Pick of the week
The Bear
The fast, funny and furious restaurant drama returns for third helpings. With Carmy closer than ever to getting a Michelin-starred establishment up and running, self-sabotage must be on the cards for the volatile chef. Cue some magnificently quixotic tantrums over various “non-negotiables”, including a constantly evolving menu and tiny discrepancies in crockery sizes. It’s clear that nothing is ever going to be enough for Carmy, whom Jeremy Allen White continues to invest with nervy intensity. The Bear has always been a brilliant ensemble piece, though, and permanently exasperated sous chef Sydney (the superb Ayo Edebiri) has problems of her own to deal with.
Disney+, from Thursday 27 June
***
Supacell
Rapper turned film director Rapman turns his hand to TV in this intriguing drama starring Tosin Cole and Adelayo Adedayo. It’s a blend of Peckham grit and superhero fantasy: five Black Londoners develop superpowers which manifest at moments of stress. The group find each other – but what is the purpose of their new abilities? It begins on a slow burn: the hazards of urban life are carefully detailed before the supernatural dimension comes. Their new powers can then be read as an allegory for Black people constantly needing to go above and beyond the call of duty to maintain equilibrium.
Netflix, from Thursday 27 June
***
Toads
Having made her name alongside Chris Cantrill as eccentric comedy double act the Delightful Sausage (their 2019 Edinburgh show gloried in the name Ginster’s Paradise, so meat-based snacks are a theme), Amy Gledhill is striking out on her own. This Comedy Blap sees material in line with her sharp but self-deprecating standup sets: she plays Amber, a woman who, the night before her wedding, is reflecting on the various metaphorical toads she’s kissed in search of her prince. Could this journey into the past give her cold feet?
Channel 4, from Monday 24 June
***
Kaulitz & Kaulitz
Bill and Tom Kaulitz are wondering if they’re the most famous twins in the world. Neither of the German showbiz brothers is particularly familiar with modesty or self-awareness but since when has that been anything other than an advantage for making entertaining reality TV? This series follows the pair as they acclimatise to Los Angeles. The brothers are very different: Tom is, in relative terms, the mature, sensible one while Bill is mercurial to say the least. Can they keep their band Tokio Hotel on the road and not drive each other round the bend?
Netflix, from Tuesday 25 June
***
Land of Women
Eva Longoria stars in the breezy if formulaic fish-out-of-water comedy based on the novel by Sandra Barneda. When gangsters turn up at a New York party held by Gala (Longoria), she mistakes them for caterers. But it turns out her husband owes millions to the mob. While he tries to square things, Gala is forced to flee to rural Spain, taking her mother and daughter with her. Initially, their Spanish village is a culture shock for a woman used to wearing white pantsuits. But, inevitably, it proves to have its compensations when she meets a hunky farmer.
Apple TV+, from Wednesday 26 June
***
My Lady Jane
A bawdy romp of a costume drama, this counterfactual comedy is based on the Gemma Burgess book of the same name. It imagines a world in which doomed damsel-in-distress Lady Jane Grey (Emily Bader) managed to escape the executioner’s axe and, instead, set off on a reckless life of scheming and swashbuckling. Might she still manage to become queen, albeit via an extremely tangential route? It takes a slightly childish pride in its own irreverence but it’s good fun, helped by a supporting cast that includes Rob Brydon and Dominic Cooper.
Prime Video, from Thursday 27 June
***
That ’90s Show
With baggy denim, dangling keychains and pop grunge on heavy rotation, this comfortingly familiar but somewhat superfluous reboot of nostalgia-fest That ’70s Show returns. As the children of the original characters hang out in the same setting and adopt almost identical personas, this sometimes feels like a show that could have written itself. The plotting is as light as a feather – teenage romantic fumblings with the odd cheesy life lesson – but the attraction lies in the studied replication of the original aesthetic, laugh track and all.
Netflix, from Thursday 27 June
