STREAMING services are working hard to ensure there’s no excuse for boredom – especially with their latest offerings.
Whether it’s an intense drama you’re looking for or a comedy to ease your stress, take a look at some of the most gripping new TV available online.
One Night DRAMA BritBox
Anyone who’s ever been on a blind date will find themselves having all manner of painful – and sometimes pleasurable – flashbacks during this addictive new 10-part comedy-drama.
Set over 10 short and sharp half-hour episodes, the series tells the story – in real time – of an eventful blind date between nervous and initially unwilling waitress Elizabeth (Downton Abbey’s MyAnna Buring) and cagey but self-assured carpenter Jonas (Icelandic actor Gísli Örn Garðarsson).
Having been set up by her friend Denise, Elizabeth and Jonas meet at a bar in Oslo and slowly try to suss each other out.
From the off, the series is filled with beautifully observed moments of awkwardness, forced small talk and defensiveness, as well as the early flickerings of a connection.
It quickly becomes clear, though, that there are some big secrets being kept on both side – secrets that come to light in dramatic fashion as the evening progresses.
Intriguing, moving and seriously bingeable, is filled with all sorts of unexpected emotional twists and turns, making it quite unlike any other drama you’ll see this year.
What makes it even more remarkable is the fact that MyAnna actually shot two versions of the series at the same time – one speaking in English and one in Swedish, alongside two different male leads. Seriously impressive.
Colin In Black & White DRAMA Netflix
Former American Football star Colin Kaepernick became globally famous in 2016 when he started taking the knee ahead of games, to protest against racial inequality and police brutality.
Now Kaepernick’s early life is revealed in this powerful six-part series, which dramatises his time at high school and explores the experiences that put him on the road to becoming the influential civil-rights activist he is today.
Starring Nick Offerman (Parks And Recreation) and Marie-Louise Parker (Weeds, The West Wing) as Kaepernick’s white adoptive parents Rick and Teresa, plus Jaden Michael as his younger self, it’s a fascinating glimpse into Colin’s formative years – and even features the man himself as narrator.
Available from Friday October 29.
Below Deck REALITY hayu
Get ready to be whisked to the spectacular waters of St. Kitt’s in the Caribbean, where the crew of breathtaking superyacht My Seanna are all set to give a fresh boatload of pampered passengers some five-star treatment – and viewers some five-star entertainment.
That’s right, is back and, as always, it’s anything but plain sailing for the crew. For a start, freshly promoted first officer Eddie Lucas and chef Rachel Hargrove need to patch up their differences, after they fell out last time round.
Worse still, an unexpected delay means Captain Lee has to be replaced by Captain Sean Meagher, who has the immediate effect of rubbing the team up the wrong way. Choppy waters ahead….
Joining in the ocean-sized fun this time round are new chief stewardess Heather Chase, stews Fraser Olender and Jessica Albert, and new deckhands Wes O’Dell, Jake Foulger and Rayna Lindsay.
And just as you’d expect, it isn’t long before the crew hit some rough waves as they attempt to navigate their way through dramatic rows, romances and unreasonable guests.
Available from Tuesday.
Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens COMEDY BBC3
The first series of Awkwafina’s irreverent comedy was an under-the-radar delight.
Following the disasters and minor victories of brash but aimless twentysomething Nora, who lives with her grandmother and father in a small house in the New York borough of Queens, it was unpredictable, smart and painfully funny.
As the second series opens, life is as complicated as ever for Nora, who’s back in New York following her disastrous attempt to launch a business in China.
Concerned, her dad Wally (BD Wong) finds her a job in a CBD shop but even that proves a struggle for grumpy Nora.
Meanwhile, after finding out she’s fit as a fiddle, Nora’s grandma (Lori Tan Chinn) takes up arm-wrestling.
Jack & Kelly Osbourne: Night Of Terror REALITY Discovery+
You’d think that having self-styled Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne as your dad might encourage a love of the paranormal – but Kelly Osbourne is something of a skeptic.
Her brother Jack, however, is a chip off the spooky old block and in this entertaining special, he drags Kelly to legendary but creepy cruise liner RMS Queen Mary, which has been permanently docked in Long Beach, California, since the late 1960s.
Renowned for being one of America’s most haunted places, the Queen Mary has been closed to the public since early 2020.
Now Jack and Kelly are climbing aboard for three days to investigate whether the spooky rumours are true, or just a load of watery nonsense. Lots of fun.
Available Sunday.
Family Business DRAMA Acorn TV
First things first: confusingly, there are two French TV shows known in English as Family Business.
One is a black comedy about a butcher who turns his shop into a marijuana café, the other is a light-hearted drama about mother-and-daughter lawyers, Astrid (Catherine Marchal) and Audrey (Ophélia Kolb), who both specialise in family law and decide to team up.
It’s the latter show that returns this week for a second series, promising plenty more emotive legal battles at work and complicated personal dramas at home.
Imagine a cross between Nicola Walker series The Split and French hit Call My Agent (which also featured Ophélia Kolb in its cast) and you’ll have a good idea of what to expect.
In French with subtitles.
Swagger DRAMA Apple TV+
The unforgiving world of youth basketball is laid bare in this gritty ten-part series, inspired by the experiences of NBA superstar Kevin Durant.
O’Shea Jackson Jr. stars as Ike, a former player turned youth coach, who channels his hopes and efforts into 14-year-old basketball prodigy Jace (Isaiah Hill) and his talented teammates.
Jace has what it takes to make it – but life off court doesn’t always play ball.
The first three episodes are available Friday, then weekly,
Maid DRAMA Netflix
Based on writer Stephanie Land’s real-life experience of working as a cleaner to keep both her and her young child afloat, 10-part drama is heart-wrenching stuff.
Featuring stunning performances, particularly from Margaret Qualley as lead character Alex, and from Margaret’s real-life mum Andie MacDowell – who plays Alex’s unreliable mother Paula – every episode is guaranteed to put your emotions through the wringer.
Admittedly, sometimes the misery feels a little overpowering but as a glimpse of the harsh reality of life for many hard-working Americans today, it’s unquestionably powerful.
Sex, Love & Goop REALITY Netflix
Depending on your opinion of Gwyneth Paltrow and her controversial Goop brand, you can look at this relationship self-help series in one of two ways.
For some, it’s an informative show in which Gwyneth and various intimacy experts help real-life couples strengthen their relationship and spice up their sex lives.
For others, it’s a hugely self-indulgent, pastiche-level load of affirmative twaddle, designed to promote Goop and its products.
Whichever side of the fence you sit, the show has certainly got people talking.
Tom Parker: Inside My Head DOCUMENTARY All4
When The Wanted’s Tom Parker revealed to the world that he was suffering from an inoperable brain tumour, it lead to an outpouring of sympathy and support for the young singer.
This intense one-off reveals what life has been like for Tom since he announced the news, as he and his wife Kelsey learn to live with his illness, and he sets about arranging a high-profile charity concert.
Genuinely emotional and moving, expect to be inspired by Tom’s strength and continuing bravery.
Alice In Borderland SCI-FI Netflix
Anyone who’s completed The Squid Game and is looking for another jeopardy-filled and action-packed series about people risking their lives by playing lethal games, check out this Japanese sci-fi thriller.
Set in an abandoned version of Tokyo, video-game fan Arisu and mountain climber Usagi are forced to take part in a series of perilous games, which determine whether they get killed by deadly red lasers.
Crammed with impressive visual effects and imaginative games, once they’ve set up the concept in episode one, this is fast-paced and lots of fun.
Hollington Drive DRAMA ITV Hub/Sky On Demand
Despite early complaints from some viewers that it contained far too much mumbling, this crime drama about two sisters – Helen (Rachael Stirling) and Theresa (Anna Maxwell Martin) – who become caught up in the investigation into the disappearance of a local child is fraught and fabulously gripping.
Set over four tense episodes, long-held secrets are revealed and relationships are stretched to breaking point, while stars Rachael and Anna are as fantastic as ever.
