Pick of the week
Extrapolations
Yet another attempt to reckon with the climate emergency – humanity’s failure to connect environmental cause with effect is clearly fertile ground for drama. Starting in 2037, this anthology series proceeds into a horrifying future of mass death by heatwave, portable oxygen for all and no food bar kelp. There are impossible dilemmas for people caught between worlds and there’s an ever-growing extremity among those longing for meaningful change. Its characters can be cliched (see Kit Harington’s villainous tycoon) and the episodes are hit and miss. But the spectacular cast (Meryl Streep, Marion Cotillard, Forest Whitaker) and good intentions make it worthwhile viewing.
Apple TV+, from Friday 17 March
***
Swarm
Social media has added a new and troubling dimension to fandom; the most poisonous corners of Twitter can involve jealous, furious, cult-like devotion to public figures. This dark drama from Donald Glover and Janine Nabers stars the excellent Dominique Fishback as Dre, an obsessive stan of Ni’Jah, a singer who, right down to her critically acclaimed but marginally less successful sister, seems to be modelled on Beyoncé. Dre’s life is often difficult, and as it becomes more challenging, her online devotion to Ni’Jah spirals into ever more unhealthy, real-world realms. Soon, the two are on a collision course.
Prime Video, from Friday 17 March
***
Ted Lasso
With fictional US coach Lasso now having outlasted his real-life counterpart Jesse Marsch in English football, it’s a good time for the third season of this big-hearted comedy drama to act as a corrective to the often miserable realities of top-flight football. As we rejoin Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis), he should be on top of the world after AFC Richmond’s promotion. But he will be without Nate (Nick Mohammed) who has departed to West Ham and the media doesn’t fancy the manager’s chances without him. Expect Ted’s quirky team-building skills to find a way.
Apple TV+, from Wednesday 15 March
***
Bali 2002
On 12 October 2002, the paradise of Bali was shattered by a terrorist attack on two of the island’s busiest nightclubs in which 202 people lost their lives. This four-part drama tells the story of these horrendous events through the eyes of the tourists, local people, first responders and the terrorists themselves. The characters take time to bed in but the attacks are jarringly rendered and the aftermath is harrowing and moving as the bewildered survivors count the physical and emotional cost. Rachel Griffiths and newcomer Sri Ayu Jati Kartika star. PH
ITVX, from Thursday 16 March
***
Agent Elvis
One of those ideas that’s so bizarre it will probably work: what if, not content with inventing rock’n’roll as we know it, Elvis Presley had also been a kick-ass secret agent, tasked with protecting America as well as entertaining it? This lovingly animated series manages to buy into the concept while raising an eyebrow at its absurdity – it also benefits from a startling cast of voice actors including Matthew McConaughey as The King himself alongside Christina Hendricks, Jason Mantzoukas, George Clinton and Elvis’s former wife Priscilla, voicing herself.
Netflix, from Friday 17 March
***
Dance 100
Choreography gets the elimination challenge show treatment in this admirably ambitious series. The eight choreographers competing for the $100k prize will each devise a routine for their allocated members of the titular dance troupe – but the troupe decide who qualifies. And with each elimination, the competitors will have more dancers at their disposal as the group belonging to the defeated choreographer join the successful teams. This turns out to be both an opportunity and a massive logistical headache. Good fun.
Netflix, from Friday 17 March
***
Power Book II: Ghost
More generic but pacy crime syndicate adventures: this saga continues with baby-faced kingpin Tariq (Michael Rainey Jr) determined to get out of the game for good. That is easier said than done as a new connect interrupts his plans to reunite with his family. However, there’s another equally tantalising opportunity as Brayden offers him an interning spot at his family’s hedge fund. Will Tariq abandon the criminality of the street for the less bloody moral compromises of high finance? Legal money is tempting, but is the game now in Tariq’s blood?
Lionsgate+, from Friday 17 March
