Pick of the week
Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story
The long and ostensibly triumphant career of Jimmy Savile doesn’t feel any less irreconcilably strange with the benefit of a decade’s hindsight. Savile was evil hiding in plain sight; a bad dream that most of the country didn’t wake up from until after his death. Nothing about Savile feels any more explicable after this series, although it does add plenty of worthwhile context – the grimy 70s, less evolved attitudes towards sexual abuse, the ability of public figures to keep secrets – that partially explain how Savile somehow maintained an empire that balanced fame, charity and child abuse for so many decades. It’s horrifying but a valuable piece of social history.
Netflix, from Wednesday 6 April
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Dirty Lines
The sex line. What an odd phenomenon; once seemingly symbolic of the alienating effects of technology but now a quaint and almost innocent harbinger of the impersonal sexual revolution facilitated by the internet. This Dutch drama is set in 1987, at a time of growing freedom in Europe. Two brothers, Frank and Ramon Stigter, take advantage of that freedom to set up what they characterise as “a service to help men with their sex drive”. Their rise is seen through the eyes of Marly Salomon (Joy Delima), a student who performs on their premium rate lines.
Netflix, from Friday 8 April
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Ronny Chieng: Speakeasy
The cheerful but deceptively acerbic comic returns with his second Netflix comedy special, filmed at the intimate Chinese Tuxedo bar in New York. His first set rejoiced in the provocative title Asian Comedian Destroys America! and this looks likely to be equally bracing. After all, plenty has happened in the last couple of years. With his trademark intelligent fury, Chieng dissects the pandemic, US race relations and so-called cancel culture. He also, inevitably, touches on the reception his previous polemic received.
Netflix, from Tuesday 5 April
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Michela Giraud: The Truth, I Swear!
Giraud is a big comedy name in her native Italy. Can her fiery yet self-deprecating standup translate to English-speaking audiences? She’s an amiable and confident presence – although clearly, she hasn’t always felt that way. In fact, exploring her teenage neuroses is a big part of her shtick. “A Picasso beauty”, as she describes herself. “I felt as strong and solid as an unauthorised structure built with the contributions of the Camorra.” Spoilt kids at holiday resorts and school discos also get an equally withering going-over during the special.
Netflix, from Wednesday 6 April
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The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On
Yet another semi-experimental, semi-sadistic relationship show in which six couples – all featuring one member with commitment anxiety – are broken up and sent to live with someone else. Tonally, it’s an unholy mashup of Wife Swap and Love Is Blind (it is made by the production company behind LIB, too) and arguably takes an unseemly amount of delight in picking at the tiny faultlines in relationships for the purposes of entertainment. Doubtless there’ll eventually be some learning to go with the trauma. Hosted by Nick and Vanessa Lachey. PH
Netflix, from Wednesday 6 April
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Single Drunk Female
“I miss being a drunk. There was a lot less accountability.” Sam (Sofia Black-D’Elia) has bottomed out. She’s gone from a cool media job in New York to living with her parents. But giving up booze does tend to reduce life to its essence, and perhaps there’s a certain clarity in that. This search for meaning is the emotional centre of this unvarnished comedy – and although Sam’s circumstances are, to a troubling extent, neater, lighter and less traumatic than those of most real-life recovering addicts, the series still has a certain disconsolate charm.
Disney+, from Wednesday 6 April
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Pinecone and Pony
Apple TV+ has been receiving justified plaudits for its adult drama offerings recently. But what about the kids? This DreamWorks animation, adapted from Kate Beaton’s book The Princess and the Pony, deals in the primary colours and simple moral clarity familiar to most children’s fiction. Its eight episodes explore the adventures of a young girl, Pinecone, and her loyal equine pal Pony. Throughout the pair’s variously charming scrapes, the central message – “be fearlessly you” – is simple enough for kids to get behind.
Apple TV+, from Friday 8 April
