IT may be hot outside but if the heat is too much, there’s plenty to keep you occupied indoors on the TV this week.
Every week, The Celeb Report’s TV Mag brings you the latest shows to add to your watch list, here’s the latest batch of suggestions.
What’s New
The Thing About Pam – Paramount+
Renee Zellweger stars in this series about the murder of housewife Betsy Faria
In December 2011, Missouri housewife Betsy Faria was brutally murdered in her own home, stabbed more than a dozen times.
The killing prompted a now-notorious police investigation that would lead to the wrongful imprisonment of Betsy’s husband Russ, while the real murderer escaped justice, if temporarily.
The story of Betsy’s murder and the sinister involvement of Betsy’s friend Pam Hupp is retold in this glossy new six-part drama that’s already stirred up more than a little controversy.
Leading the cast as single-minded, cold-blooded Pam is the always watchable Renée Zellweger, who’s hidden beneath a layer of impressive prosthetics.
It’s undoubtedly watchable stuff but some might find the comedic tone – we’re talking a whimsical voiceover, cartoonish flights of fancy and some over-the-top performances – more than a little misjudged. This is, after all, the story of a real-life brutal murder, not an episode of Desperate Housewives.
Still, if you can stomach that, expect to be swept along by Renée’s charisma alone. Also stars Josh Duhamel as Russ’ defence counsel Joel Schwartz.
Available Thursday
Virgin River – Netflix
Virgin River packs an emotional punch
Few dramas pack as romantic and emotional a punch as Virgin River. And we can expect life to be as turbulent and tumultuous as ever for Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) when we return to the picture-postcard Californian town.
Last time we were there, Mel had discovered she was pregnant and had broken the news to her fella, Jack (Martin Henderson). The one small fly in their otherwise happy ointment is that, having used IVF, Mel doesn’t know whether Jack is the father, or if that honour belongs to Mark, her deceased husband.
When we rejoin them in series four, Mel is loving being pregnant but the paternity issue is beginning to bug Jack. Meanwhile, the arrival of a hunky new doctor in town causes complications and Hope is slowly recovering from her car accident. Hugely bingeable.
Available Wednesday
Blown Away – Netflix
Blown Away is back for a third series
Forget baking, cooking, dressmaking or pottery – if you want spectacular and risky reality thrills, glass-blowing is where it’s at.
Yes, Blown Away is back for a third series, with another 10 ambitious and highly skilled glass-blowers from around the globe primed and ready to do battle in the hot shop, all hoping to win a career-boosting grand prize.
Each episode, they’ll be given a tough creative challenge to pull off, with the least successful being sent home. As ever, they’ll need to impress the show’s resident evaluator, celebrated glass artist Katherine Gray, plus a different guest judge each episode.
And, overseeing it all is host Nick Uhas, who’ll be there to help pick up the pieces whenever glass – and the contestants’ dreams – get shattered.
Available Friday
Project Mandela – YouTube
Big Zuu is one of five famous faces taking part in this YouTube series
Timed to coincide with 2022 Mandela Day, this important new five-part documentary series sees five well-known faces – Big Zuu, Patrice Evra, Bel-Air’s Jabari Banks, Black-ish actress Marsai Martin and footballer and BGT star Jeremy Lynch – devote a day to performing a Mandela-inspired act of service, doing something to help those around them.
The series also takes the opportunity to remember the great man’s life and work, his impact and continuing influence.
Available Monday
Trying – Apple TV+
Esther Smith and Rafe Spall star in this series about a couple desperate for kids
Nikki (Esther Smith) and Jason (Rafe Spall) are a London couple desperate to have kids. The only trouble is, they can’t. They’ve tried everything, including IVF, but it hasn’t worked, so they decide they’re ready to set off on the long, unpredictable, sometimes painful but ultimately amazing journey towards adopting a child.
That’s the set up for Trying, the brilliant British comedy that’s currently two seasons old, with a third series due this week.
A little bit Motherland, with more than a hint of the criminally overlooked There She Goes, the show follows Nikki and Jason as they juggle work, relationships, flaky friends and even flakier family, all the while hoping they’ll soon be chosen to become parents.
Esther Smith and Rafe Spall are superb in the lead roles, blessed with a believable, endearing chemistry and a real knack of managing to make you laugh one minute and cry the next.
They’re ably backed up by a starry supporting cast, which boasts the likes of Imelda Staunton, Phil Davis, Paula Wilcox, Ophelia Lovibond, Oliver Chris, Darren Boyd, Sian Brooke and Cush Jumbo.
The third series, which begins this week, picks up from exactly where series two ended, with Nikki and Jason suddenly finding themselves responsible for two children, Princess and Tyler.
With a court date looming, which will decide if the couple can officially adopt the pair, life is about to become even more stressful and relationships look set to be pushed to their limits.
Genuinely funny, frequently moving and poignant, if you’re looking for a comedy filled with warmth and heart, Trying certainly delivers.
Seasons one and two are available now; season three weekly from Friday
Top 5
Young Royals – Netflix
Young Royals is a six-part Swedish drama
If the likes of Spanish teen series Elite and the Italian Baby have had you captivated, then this six-part subtitled Swedish drama is a worthwhile investment. Prince Wilhelm (Edvin Ryding) is a Swedish prince who gets banished to boarding school after becoming embroiled in a fight in a night club and bringing shame on the family. It’s beautifully acted, relatable – Wilhelm’s blemished skin and awkward energy override his regal status – and should be commended for its celebration of diversity, with differing sexualities, cultures and conditions such as Asperger’s all represented. Refreshing.
Bad Influencer: The Great Insta Con – BBC iPlayer
This documentary looks at Australian wellness influencer Belle Gibson
In 2013, Australian wellness influencer Belle Gibson claimed she had inoperable brain cancer which had spread throughout her body, and had been given months to live, but had cured herself through her diet. This compelling documentary explores how Belle – who’d landed a book deal and app partnership – was exposed as a fraud, through the eyes of reporters working on the case and individuals who had been duped into attempting to heal their own health conditions using Belle’s regime. Astonishing and terrifying.
Murder By The Coast – Netflix
This suspense-filled feature-length documentary is in a mixture of both English and subtitled Spanish, and has a style and format which will be familiar to fans of Netflix’s true-crime documentaries. It takes a deep dive into the 1999 murder of 19-year-old Dutch-Spanish girl Rocío Wanninkhof Hornos in her hometown of Mijas in Málaga, Spain, and the media circus swirling around it, which saw Rocío’s mother’s former lesbian lover wrongfully accused, before a British suspect came to light. Commentary comes from Rocío’s friends, experts involved in investigating the case and former presenter Nick Ross.
Mortel – Netflix
Mortel is a cool but creepy supernatural French series
Sex Education’s many, many fans will delighted to see Sami Outalbali, who plays the impossibly handsome boyfriend of Eric in the comedy-drama, take a leading role in this cool but creepy supernatural French series. Two teenage girls have made a pact with a voodoo god called Obé to help them avenge the supposed murder of one of their brothers, Reda (Sami). It’s now returned for a second season, and Reda’s back, but he’s been possessed by Obé. Uh-oh. Think Euphoria meets Supernatural .
Ghislaine Maxwell: Epstein’s Shadow – Sky On Demand & NOW
This documentary paints a vivid portrait of Ghislaine Maxwell
Her name may have become infamous around the world for her role in the Jeffrey Epstein horrors, but if you don’t know a great deal about the daughter of media baron Robert Maxwell, this three-parter paints a vivid and intimate portrait. Journalists exploring the case and Ghislaine’s former social circle are among the contributors as the appalling story unfolds, and among the theories posited is that Maxwell was even more of a monster than Epstein. It’s frequently uncomfortable to watch but seeks to tell the victims’ story rather than sensationalising their suffering.
TV Mag is available free every Saturday, only in The Celeb Report.
