Remember me
Whether you're in the mood for a fascinating documentary or a gripping legal drama, you'll find the ideal show or film for you to stream in this expertly curated list from our TV critics.
So what are you waiting for? Curl up on the sofa and get stuck in!
Finding Harmony: A King's VisionThe King looks back on his efforts to promote harmony with nature, and ahead to the future
Year: 2026
Certificate: PG
'I have dedicated much of my life to the restoration of harmony between humanity, nature and the environment. Quite frankly, it has been an uphill struggle.' When the-then Prince of Wales began speaking about the importance of nature and was pictured talking to plants and such years ago, he was mocked.
The Prince turned out to be well ahead of the curve though, speaking out long before climate change became a commonly discussed topic. He was, in short, undeniably correct - we are a part of nature, not apart from it.
In a finely made documentary narrated by Kate Winslet, the now-King Charles III looks back on his efforts to promote harmony with nature, and forward to the future, as we try to ensure there is a planet left for future generations to inhabit. 'It's unlikely there's anywhere else,' reflects the King. Elon Musk might disagree, but working to mend our home rather than looking to the stars for a replacement seems by far the more sensible approach. (89 minutes)
Glitter & Gold: Ice DancingDrive To Survive-style show following three ice dancing pairs
Year: 2026
Certificate: 12
The most fascinating element of any insider sports series is usually the personalities, and that part is amplified in Glitter & Gold, a real-life show about the intense partnerships of ice dancing, including one that is also a marriage.
Across a refreshingly succinct, three-episode run we follow a trio of competing pairs from the US, Canada and France in the run-up to the Winter Olympics. The married couple are Madison Chock and Evan Bates from the US, who've been ice partners since 2011 and married since 2024. They say they only got together five years into their skating partnership ('It was honestly not on my radar at all,' recalls Chock), and watching the way they talk about all that is rather sweet.
This is a contest, though, and Chock and Bates say this is their last competitive season together. As such they're keen not to lose out to close rivals Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, the Canadian pair who are looking for their first Olympic medal. Which couple will come out on top?
The wildcard in the show is Team France - aka Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry. Previously retired from ice dancing after splitting with his previous partner, Cizeron is now back on the competitive circuit and partnered with Fournier Beaudry - whose previous ice partner was suspended from the sport for six years for sexual maltreatment.
Expect great ice dancing, some really nice costumes and, as the above implies, a little real-life drama from this show. (Three episodes)
The Lincoln Lawyer (2022 series)The cases of a charismatic, down-at-heel LA attorney, now back for series four
Year: 2022
Certificate: 15
In 2011, Matthew McConaughey charmed cinemagoers as charismatic lawyer Mickey Haller, who served clients from the back of his car (a Lincoln). In this series, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo gives a more soulful performance as Haller, a recovering addict with a thorny ex (Neve Campbell), who suddenly has more work than he can handle.
Legal drama veteran David E Kelley is behind the show - his track record ranges from LA Law and Ally McBeal to Anatomy Of A Scandal - and it's based on the novels by Michael Connelly, who also wrote the books for Amazon's Bosch, so there's a solid pedigree at work here. Factor in a wry sense of humour and a quirky cast of supporting characters, and you're set for some reliably entertaining TV. The second series is based on Connelly's fourth book, The Fifth Witness and the third is based on The Gods Of Guilt and finds Haller dealing with a lot in all areas of his life.
The latest fourth series is based on Connelly's sixth book, The Law Of Innocence, and - spoiler alert - finds Mickey in prison, trying to prove his innocence for killing an old client. He's defending himself in court, and up against the decidedly shady lawyer Dana Berg (House Of Cards' Constance Zimmer, who is a lot of fun to watch). Let's hope Mickey doesn't find out his client is an idiot... (Four series)
Queen Of ChessThe life of Hungarian chess prodigy Judit Polgar, who became a grandmaster at 15
Year: 2026
Certificate: PG
Judit Polgar started chess training at the age of five, as part of a family experiment to 'create geniuses'. By the time she was 12, in 1989, the Hungarian prodigy was ranked 55th in the world and, after turning 15, she became the youngest grandmaster of all time.
In 1994, Polgar went head-to-head with the legendary Garry Kasparov and her success continued until her retirement in 2014. Her career was an extraordinary achievement, especially considering the way women players were looked down upon by men at the time - and is a compelling subject for this energetic one-off documentary.
Directed by Oscar nominee Rory Kennedy (the daughter of RFK) and produced with her husband, Mark Bailey, the feature-length film speaks to Polgar herself, to Kasparov and many others. It's an account of how she found her way in life both in and outside of chess and, as such, goes cheerily beyond having that sting in the tail that stories about child prodigies so often do. (93 minutes)
The Investigation Of Lucy LetbyInsight into the case that hears from the mothers of one of the victims for the first time
Year: 2026
Certificate: 12
Produced by ITN for Netflix, this one-off documentary provides a comprehensive dig into the case that has divided the nation, and uses never-before-seen footage to shed fresh light on the investigation.
This includes materials and testimony from the police case against Letby, the neonatal nurse who, in 2023, was found guilty of murdering seven babies - and attempting to murder seven more. The film opens with Letby's arrest, talks to lawyers on both sides of the case but, most powerfully of all - and for the first time - hears from the mother of one of the victims, who recalls the heartbreaking experience of going into the hospital to have and then lose her baby. You can really feel the shattering impact of that moment in her words, although you might be better off not looking too closely at the screen as the process that's been used to digitally anonymise her looks unsettlingly artificial up close.
The film also hears from Dr John Gibbs, a retired consultant paediatrician who noticed the alarming pattern of deaths at the hospital and started to wonder if they were 'missing' something going on at the unit.
Lucy Letby's parents have complained about the use of footage of their daughter's arrest in the documentary, which comprises the film's opening shot and, as such, is hard to ignore. They worry this could turn their house into a 'tourist attraction' and call the film a 'complete invasion of privacy'.
For more on this case, seek out the Daily Mail podcast The Trial Of Lucy Letby. (94 minutes)
Michael Jackson: The TrialA detailed examination of the 2005 criminal trial of Michael Jackson
Year: 2026
Certificate: 15
This four-part series is an in-depth examination of the 2005 criminal trial of Michael Jackson, featuring previously unseen footage and unheard audio tapes, and presents a wealth of detail on the events, evidence, testimonies, and media coverage that marked the downward spiral of the King of Pop.
In the first episode we hear from people who knew Jackson personally, and the 'Wacko Jacko' of the media was not the man they saw. Jackson's videographer Christian Robinson thought of him as the Peter Pan figure of his Neverland ranch: 'an asexual man who wanted to be 12 years old and wanted to have water balloon fights.' For his part, Jackson credits his (innocent) love of children as saving his life in the face of the 'evilness of man' that he witnessed throughout his life.
Yet, the sympathetic portrait of Jackson, who undoubtedly led a complex, reclusive and deeply troubled life, is also balanced against the mounting evidence against him. As his accuser, Gavin Arvizo goes public and police raid the Neverland ranch, 14 charges, including of child molestation and conspiracy to commit extortion/abduction, are brought against Jackson.
It's a good time to come at all this with fresh eyes. Acquitted in 2005 and dead four years later, even after his death, the accusations of sexual abuse against Jackson continued. For all the clamour and noise that surrounded his devastating fall from grace, it's still worth considering whether Jackson ever had a fair trial. (Four episodes)
Lover, Liar, PredatorVictims of the same abusive partner come together for justice
Year: 2026
Certificate: 15
'The strangest things become normal when you know Aaron Swan.'
This feature-length documentary features upsetting accounts of abuse, manipulation and rape from three women who were in long-term relationships with the same man. It also achieves a rare thing by making the story about the women, not the abuser. They are victims of Aaron Swan, but they come across as so much more than that.
Natalie, Jenni and Robyn, who all had children with Swan - and a fourth Shannon, a friend of Jenni's whom Swan also raped - all come across as vibrant, intelligent and happy as they describe their early encounters with Swan, as indeed they were before he sunk his claws into them.
As their stories progress, told with detailed timelines that cover almost two decades, their distress and urge to fight back the tears become more and more evident. That makes the film an increasingly difficult watch but stay with it. This is one domestic abuse story that ends as positively as it can. Jenni, Robyn and Shannon, united with his first wife Natalie (who founded a domestic abuse charity), have their day in court. (85 minutes)
UnfamiliarCompelling German spy drama created by an Emmerdale writer that should appeal to Night Manager fans
Year: 2026
Certificate: 15
Any spy drama that opens with a man shooting himself in the leg is certainly going to pull you in. Yet the key to what makes Unfamiliar interesting isn't that attention-grabbing approach to violence, but the intensity and efficiency of its set-up.
Our main characters are a married couple, Simon and Meret (Felix Kramer and Susanne Wolff) who live a happily quiet life running a safe house in Berlin with their teenage daughter. Then, one night, the man who shot himself turns up looking for help, leading to the uncovering of secrets from Simon and Meret's past, particularly in relation a long-ago mission in Belarus.
If you're looking for a show you can watch over a weekend, this six-parter has that written all over it. Created by Paul Coates, a long-time writer on Emmerdale (of all things!), Unfamiliar is a neat little hidden gem of a show. It provides a compelling ride into the world of espionage in Berlin, flipping between the couple and the other players in the city (the Russian GRU and the German BND) and, while set in the modern day, has that gritty, Cold War backstreets style that you see in some John le Carré adaptations. (Six episodes)
M3GAN 2.0Sci-fi action sequel to the killer doll horror movie
Year: 2025
Certificate: 15
The first M3GAN movie was a well-constructed affair that fit neatly into the tradition of killer-doll horror movies such as Annabelle and Chucky, and did it with a firm emotional grounding in ideas about how we should parent our children. This gave it a wide audience at the box office and, along with some success on social media with that catchy dance scene, turned it into a cult hit.
The second movie ups the ante and turns M3GAN into the hero of the piece, starting 'somewhere near the Turkish/Iranian border' where the US government has lost control of their new fembot assassin, named AMELIA (played by Ivanna Sakhno) who goes on the rampage and threatens to wipe out humanity.
Humanity's only hope? If M3GAN's original creator (Alison Williams) will turn her back on, and turn off the guardrails. The two-hour result is packed with Terminator 2-style action, gags and the odd sharp observation, but it does lose what made M3GAN such an appealingly twisted character in the first place. If you're after an amusing sci-fi action diversion though, this should scratch that itch. (120 minutes)
Silent WitnessLong-running forensic science crime show, now back for series 29
Year: 1996
Certificate: 15
This long-running British crime procedural is a bit like Trigger's broom. None of the original cast remain, but it still sweeps up BBC primetime viewers in the same way it did when it first aired in 1996.
Created by Nigel McCrery, a former murder squad detective, the show follows a team of forensic pathology experts as they solve murder cases. Amanda Burton was the lead in the first eight series, before an ensemble cast took over, with Emilia Fox's meticulous Dr Nikki Alexander as the current lead.
As the British equivalent of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, you get the sense that forensic science can solve anything and that test results take minutes not weeks to come back. While the show does consult real-world experts to get the pathology right, Nikki and her team get far more involved in the actual investigations than they would in real life, often leading them into the path of danger. That might not be realistic, but it does make for great telly.
In the latest 29th series, newlyweds Jack and Nikki have relocated from London to the new Bowman Centre in Birmingham, with Harriet (Maggie Steed) and Kit (Fran Mills) joining them, too. The opening two-part case begins with a city-centre collision between two cars and a van, and a good Samaritan being shot and killed when he comes to help. (29 series)
Memory Of A KillerPatrick Dempsey plays an assassin with Alzheimer's
Year: 2026
Certificate: 15
Angelo Doyle looks like a gentle, everyday guy when he pops round to visit his daughter in the opening scenes of this US drama. Perhaps he's a professor, or some kind of mid-level corporate executive? Well, it turns that Angelo certainly executes. This handsome but seemingly unassuming fellow is actually a deadly assassin who drives around in a Porsche wearing sunglasses on his way to taking down his quarry.
Angelo is played with easy confidence by Grey's Anatomy's Patrick Dempsey and it's good casting, because yet another layer lurks behind Angelo's silver fox facade. He has Alzheimer's, but doesn't know it yet. Based on a Belgian film called De Zaak Alzheimer but also reminiscent of the Michael Keaton movie A Killer's Memory, this ten-parter is caught somewhere between an old school US network drama and an edgy thriller miniseries in terms of its style.
It's tense to watch, not always for good reasons, but carried well by Dempsey as a man whose world is slowly crumbling, and also benefits from having Michael Imperioli on the cast. The Sopranos star, whose acting just gets better with age, plays Angelo's employer - also a man who may not be all he seems. (Ten episodes)
DinosaurQuirky Scottish comedy about an autistic thirtysomething and her sister, now back for series two
Year: 2024
Certificate: 12
Cute, funny and refreshingly honest, this Scottish show is a breath of fresh air. Thirtysomething palaeontologist Nina (Ashley Storrie) is in for a big shock when her sister and best friend Evie (Kat Ronney) comes home engaged to a man she met just six weeks ago.
Nina, who's autistic, is happy following her structured routines and working with dinosaur bones in the museum (hence the show's title). So unsurprisingly, the new development throws everything into disarray for her - and that's before she's even met the man. As the first series unfolds, Nina must learn to cope with all the big changes it brings to her life, including welcoming Evie's fiancé Ranesh (Danny Ashok), in her words 'arguably the most irritating man alive'.
An insight into feeling like an outsider, this series and its protagonist Nina offer a refreshing take on how to accept all your quirks and eccentricities - even when they make you feel just a little out of place.
There's more change on the cards in the latest second series, as Nina returns from a dig on the Isle of Wight to big family news. (Two series)
Mock The WeekThe return of the topical comedy show, streaming for free
Year: 2005
Certificate: 15
You can never have enough satire in society and in that spirit - and as well as it just being a great old laugh in its own right - it's good to have Mock The Week back on our screens. Last seen on the BBC in 2022 and resurrected for the transition of the TV channel TLC from pay to free, the topical comedy show is still hosted by Dara Ó Briain who, as he says in his introduction to the rapid-fire first episode, looks 'exactly the same'. There's plenty of ribbing about the show's new owners and it being 'far down the channel list' on your on-screen TV guide, although to be fair on Freeview TLC is only channel 12.
As a show it's pretty similar to the BBC version, from Ó Briain's eternal features to the basic format, but the episodes are longer - an hour each - so there are new rounds thrown in there, too. The familiar faces on the panel include Russell Howard, Angela Barnes, Rhys James and Sara Pascoe.
What's nice about this show is that, unlike some other panel shows where you can feel the tension of one-upmanship between the comedians, this feels a lot more collaborative with comics laughing at each other's jokes without that look of 'I wish I'd thought of that' in their eyes. Perhaps that's just professionalism, but it's nice to see all the same. They all look very pleased to be back.
New episodes from series 22 are streaming for free on Discovery+ and you can find previous runs elsewhere. (22 series)
Heartburn (1986 film)Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson star in Nora Ephron's bittersweet portrait of a marriage
Year: 1986
Certificate: 15
A highly capable comic drama from romcom queen Nora Ephron, based on her marriage to - and divorce from - journalist and author Carl Bernstein. Meryl Streep takes the Ephron role, pregnant and dealing with the fallout from realising that husband Jack Nicholson has been having an affair, and the elements for a top notch film are all there, from Ephron's strong script to Nicholson and Streep on great form in the leads and the hands of director Mike Nichols on the reins.
Despite all that, Heartburn somehow doesn't knit together to become an all-time great, but it's certainly well worth your time, also partly because it features the first on-screen roles for both Poker Face's Natasha Lyonne (as Streep's character's niece) and Kevin Spacey (as a thief), as well as a very early role for Monk's Tony Shalhoub (as an airline passenger).
As a final note, don't go into this expecting a romcom, despite Ephron's considerable form in that script arena (When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless In Seattle, You've Got Mail). This is more a bittersweet portrait of life and marriage than it is a romcom, as both its semi-autobiographical roots and title suggest. Do seek out Ephron's brilliant novel of the same name, which came out three years before, if you like the film. (108 minutes)
QuizMichael Sheen plays Chris Tarrant in a dramatisation of the coughing scandal
Year: 2020
Certificate: 12
It's easy to forget what a huge deal Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? was when it began, back in 1998. No one had given away £1 million on UK TV before, and this breezy drama charts both the show's creation - by a bunch of swaggering TV types who see themselves as gods - and the great coughing scandal.
Michael Sheen gives an eerily accurate performance as Chris Tarrant, and Matthew Macfadyen is Major Ingram in a razzle-dazzle three-parter that bowls along at a grand old pace, and manages to be both tense and in no way difficult to watch. The script comes from James Graham (Sherwood) and it's directed by Stephen Frears (The Queen). (Three episodes)
Under Salt MarshSmall town Welsh mystery starring Kelly Reilly and Rafe Spall
Year: 2026
Certificate: 15
When a boy's body is discovered in a small Welsh town, it sends shockwaves through the community - and not always in the ways you'd expect. Kelly Reilly and Rafe Spall star in this six-part mystery set in the fictional Morfa Halen, a coastal enclave that has an almost ghostly feel due to the rising sea levels that threaten to sweep it all away.
Reilly's character Jackie Ellis is haunted, too. Currently a teacher, she used to be a detective until a traumatic case triggered her exit. When police detective Eric Bull (Spall) turns up to investigate the dead boy, Jackie reacts badly - Bull was her partner on the force, and the unresolved trouble between them still feels fresh. As such, Jackie sets about investigating the crime herself - lack of warrant card be damned.
Moodily performed and shot though with a constant sense of the otherworldly by virtue of its bleakly stunning Welsh location, Under Salt Marsh is a steadily engaging mystery with a rich sense of place. Reilly is good to watch in whatever she does and is definitely a highlight here, along with the allure of learning all the small-town secrets that are clearly bubbling beneath the surface. And there's a ticking clock here too, that's beyond the usual for such shows - any minute now a storm could sweep into town and wash all the evidence away.
To find out more about Under Salt Marsh, see our Inside Story here. (Six episodes)
The Åre MurdersScandi noir detective series about murders in an isolated Swedish ski resort, now back for series two
Year: 2025
Certificate: 15
When her big-city life implodes and she finds herself dumped by her partner and under investigation by the Stockholm force, police officer Hanna Ahlander (Carla Sehn) decides to take advantage of her suspension from duty and heads to her sister's vacation home in the remote ski resort of Åre. She's barely arrived there, however, when a young woman goes missing. Deciding to step in to help the understaffed local police department - whether they want her to or not - Ahlander soon realises that the case is darker and more dangerous than anyone suspects.
Based on the hit novels by Viveca Sten, this Swedish thriller series is a fantastic slice of Scandi noir, full of twists and turns set against the ice-cold and snow-covered countryside. Sehn is excellent as the obsessive, troubled copper, with enjoyable support from Kardo Razzazi as the local policeman reluctantly accepting her help. (Two series)
Drops Of GodA Franco-Japanese wine-tasting drama that's a delight to the senses, now back for series two
Year: 2023
Certificate: 12
A high-end Franco-Japanese drama about fine wine doesn't sound accessible, or easy to watch. Yet that's exactly what Drops Of God proves to be from the start, partly because it looks so good - these actors are lit like movie stars - and partly because the basis of the drama is so personal.
A legendary French wine expert has died, leaving behind the greatest private collection in the world. His tense, thoughtful daughter, who doesn't drink, is in line to inherit it - but it's not as simple as that. Camille (Das Boot's Fleur Geffrier) hasn't seen her father since she was nine, and Issei Tomine (Tokyo Vice's Tomohisa Yamashita), a young Japanese wine expert, has become a kind of spiritual son in her absence, and the two must compete in a series of tasting challenges to see who will secure the bequest. It's fitting that a show so much about the senses should be so adept at conjuring an atmosphere in every scene and, were this a movie, it would be in the running for an Oscar of some kind. It's something to savour but easy to watch, too, and that's an impressive achievement.
The latest second series continues the tangled process of both the contest and Issei and Camille getting to know each other better, and makes for compelling viewing. (Two series)
Steal (2026 series)Sophie Turner stars in a twisty thriller about the fallout from a digital heist
Year: 2026
Certificate: 15
When an armed gang walk into a London investment company and steal billions of pounds' worth of ordinary people's pensions, back-room office worker Zara (Game Of Thrones' Sophie Turner) and her colleague, Luke (Saltburn's Archie Madekwe), find themselves right in the middle of it all. After the heist is over, DCI Rhys (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd) shows up and starts asking questions - then the security services get involved, and things really start to get complicated.
As you may have guessed this six-parter is a thriller, and one of the kind that you'll want to know as little as possible about before watching, so we'll stick to general comments. The slick early feel of the show, along with its financial setting, make it feel like the BBC drama Industry but the overall experience is more like that of a gritty conspiracy thriller with the odd burst of brutal violence thrown in. The casting, of the arrogant supporting characters at the firm and elsewhere, is top notch and features many seasoned actors - Peter Mullan, Anna Maxwell Martin, Andrew Koji - in supporting roles.
And as for the leads? This is a show and a story that lives in ambiguity and Turner and Fortune-Lloyd are both good at doing a lot with a look - that's just what Steal requires to work and, while you can feel the story dragging its heels in the second half, those two make you want to know how it all pans out. (Six episodes)
Comments (0)