Pick of the week
Fool Me Once
The moment one of former soldier Maya’s friends gives her a secret nanny-cam, you get a hunch about where this Harlan Coben thriller adaptation might be going. Maya (Michelle Keegan) is recently bereaved – her husband Joe was brutally murdered two weeks earlier – but what do you know? When she checks the camera set up to remotely keep an eye on her infant daughter, there’s Joe, playing with his little girl as if nothing has happened. Before long, she’s being pepper-sprayed by her nanny and gaslit by her friends. Her only consolation is dishevelled detective Sami (Adeel Akhtar) … but even he doesn’t seem to believe her. Soon, dark secrets about Joe’s past emerge. Don’t expect subtlety.
Netflix, from New Year’s Day
***
The Brothers Sun
“Which brother are you? The killer? Or the dipshit?” When the head of a fearsome Taiwanese gang is murdered, his eldest son Charles (Justin Chien) heads to LA to look after his mother Eileen (Michelle Yeoh). But there’s another, very different brother (Sam Song Li’s mild-mannered Bruce) who seems clueless about his family’s nefarious activities. As enemies circle, this naivety cannot be sustained and Bruce is forced to deal with reality. Containing plenty of stylish and stylised violence, this comedy-drama has its cake and eats it, relishing the thriller elements but keeping its tongue firmly in its cheek.
Netflix, from Thursday 4 January
***
The Changemakers
While the last decade has taught us not to expect too much, it’s always good to begin the new year with a dose of optimism. That may be provided by this new series that, across the course of eight episodes, tells seven stories in which ordinary people fought for change and against all the odds came out on top. Particularly stirring are the Indigenous people in Ecuador, who strategised to protect their land from deforestation, and the group of Black mothers in the US who refused to accept the ongoing systemic racism faced by their children.
Paramount+, from New Year’s Day
***
Delicious in Dungeon
Never go dragon-hunting on an empty stomach. That’s the bizarre yet oddly charming (and frankly very sensible) message of this unusually chilled anime adaptation of Kui Ryôko’s manga series. After his sister is taken by a dragon, adventurer Laios and his friends Marcille and Chilchuck set out on a quest to rescue her. But first, they must eat and it is this search for sustenance that constitutes most of the action as the group wander through various dungeons, finding, cooking and eating peculiar meals. Delightfully odd and unlike any other anime you’ve ever seen.
Netflix, from Wednesday 3 January
***
Accused
A decade ago, the BBC screened two seasons of a bleakly brilliant Jimmy McGovern anthology drama in which we joined a character in court at the culmination of their story before retracing their steps. How did they find themselves in the dock? This US version lacks some of the moral nuance and underdog punch of the original but it’s still engrossing, as the various defendants’ wrong turns are laid out in all their excruciating inevitability. It benefits from a fine ensemble cast including Michael Chiklis, Rhea Perlman and Wendell Pierce.
Paramount+, from Thursday 4 January
***
The Other Fellow
There’s a theatre director, a prisoner, a lawyer and a pilot. The men are old and young; Black and white. But they all have one thing in common: their name is presumably the trigger for many overfamiliar jokes. These men are all named Bond. James Bond. Some are more shaken and stirred than others by that fact. This amusing documentary explores the pleasures and pitfalls of carrying this famous name in a world in which more than half the population have seen a Bond film. It’s not always easy; James Bond support groups exist.
ITVX, from Thursday 4 January
***
James May: Our Man in India
It’s “the most colourful country on the planet” apparently. From the Taj Mahal to cricket, from sitars to curries giving you wind, few cliches are left undeployed as the former Top Gear man follows his trips to Japan and Italy with a visit to India. May isn’t one of travel TV’s great adventurers – instead, the sensory overload of India seems to baffle him. Therefore, as he journeys from the deserts of Rajasthan to the Himalayan foothills via mangrove forests and religious festivals, his role is to play the mildly bewildered Englishman abroad.
Prime Video, from Friday 5 January
