All the TV, podcasts and playlists Buzz is most enthused about and/or looking forward to streaming this February, contained in one handy place.
STREAMING
You may have missed...
THREE PINES
Dir. Sam Donovan, Tracey Deer, Daniel Grou (8 x 60 min episodes)
If you’re a fan of Daniel Craig’s softboiled detective Benoit Blanc, I present to you Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, the warm-hearted but firm-handed star of Louise Penny’s murder mystery novels. Played by Alfred Molina, the first season of an eight-episode TV adaptation of Gamache’s cases, Three Pines – the name of a small but murder-prone town outside of Quebec he’s continually called out to – has something for everyone: the icy feel of a Scandi noir, the quirky locality of Midsomer Murders, and the underlying thread of police corruption and racial injustice of grittier police procedurals.
Streaming on Prime Video now.
Coming up to stream in February…
YOUR PLACE OR MINE
Dir. Aline Brosh McKenna (109 mins)
Hey, look, Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher are in a romcom together! Incidentally, 2004 just called and it wants its cast list back (as well as its jokes). Here, the pair play longtime besties living on opposite sides of America (LA and New York respectively) and opposite lives. Both want what the other has, so they try trading places for a week to see if they can find that missing something. Behind the camera, Your Place Or Mine is also one for the watchlists of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and The Devil Wears Prada fans – reuniting writer/director Aline Brosh McKenna with Rachel Bloom.
Streaming on Netflix from Fri 10 Feb.
FUNNY WOMAN
Dir. Oliver Parker (6 x 60 min episodes)
This six-episode series from Sky stars Gemma Arterton as fictional comic Barbara Parker, who, after conquering mid-60s Blackpool as a pageant queen, yearns for a bigger challenge that’ll make use of more than just her looks: London, and even bigger than that, television. But breaking into acting, especially in a male-dominated environment, ain’t no cakewalk. Based on the book by Nick Hornby, Funny Woman looks like it’ll serve up lavish production value with another knock-out performance from Arteton with her ‘eh up’ accent.
Available on Sky Comedy from Thurs 9 Feb.
GUNTHER’S MILLIONS
Dir. Emilie Dumay, Aurelien Leturgie (4 x 60 min episodes)
You know that joke about rich spinsters leaving everything to their cats? Well, meet Gunther – the world’s richest pet – who is the real-life embodiment of that punchline. The German Shepherd, Gunther VI, is the current inheritor of a vast fortune passed originally to his predecessor, Gunther III, by a German heiress upon her death in 1992, which has since ballooned from £80 million to £400 million in that time. This suspiciously growing wealth is what Gunther’s Millions investigates, and it’s a wild tale: cult followings, pop bands, Italian mansions, and… cloning?
Streaming on Netflix now.
NOLLY
Dir. Peter Hoar (3 x 60 min episodes)
If you haven’t got your oddly specific fill of regional, female-fronted period dramas about television stars this month after Funny Woman, Russell T. Davies has you covered with Nolly. Alongside Mark Gatiss, Helana Bonham Carter plays the titular role, Crossroads actress Noele Gordon, in the three-part drama that delves into the circumstances of her being fired from the soap. Speaking to the Radio Times, Davies promises an “extraordinary, mad in places” story dealing with gendered abuses of power that are “far beyond sexual”.
Streaming on ITVX now.
Also streaming this February…
SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW
Romance-drama from Alison Brie and Dave Franco (unrelated to that Gotye earworm).
Tue 10 Feb, Prime Video
FULL SWING
Pro golfers reveal all in “immersive” docuseries during an intense PGA series.
Wed 15 Feb, Netflix
STAR TREK: PICARD (S3, FINAL)
One final farewell from The Next Generation fam.
Thurs 16 Feb, Paramount+
SHARPER
Julianne Moore mothers Sebastian Stan into a life of con artistry.
Tue 10 Feb, Apple TV+
HELLO TOMORROW!
Lunar timeshares are up for grabs in this retro-future comedy.
Fri 17 Feb, Apple TV+
YOU (S4, part 1)
Joe’s back – but he’s not the only stalker in town anymore…
Thurs 9 Feb, Netflix (part 2 is on Thurs 9 Mar)
PODCASTS
FROZEN HEAD
Wondery (6 x 40 min episodes)
Hosted by Morbid’s none-too-series Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley, Frozen Head dives into the death-adverse businessman Mike Darwin, who latched onto America’s growing cryonics movement in the 1980s. His pitch? Die, freeze your head, and future science will sew it onto a fresh body. Dark subject matter, lightly presented.
STRIPPERS IN THE ATTIC
SITA Podcasting Ltd (50 min episodes)
If you’ve ever wondered what life is like at a real strip club, London dancers Buffy and Heaven are here to surprise, amuse and enlighten you. Sex-positive stripping, how to date a stripper, stripper resilience, terminology, stage names, and what goes on in the VIP room… nothing is left to the imagination.
MUBI AFTERSUN SPECIAL
MUBI Podcast (25 min episode)
One for the Paul Mescal stans: the official MUBI podcast has an Aftersun special with director Charlotte Wells. Wells takes host Rico Gagliano through the father-daughter drama’s all-important soundtrack, for which the drop of a needle says what a lack of words between the pair can’t. (Obama’s a fan, so it’s gotta be good, right?)
Available wherever you listen to podcasts.
PLAYLISTS
CLASSIC ‘60S SOUL LOVE SONGS
Amazon Music
On a date and feel like you’re losing your cool? This playlist does all the smooth talking so you don’t have to (but you’re doing great, don’t worry). Let the sounds of the soulful 1960s transport you to a time of old-school romance where tinder was still firewood.
Top Tracks: Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, You’re All I Need To Get By; Barbra Lewis, Baby I’m Yours; Otis Redding, Try A Little Tenderness
QUEER LOVE
Apple Music
Valentine’s Day is a whole 24 hours dedicated to anyone who loves anyone and this playlist celebrates everyone being able to love who they love with r’n’b beats from a range of artists in the LGBTQ+ community. Think Kehlani, Frank Ocean and Victoria Monét… need I say more?
Top Tracks: Kehlani, Everything; The Internet ft. Kaytranada, Girl; Janelle Monáe, I Like That
HUG ALL UR FRIENDS
Spotify
If the loves of your life this Valentine’s Day are your friends, turn that Valentine’s dinner into a Palentine’s party with this playlist full of feelgood comfort. These songs emulate a big warm hug from your bestie so grab your pals, hold them tight, and tell them you love them.
Top Tracks: Fleetwood Mac, Dreams; The Maccabees, Toothpaste Kisses; Alfie Templeman, Happiness In Liquid Form
words HANNAH COLLINS / ELIZABETH MORRIS
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