The best new TV to stream next week – from Bird Box Barcelona to Foundation

THERE is a whole host of brand new shows available to stream this week that are bound to keep you hooked.

The Celeb Report’s TV Mag has rounded up all the ones you need to keep a watchful eye out for…

NETFLIX

Unknown: Killer Robots

DOCUMENTARY Available from Monday

The idea of robot soldiers is old hat in Hollywood, as anyone who’s seen Star Wars or The Terminator will know. In the real world, though, such machines have firmly remained the stuff of sci-fi – until now. Hidden away in top-secret military labs, scientists are frenetically racing to build a new type of soldier: AI-powered robots that would change the face of warfare and, potentially, the future of humankind. This latest documentary in the Unseen strand follows the soldiers and scientists dedicated to developing these technologies, and the activists desperate to highlight the potential for danger and disaster. Fascinating, if sobering.

Quarterback

DOCUSERIES Available from Wednesday

American Football is the latest sport to get the fly-on-the-wall documentary treatment, in the shape of this eight-part series, which charts the highs and lows of the 2022 NFL season. But what sets this programme apart is that the sport’s governing body has allowed for quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins and Marcus Mariota to be mic’d up for every single game of the season, giving viewers unprecedented access to life for an American Footballer at the top of their game. Plus, the cameras follow them off the field of play too, capturing life with their teammates and families. Highlights include Mahomes setting an NFL record and Cousins inspiring the greatest comeback in NFL history. Must-see viewing for all gridiron nuts.

Sonic Prime

KIDS’ ANIMATION Available from Thursday

Next time you drop and shatter your favourite mug, or smash a long-cherished china figurine, be sure to remind yourself that it could be so much worse – you could shatter the entire universe like Sonic the Hedgehog does at the beginning of season two of this high-energy, technicolour series. As a result, the blue bundle of energy (voiced by Deven Mack) sets off on a journey through the Shatterverse, in an attempt to piece reality back together again. It won’t be easy, though, with Sonic coming up against foes old and new, including his nemesis Dr. Eggman. Full-throttle fun.

Survival Of The Thickest

COMEDY Available from Thursday

Based on her memoir of the same name, Michelle Buteau stars as Mavis Beaumont, a black, recently single, plus-sized woman on a mission to rebuild her crumbling life. Emerging from the wreckage of a painful break-up, struggling New York stylist Mavis decides to face life head-on, helped by friends, relatives and her “body-positive attitude, cute v-neck and some lip-gloss”. Sure, there are plenty of comedy series about struggling single females out there right now, but Survival Of The Thickest approaches some familiar themes from an up-till-now unrepresented viewpoint, so feels enjoyably fresh.

Bird Box Barcelona

HORROR Available from Friday

Serving as a sequel to 2018 horror movie Bird Box, this dread-drenched film moves the scary action across the Pond to the beautiful Spanish city of Barcelona. If you’ve not yet caught the original film, here’s the set up: seemingly from nowhere, mysterious and malignant beings have appeared on Earth, and anyone who looks at them is instantly driven to suicide. To stay alive, people must avoid clapping eyes on these creatures at all costs, which means travelling everywhere blindfolded. With the wave of horror spreading to Europe, and Spain experiencing thousands of deaths, Sebastian (Mario Casas) attempts to escape the city, forming uneasy alliances with other survivors along the way. Despite the obvious similarities to A Quiet Place, there’s enough tension and paranoia here to make you risk taking a look. 

Too Hot To Handle

REALITY Available from Friday

Lana’s back! Yes, Too Hot To Handle’s no-nonsense, cone-shaped mistress of ceremonies is here once again to try to stop season five’s batch of buff, bronzed and beautiful young singletons from getting frisky with each other. As usual, the contestants arrive at the show’s luxurious, sun-drenched location thinking they’re taking part in a different dating show, only to discover that they’re going to have to resist temptation and forge real emotional connections if they want to keep the $200,000 prize fund intact. Can they do it, or will the heat become too much? Expect a typically easy-on-the-eye selection of contestants from all across the globe.

APPLE TV+

The Afterparty

COMEDY Available from Wednesday

It’s time for season two of this star-studded, laugh-out-loud murder mystery – and the good news is, we’re all invited to The Afterparty. This time round, eccentric detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish) is called upon to help Aniq (Sam Richardson) and Zoë (Zoë Chao) uncover who’s bumped off a groom at his own wedding. All the guests are in the frame for the murder and, just like with the first series, each episode will feature a different suspect’s view of what happened. Also like last time, the ensemble cast is ridiculously starry and includes Jack Whitehall, Ken Jeong, Paul Walter Hauser and Poppy Liu. A killer comedy.

Foundation

SCI-FI Available from Friday

Grandiose, epic and effects laden, the first season of Foundation was an imaginative joy for diehard sci-fi fans, if a little heavy-going for the casual viewer. It’s back this week, promising a more pacy and action-packed second chapter of the story of Hari Seldon (Jared Harris), Gaal (Lou Llobell) and Salvor (Leah Harvey), and their battle to defy the Galactic Empire and protect human knowledge. Be warned, though: the official synopsis for the new season makes it clear that newcomers will need to have watched season one first to have even the first clue as to what’s going on: “Hari, Gaal, and Salvor discover a colony of Mentalics with psionic abilities that threaten to alter psychohistory itself. The Foundation has entered its religious phase, promulgating the Church of Seldon throughout the Outer Reach and inciting the Second Crisis: war with Empire.” Got that?

LIONSGATE+

The Great

COMEDY Available from Friday

Comedy-dramas that shine an irreverent light on real historical figures are all the rage these days, with shows such as Dickinson and Queen Charlotte playing fast and loose with historical fact but making these real figures way more relatable in the process. The Great is another example, turning the remarkable life of 18^th-century Russian empress Catherine into a semi-fictional, often-farcical, always-fabulous caper. Expect more of the same in this third series, with Catherine (Elle Fanning) consolidating her power and inspiring progress in the country, while feeble hubby Peter (Nicholas Hoult) tries to come to terms with almost being bumped off by Catherine during the last series. Also starring Jason Isaacs, it’s another tongue-in-cheek romp.

PRIME VIDEO

The Summer I Turned Pretty

DRAMA Available from Friday

The glossy teen drama based on Jenny Han’s novels returns for a second series, with Belly (Lola Tung) still attempting to navigate the emotional fireworks caused by her love triangle with brothers Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno). If you remember, at the end of the first series, after much soulsearching, Belly and Conrad had coupled-up – but when the passion cools and he goes missing, she finds herself back at Cousins Beach, trying to make everything okay. The angst-ridden new season starts this week with a triple bill of episodes, with the rest of the series then landing weekly.

PARAMOUNT+

Quantum Leap

SCI-FI Available from Thursday

For those of a certain vintage, the original version of Quantum Leap – which starred Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell – was a late-80s/early-90s time-travelling cult classic. Now the show has been given a shiny new makeover, which is set 30 years after the original but relies firmly on the tried-and-tested formula of the original. Physicist Dr Ben Song (Raymond Lee) is leading the newly restarted Quantum Leap project when he becomes lost in the past, just like his predecessor Dr Sam Beckett. Finding himself inhabiting the bodies of other people, Ben attempts to change their lives, and histories, in the hope of one day returning to his own present. While lacking the cheesy charm of the original, the premise is still so strong that this reboot is definitely worth that leap of faith.

DISNEY+

The Secrets Of Hillsong

DOCUSERIES Available from Wednesday

Hillsong was once the celebrity church of choice, with the likes of Justin Bieber, Chris Pratt and Selena Gomez known to attend its upbeat services. But in recent years, the megachurch has become mired in scandal, with former leader of the New York City branch Carl Lentz being fired for having an affair, followed by wider accusations of systemic abuse in the church. Based on an original investigation by Vanity Fair magazine, this four-part docuseries explores the church’s history and the scandals that have engulfed it. As well as talking to former congregants, journalists and historians, the series also features the first interviews with Lentz and his wife Laura since his firing.

Bluey

KIDS’ ANIMATION Available from Wednesday

If you and your kids have long since exhausted the 130 short but utterly brilliant episodes of Bluey currently available on Disney+, don’t worry: Christmas has come early for all fans of the energetic young dog and her family, with 10 completely new episodes dropping this week. As laugh-out-loud, smart and endearingly quirky as ever, the new batch will include cameos from celebrity fans including Lin-Manuel Miranda, who appears as a talking horse called Major Tom, and Rose Byrne, who plays Bluey and Bingo’s aunt Brandy. There’s also an episode in which Bluey and Bingo dress up as grannies once again, which is sure to delight longstanding fans.

DISCOVERY+

Eli Roth Presents: A Ghost Ruined My Life

DOCUSERIES Available from Friday

Hollywood horror director and master of the macabre Eli Roth returns with a second series of spooky tales of harrowing true-life hauntings. Just like the first series, the stories range from the uncanny, unexplainable and deeply unsettling to the faintly ridiculous – and this time include the tale of a young woman attacked by a spirit summoned at a seance and a couple driven out of their newly bought dream home by an unwelcoming ghost. One thing’s for sure: whether you believe there’s something supernatural going on or not, it’s hard not to be swayed by the genuine terror of the folk involved.