(BBC iPlayer)
Who knew Hugh Grant had such acting range hidden beneath his years of formulaic rom-coms? Grant gives a career-defining performance as the disgraced former Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe, who careens from charming to conniving within the same scene. From his rise to leadership to spectacular fall from grace, the drama covers not only Thorpe’s affair with Norman Scott but his subsequent attempt to put a hit on Scott’s life. Ben Whishaw delivers a powerful and funny performance as Norman Scott, Thorpe’s lover and eventual catalyst in his political demise. With sex, betrayal and attempted murder, this truly is a very English scandal. *****GE
HOUSE OF GAMES
(BBC iPlayer)
Not quite a quiz show yet not a full-on game show, Richard Osman’s House Of Games pits four celebrities against each other in a series of trivia games which range from the sublime to the ridiculous – “Bakewell Tarticle 50” has been a genuine answer in one round. Osman and the celebrities’ interactions make for compelling viewing, as he mocks those rubbish at buzzer rounds, or revels in denying the competitive contestants crucial points. It’s great fun to play along with, too, even though you can’t win the fondue sets, dressing gowns or the cheap trophy which the celebrities seem eager to bag themselves. ****JJM
(Netflix)
A Netflix original comedy series that follows a modern day Cuban family living in LA, as a single mother of two kids as she tries to juggle her work, family and love life. Although lighthearted at times the series also manages to adopt a more serious tone; tackling issues such as immigration; mental illness; racism; sexism and homophobia. This series is heartwarming, funny and from experience will make you laugh and cry simultaneously. *****TH
WESTWORLD SEASON 2
(Sky Atlantic)
If you weren’t one of those who caught the first season of this JJ Abrams-produced series, based on the dystopian cult film of the same name, here’s the deal – in the future, a theme park has been created where you can pretend to be a cowboy, like a computer game come to life. Sounds fun, right? The first season was a cracker, serving up sci-fi, satire and mystery that rivalled Philip K Dick’s best work. The second season sees the once peaceful robots develop a sense of self and strike out on their own, but hasn’t developed much further. ***MH
(Arrow, DVD/Blu-Ray)
This reissue of Abel Ferrara’s New York vampire film is an absolute beauty. Arrow have done an outstanding job on the Blu-ray transfer – this was already an exquisite-looking film, but now it looks even crisper, with a great array of extras to boot. Ferrara, one of the great poets of the stinking underbelly of New York, produced a film here that takes the vampire trope and turns it towards heroin addiction and a sly satire of the Nietzschean heroin chic prevalent in the 90s, by way of Catholic redemption. Utter class. *****FT