Pick of the week
Women in Blue
Mexico City, 1971. A serial killer known as the Undresser is murdering women and the police are nowhere near catching him. With the situation becoming politically difficult, a plan is hatched: women are invited to join the police. It’s a publicity stunt, but the force hope it will take the heat off them for a while. Based on real events, this series tells the story of four of the recruits: Gabina, Maria, Ángeles and Valentina, who are all, in different ways, chafing against the patriarchy. As the Undresser continues his rampage, they glimpse the possibility of redemption by catching him. It’s occasionally melodramatic and not particularly subtle, but it is a warm, likable story.
Apple TV+, from Wednesday
***
Futurama
Futurama has threatened to disappear for good on several occasions, returning after a couple of cancellations. Now in its 12th season, Matt Groening and David X Cohen’s creation is still in surprisingly sprightly shape, having fun with genre cliches while adopting them just enough to make the narrative and characters matter. Highlights include encounters with lakes of tasty coffee and a deadly brush with a gigantic glitterball. There’s also another spoof episode, Quid’s Game, which will hope to do slightly better than season 11’s rather flat Dune parody.
Disney+, from Monday
***
Unstable
Back to the mysterious Dragon Industries which, despite specialising in simply “science”, seems to be going from strength to strength. Meanwhile, narcissistic founder Ellis Dragon (Rob Lowe) is still treating his son Jackson (John Owen Lowe) as a guinea pig, simultaneously trying to bond with him and assess his suitability as a potential heir. It’s a very broad satire on the delusions and essential awfulness of tech entrepreneurs, which never quite has the courage to render its characters as the grotesques they could plausibly be.
Netflix, from Thursday
***
Batman: Caped Crusader
This noirish animation of the Bruce Wayne story leans into the idea of Batman as a renegade: as much of a problem to the authorities as to the miscreants he apprehends. “This man is not a hero,” fulminates a police commissioner. “He’s a criminal. And his time in Gotham is up!” However, as a gang war cranks up and the outgunned police look on impotently, perhaps this mysterious vigilante will have to save the day. It’s a good-looking and gripping affair starring Hamish Linklater as the Caped Crusader – the supporting voice cast includes Christina Ricci and Minnie Driver.
Disney+, from Thursday
***
Celebrity Send Off
“You could put me in an empty crisp packet,” says Shaun Ryder, “because I’m dead.” Shaun has a brutally realistic attitude towards his demise, but this side of the great beyond – and for the purposes of this bizarre show – he’s allowed bezzie mate Bez to organise his funeral. Perhaps inevitably, Bez’s ideas are more eccentric. It’s very funny in places, largely because Shaun and Bez are very funny, but also because, as future episodes featuring other celebrities will also show (including Gogglebox’s Marcus Luther and Mica Ven), people don’t really know their nearest and dearest as well as they imagine.
Channel 4, from Thursday
***
Cowboy Cartel
A fascinating true-crime series exploring the infiltration of horse racing in rural Tennessee by the fearsome Mexican drug cartel Los Zetas (“their calling card was their extreme brutality,” according to one police officer). Rookie FBI agent Scott Lawson was the first cop to follow his hunch – and before long, a damning paper trail led him into terrifyingly deep water as his investigation expanded to involve gaining access to the organisation. It’s a compelling and frequently hair-raising story involving corruption, money laundering and a shootout on the highway.
Apple TV+, from Friday
***
Lolita Lobosco
It’s the second season of this sturdy if slightly formulaic Italian drama about detective Lobosco (Luisa Ranieri) who fights crime but is also constantly battling against the veiled disrespect of her male colleagues. Lobosco is inching closer to the truth about her father’s death and struggling to keep her emotions and professional responsibilities separate. She also finds herself dealing with the death of a young couple during a scuba diving trip. The incident is being framed as a tragic accident but she suspects that might not be the whole story.
Channel 4, from Friday
