
The period detail is very strong and, while it may feel like the story is going slow early on, the time taken to set up the reality of the era pays off when it comes to tracking the fallout from the informant’s words. The drama takes time to present Tortora and the informant as well-rounded characters, too, and certainly has a sense of humour when it comes to the studio recordings of Portobello, a charmingly end-of-the-pier style variety show that also raised money for good causes. (Millions that were enviously eyed by members of the Camorra.) That sense of humour is missing in the later episodes in which Tortora’s battle for justice becomes a grind to watch – but that is surely the point.
The Camorra is the same crime syndicate followed by the Sky drama Gomorrah, but that series was set in the 2010s. (Six episodes)
Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat
Hilarious hidden-camera comedy set on a company retreat
Year: 2026
Certificate: 15
The first series of Jury Duty is one of the most impressive achievements in the history of comedy TV. It’s a giant, Truman Show-style mockumentary constructed around one unwitting man who serves as a juror on a trial that was, unbeknown to him, completely made up. Filming could have fallen apart at any time had he got wind of it, and the same is true, only more so, of the follow-up show Company Retreat. This follows another pleasant everyman, Anthony Norman, as he begins a temp assignment at Rockin’ Grandma’s Hot Sauce, a family firm on the cusp of their big company retreat.
Things at the company are a little off from the start and just get weirder. At the centre of it all is the boss’s wacky and very white son, who has recently returned from a four-year stint in Jamaica and is rarely more than a sentence from saying something massively culturally inappropriate. Dougie Jr hopes to soon take over the running of Rockin’ Grandma’s when his father, Doug, retires.
The retreat itself is a nightmare of bad team-building exercises, despair-filled motivational speakers and horrible talent contests, with a smattering of looming death and corporate takeover twists thrown in for good measure. As with the first series, it’s not so much about watching Anthony buckle at the centre of it all as it is about marvelling at how he manages to rise to the occasion. Jury Duty is a hymn to the underdog, which is why it’s so nice to watch.
‘I feel like I’m on a TV show but this is not something that you can just make up,’ remarks Anthony at one point, reflecting another truth – real life is usually stranger than fiction. Not here, though. (Eight episodes)
Grace
Troubled detective tackles grisly murders in a windswept Brighton
Year: 2021-
Certificate: 15
John Simm stars as the steadfast, intuitive and also troubled DS Roy Grace, in this Brighton-based detective series, adapted from the bestselling novels by Peter James.
Grace is haunted by the disappearance of his wife several years ago, and has buried himself in cold cases. To some, he has lost his touch; to others, he is wasting his talents in Sussex. Either way, the role is well-suited to Simm, an actor who’s better when he’s got some meat for his character to chew on.
The murders Grace investigates are on the grisly side – expect killings to come with a side of torture, or for pigs to have picked their way through the corpses – and the cases are most compelling when he connects on a personal level.
The latest sixth series opens with the disappearance of a Brighton property developer’s wife. Will she turn up safe and sound and, if not, whodunnit? (Six series)
The Marlow Murder Club (Series 3)
The female sleuths tackle a third batch of mysteries
Year: 2026
Certificate: 12
The perky trio of Buckinghamshire sleuths return, lending their unique set of skills to three new two-part mysteries. The core trio played by Samantha Bond, Cara Horgan and Jo Martin continue to grow throughout the series, which is a big part of the show’s charm. No one stays too long in their groove or isn’t trying something new, and that also applies to their detective ally Tanika Malik (Natalie Dew), who is newly promoted to detective inspector.
When they’re not solving murders – of a much-loved town mayor or a celebrity chef – Suzie (Martin) has a go at speed dating and trains for a new career and Judith (Bond) gets closer to Prof Darius (Hugh Quarshie). And it’s a reunion with her old university friends that really tests Becks (Horgan) when she comes under suspicion for murder herself.
There’s an impressive line-up of guest stars, too, starting with Sarah Alexander and Peter Davison, plus Harry Enfield, Alastair Mackenzie and Susan Lynch joining in later episodes. (Six episodes)
A Woman Of Substance (2026 series)
Stunning adaptation of Barbara Taylor Bradford’s rags-to-riches saga
Year: 2026
Certificate: 12
Published in 1979 and a massive hit for Channel 4 when they first adapted it in 1985, this Barbara Taylor Bradford epic feels as timely today as it ever did. The rags-to-riches tale of a poor housemaid from Yorkshire who rose to become the head of a retail empire and the richest woman in the world, along the way the life of Emma Harte is littered with love, ambition, betrayal and loss.
When we first meet her Emma is an older woman, riding in a chauffeur-driven limousine through New York City, as news breaks that her company’s share prices are plummeting. Played by Brenda Blethyn, a vision in tweed and jewels, this titan of commerce has an air of wit and warmth that also leaps out at you when we meet the younger Emma (Jessica Reynolds), too.
The story flashes backwards and forwards between young Emma and older Emma, mirroring the events of her rise from poverty to riches with the latter-day threat to all she has built. Through each stage of her story, Emma is determined and resilient, a woman with a plan that no one – whether employer, suitor, husband or lover – will derail.
It looks marvellous and the cast are all superb. You expect greatness from BAFTA-winner Blethyn, but Reynolds also gives it some emotional welly as the one being put through the wringer as Emma climbs her way to the top. We’re only getting half of Taylor Bradford’s debut novel and viewers should vote with their remotes to make sure this secures a second series. It thoroughly deserves it. (Eight episodes)
Mrs Warren’s Profession
Imelda Staunton co-stars with her real-life daughter in this production of a once-banned play
Year: 2025
Certificate: 12
Watch now on National Theatre At Home
Five-time Olivier Award winner Imelda Staunton co-stars with real-life daughter – Bessie Carter, of Bridgerton fame – as a mother-daughter pair who don’t really know each other. Young Miss Warren has been looked after by staff her whole life while Mrs Warren wanders Europe. Her daughter is, as a result, dead-set on living a professional life free of emotional entanglements. So, how would mother and daughter get on should they start spending more time together?
It’s a collision course, and watching the two women on that course is the fuel for George Bernard Shaw’s once-banned play. The reason for the ban stems from Mrs Warren’s profession which was somewhat too… exotic for the Victorian authorities to bear back in the 1890s. We’ll leave the details of exactly how she earns her money for the play to reveal, because it’s more fun that way. But see if you can guess.
As to the play, it’s really only properly alive when Staunton and Carter are on stage together because, when it’s the men chatting away, you know it’s just wasting time, really – the point of this is a reckoning between mother and daughter. (105 minutes)