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Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
The Couple Next Door finale review — the swingers go ludicrous
When I reviewed the first episode of The Couple Next Door (Channel 4) I wrote approvingly that it seemed as if it might be a little less crazed than series one and its swinger neighbours. That'll teach me. The finale was completely, utterly off its head. Watching it was like fever-dreaming after a night on the cheese and port plus a tab of LSD. Were we really expected to believe that Jacob (Sam Palladio), the mild-mannered, slightly dull anaesthetist, would turn overnight into a mad, conniving wife-killer because he feared being exposed for making a clinical error in not giving a patient potassium, which caused his death? Or something. Yes, Jacob probably would go to prison for framing the hot nurse Mia (Aggy K Adams) for it, but please. Would he really try to murder the love of his life just because she said she'd sussed him? He took her to the partly built new hospital wing and gave her coffee laced with morphine … in the middle of a busy day at work! Hello? What about cameras? And why were there conveniently no workmen there, even though the building was still being finished? 'It'll be over soon,' he said like a true baddie as Charlotte (Annabel Scholey) staggered like a shot stag and he used her phone to write a fake suicide note. • The Couple Next Door review — C4's hottest drama is still shameless 'You're having a breakdown!' she managed to say before passing out, a ludicrous bit of exposition. These four words supposedly explained his complete character change to instant psychopath. If this is what real hospitals are like — medics popping illegal pills and altering patient records, senior doctors having threesomes with the sexy new nurse from Norway — no wonder you can't get your hip replacement. This scene was even more preposterous than the one earlier in the series when Charlotte passed out on the sofa after too much wine and Jacob and Mia had sex on a chair 2ft away when his wife could have woken at any second. What a pity Alan the pervert (Hugh Dennis) didn't have his telescope out that night. The content would have sustained him for weeks. Actually I'll say this for The Couple Next Door, which is based on the Dutch series Nieuwe Buren: there aren't many series that would make the local peeping Tom the hero and have his voyeurism save the day. If he hadn't been training his big instrument on Mia in her house, he wouldn't have seen that she was being terrorised by her former therapist, with his terrible man bun and who had abused her as a traumatised teenager, and managed to save her. Dirty old man in woolly hat comes good! Actually, Alan was the best character in it, having been in the first series a completely unlikeable perv who treated his wife selfishly. In this series he found his redemption by showing shame, contrition and genuine kindness to Charlotte's dementia-suffering father, Henry (Jeff Rawle). There was even a sniff of romance with Yvonne (Tanya Moodie) and the possibility that he would look after Henry while Charlotte went off to do good works in Mozambique (don't ask), presumably while Jacob rotted in jail, something she seemed to get over pretty sharpish. • Read more TV reviews, guides about what to watch and interviews Just when I thought it couldn't get any more ludicrous it ended with Mia in Antwerp working as a tour guide wearing a ridiculous wig and eyeing up the next couple she was going to seduce into a throuple. Hilarious. You're probably thinking: surely they can't wring another sex and swingers series out of Appleby Drive, Leeds? (Yes, I know it looks more like a suburb of LA.) Oh, I think they probably can. I just pray that next time it isn't the newly reformed Alan throwing his car keys in the fruit bowl.★★☆☆☆ Love TV? Discover the best shows on Netflix, the best Prime Video TV shows, the best Disney+ shows, the best Apple TV+ shows, the best shows on BBC iPlayer, the best shows on Sky and Now, the best shows on ITVX, the best shows on Channel 4 streaming, the best shows on Paramount+ and our favourite hidden gem TV shows. Don't forget to check our critics' choices to what to watch this week, and browse our comprehensive TV guide
Scotsman
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
The Couple Next Door cast: who is in season 2?
The Couple Next Door has returned for season 2 - with plenty of new faces 👀 Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Channel 4's smash hit The Couple Next Door is back. The second season is airing over two weeks. But who is in the cast of the new episodes? The Couple Next Door's second series will come to an end this evening. The hit Channel 4 show returned last week after nearly two years away. The first season was the broadcaster's biggest scripted streaming launch ever. It has returned with a brand-new story in season two and plenty of new faces. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But who is in the cast of The Couple Next Door series 2? Here's all you need to know: When is The Couple Next Door on TV next? The Couple Next Door series 2 is airing on Channel 4 | Channel 4 The sixth and final episode of the second season is set to air tonight (July 23) on Channel 4. The highly anticipated series has been broadcast across two weeks with episodes on each night Monday to Wednesday. It was the same schedule used for the first season back in November/ December 2023. The last episode of the series is due to start at 9pm on Channel 4 and will run for an hour. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Who is in the cast of The Couple Next Door series 2? The show has returned and brought lots of new faces this time around. Hugh Dennis is back as Alan Richardson while Janine Duvitski has also returned as Gloria. The cast of season two includes: Annabel Scholey - Charlotte Roberts Sam Palladio - Jacob Aggy K. Adams - Mia Sendhil Ramamurthy 0 Leo Maimie McCoy - Gemma Adam James - Ben Tanya Moodie - Yvonne Jackie Clune - Annette Barney White - Brandon Viewers may recognise Sam Palladio from shows like Nashville as well as Humans on Channel 4 back in the 2010s. He has also had roles in the Netflix Christmas film series The Princess Switch. Annabel Scholey is best known for her roles in The Split and The Sixth Commandment. Aggy K. Adams was in Netflix's The Witcher as Iskra and Greek Salad on Prime Video. Older viewers may instantly recognise Sendhil Ramamurthy from his role as Mohinder Suresh in the 00s hit Heroes. More recently he played Mohan in Netflix's Never Have I Ever and has been cast in the One Piece live action remake. If you love TV, check out our Screen Babble podcast to get the latest in TV and film.
Scotsman
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
The Couple Next Door cast: who is in season 2?
The Couple Next Door has returned for season 2 - with plenty of new faces 👀 Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Channel 4's smash hit The Couple Next Door is back. The second season is airing over two weeks. But who is in the cast of the new episodes? The Couple Next Door's second series will come to an end this evening. The hit Channel 4 show returned last week after nearly two years away. The first season was the broadcaster's biggest scripted streaming launch ever. It has returned with a brand-new story in season two and plenty of new faces. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But who is in the cast of The Couple Next Door series 2? Here's all you need to know: When is The Couple Next Door on TV next? The Couple Next Door series 2 is airing on Channel 4 | Channel 4 The sixth and final episode of the second season is set to air tonight (July 23) on Channel 4. The highly anticipated series has been broadcast across two weeks with episodes on each night Monday to Wednesday. It was the same schedule used for the first season back in November/ December 2023. The last episode of the series is due to start at 9pm on Channel 4 and will run for an hour. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Who is in the cast of The Couple Next Door series 2? The show has returned and brought lots of new faces this time around. Hugh Dennis is back as Alan Richardson while Janine Duvitski has also returned as Gloria. The cast of season two includes: Annabel Scholey - Charlotte Roberts Sam Palladio - Jacob Aggy K. Adams - Mia Sendhil Ramamurthy 0 Leo Maimie McCoy - Gemma Adam James - Ben Tanya Moodie - Yvonne Jackie Clune - Annette Barney White - Brandon Viewers may recognise Sam Palladio from shows like Nashville as well as Humans on Channel 4 back in the 2010s. He has also had roles in the Netflix Christmas film series The Princess Switch. Annabel Scholey is best known for her roles in The Split and The Sixth Commandment. Aggy K. Adams was in Netflix's The Witcher as Iskra and Greek Salad on Prime Video. Older viewers may instantly recognise Sendhil Ramamurthy from his role as Mohinder Suresh in the 00s hit Heroes. More recently he played Mohan in Netflix's Never Have I Ever and has been cast in the One Piece live action remake.
Telegraph
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Now is not the time for a sexy drama with a potentially murderous nurse
The first series of The Couple Next Door (Channel 4) was an erotic thriller set in Leeds, a concept I'm still laughing about two years later. It was about a nice young couple who became embroiled in a relationship with their neighbours, who happened to be Britain's hottest swingers, and ended up as a case of attempted murder. It did good business, ratings-wise, so we're back in the neighbourhood for another spin. Same street, different couples, although the local Peeping Tom (Hugh Dennis), is still around, doing a spot of community service. This time, the nice young duo are doctors: heart surgeon Lottie (Annabel Scholey, a dead ringer for the Princess of Wales) and anaesthetist Jacob (Sam Palladio). Along comes a foxy redhead, Mia, who pitches up at the hospital one day to start work as a nurse. Soon she has moved into the house directly across the street from Lottie and Jacob. She wastes no time befriending them, and by 'befriending' I mean trying to seduce them both. Which doesn't take long. Until the end of episode three, in fact, if you want to skip straight to the soft porn. 'Do you think I go around Europe having threesomes?' Mia asks, and the answer on this evidence is: absolutely, yes. If you're wondering how a nurse can afford to rent the kind of house suitable for a double-income household of hospital consultants – well, Lottie and Jacob wonder about that too. Everything about Mia is mysterious. Series one felt as if it was trying to do something different, but series two is the familiar tale of a malevolent female who worms her way into a household (Fatal Attraction, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, etc). Mia is running from something in her past, which is glimpsed in flashbacks. She claims to be from Norway, which doesn't impress the ward sister, who huffs: 'You might think that makes you exotic but we have all sorts in here, so don't go thinking you're special.' There is a taste issue – the suggestion of a nurse being involved in patient deaths inevitably brings to mind Lucy Letby – but you don't come to Channel 4 looking for good taste. Overall, it's enjoyably trashy despite an unsophisticated script and some hammy acting. The whole thing feels unreal. Aimed at an international market (it's a co-production with Starz in the US), it maintains the glorious fiction that the Leeds suburbs look exactly like the set of Desperate Housewives.
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Our TV experts have picked the 20 hottest shows and...
Our TV experts have picked the 20 hottest shows and films to stream this weekend, from the return of a hit steamy suburban thriller to a sassy comedy from the creator of Girls Seeking refuge from the heat this weekend? What could be better than a line-up of the 20 hottest shows and films available to stream as temperatures continue to soar across the country? Look no further - we've compiled a shortlist for all tastes, from lovers of comedy to thriller fans... The Couple Next Door (Series 2) A new cast for series two of the deliciously dark and sexy psychological thriller Year: 2025 Certificate: 12 Watch now on Channel 4 The first series of this slinky and satisfying psychological thriller was a big hit for Channel 4 and with good reason. Blending the allure of a good-looking cast (Eleanor Tomlinson and Sam Heughan) with sexy suburban temptations, it kept the tension high and the mood steamy. For this second series, the location is the same leafy cul-de-sac in Leeds, but there's a new lead cast, headed by Annabel Scholey and Sam Palladio as heart surgeon Charlotte Roberts and her anaesthetist husband Jacob, a serious career-minded couple who work together and sleep together. Their rather staid and reserved lives, both at home and at work, are about to be given a hefty shake-up by the arrival of new scrub nurse Mia (Aggy K Adams) who moves into the house next door (yes, everyone wonders how she can afford it on a nurse's salary). There's also an old flame of Charlotte's back on the scene (Sendhil Ramamurthy), which seriously ruffles Jacob's manly pride. With a much slower pace than series one, the early episodes are slow burn and suggestive, but the temperature and the tempo won't stay steady for long... (Six episodes) Too Much Lena Dunham's comedy about a thirtysomething making the move from Manhattan to London Year: 2025 Watch now on Netflix Lena Dunham's breakthrough show was Girls, a raw twist on the classic New York story of women living and learning in the big city, based on her autobiographical film Tiny Furniture. She's married and moved to the UK in the years since and Too Much, a co-creation with her husband Luis Felber, is about a thirtysomething mess making the jump from Brooklyn to London. Megan Stalter (Hacks) plays said mess - Jessica, a workaholic who never seems to do any work, and who arrives in London reeling from a failed relationship and all too ready to fall for whichever charming British man crosses her path. Jessica loves Notting Hill, Prime Suspect, the Brontes and all that, and learning that the UK isn't like that is a big part of the comedy that follows. As to the rest, you can never be quite sure where Too Much will go in any given episode because, like Jessica, it's full of chaotic energy. With a cast of characters that includes indie musician Felix (Will Sharpe), Jessica's boss Jonno (Richard E Grant) and her sister Nora (Dunham), plus many very keenly observed British types and a cracking list of cameos (Jessica Alba, Kit Harington, Rita Ora, Jennifer Saunders, Andrew Scott...) Too Much is the kind of show you put on for one episode and then don't turn off. It's frank, funny, warm and, even when it looks like it's meandering, suddenly snaps back to the point in a way you didn't see coming. It's never Too Much, in short. (Ten episodes) Dexter: Resurrection Michael C Hall returns as the avenging serial killer in a second sequel series Year: 2025 Watch now on Paramount+ Beware, if you've not seen Dexter: New Blood, the first sequel series to the Miami serial-killer show Dexter, don't read any further. Okay? Well, when we last saw Dexter, he was shot and bleeding out in the finale of the 2021 sequel series Dexter: New Blood. You can't keep a good vigilante psychopath down for long though and, in Dexter: Resurrection, Dexter Morgan (Michael C Hall, who first played the role on TV in 2006) emerges from a coma with one thing on his mind: tracking down his long-lost son, Harrison. The search takes the avenging serial killer to New York City, but things are never simple, especially when there's a new serial slayer named the Dark Passenger Killer haunting the Big Apple. Who could it be? After the strongly played but rather downbeat New Blood, this ten-part series is a dark and playful return to killer form for the Dexter-verse, with old friends from Dexter's Miami days returning - look out for cop buddy Angel Batista (David Zayas) - alongside a raft of brilliant new characters played by Uma Thurman, Peter Dinklage, Neil Patrick Harris and Krysten Ritter. (Ten episodes) Wicked The Bafta and Oscar-winning first half of this grand Wizard Of Oz prequel musical Year: 2024 Certificate: PG Watch now on Sky The stage musical Wicked, The Wizard Of Oz prequel that imagines the friendship of two witches who would become enemies, feels very much like a film. An adaptation of a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked was a Broadway hit in 2003, picking up three Tony Awards and going on to enjoy great commercial success. As a result of all that success, that musical became a movie in 2024 and a big hit at the box office, with critics praising Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo's fully committed performances as the popular Glinda and the 'wicked' Elphaba. Wicked the film didn't stint on scale, although that also turned out to have a downside - the choice to split the story across two movies felt like spreading the fun to some but greed to others. A few years down the line, when both movies are available to watch at home back to back, it'll be interesting to see how the overall experience stacks up. For now, just enjoy the songs, the ambition and the performances in a still fundamentally intriguing story - well, half of it, anyway. The film inarguably looks great, and picked up two Baftas and Oscars for costume and production design as a result. (160 minutes) Foundation Epic sci-fi drama based on the novels by Isaac Asimov Year: 2021 Certificate: 15 Watch now on Apple TV+ Isaac Asimov's Foundation novels charted the rise and fall of galactic powers over centuries, and what marked them out was the way they hinged around academia, rather than armadas. That academia was a predictive behavioural science known as 'psychohistory' devised by Hari Seldon, who tried to steer the galaxy away from hundreds of years of apocalyptic darkness. He's played in Apple's epic show by Jared Harris, and the other star of this show is the special effects - they are truly awe-inspiring, especially in the moments when one empire is falling and the other, led by Seldon, is rising. Fans of the books will notice a lot of differences in the show - but then, Asimov did write the first of them in the 1940s after all. (Three series) Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story Documentary examining the making of Steven Spielberg's epic shark movie Year: 2025 When young director Steven Spielberg was making 1975's Jaws, he was convinced that it was the film that would kill off his movie career. Filming on the ocean was much, much more difficult than he expected, the movie was 100 days over schedule and the animatronic shark that he'd commissioned didn't work 80 per cent of the time. But somehow he managed to snatch triumph from the, ahem, jaws of disaster and the film became one of the greatest movies of the 1970s, changing the future of cinema as it ushered in the era of the blockbuster. With contributions from Spielberg along with Hollywood greats including John Williams, George Lucas, James Cameron, Jordan Peele and Guillermo del Toro, this fascinating documentary marks Jaws' 50th birthday by examining not just the story of the film's production but also the impact that it has had on generations of fans since. (88 minutes) Ballard LA cold-case drama starring Maggie Q that's a spin-off from Michael Connelly's Bosch Year: 2025 Certificate: 12 Watch now on Prime Video If you're a big fan of Michael Connelly's Bosch, chances are you've come across the character of Renée Ballard, the LAPD detective who first appeared in Connelly's 2017 book The Late Show and, on TV, in the series three finale of Bosch: Legacy - which also turned out to be that show's last-ever episode. The Bosch TV world lives on though as Ballard now has her own show, with Maggie Q (Nikita) starring as the once fast-rising investigator banished to the night shift after filing a sexual harassment complaint against her boss. The ten-part show finds Ballard still on the night shift, working cold cases with the kind of tenacity that will surely see her rise up from her basement office before too long. As the series continues, she starts to draw connections between cases - could a serial killer be at work in LA, and could a conspiracy be afoot within the LAPD? Connelly's noirish vision of the City of Angels was already well-established on TV in Bosch and Bosch: Legacy and it continues here with confidence, but Q's distinct presence in the lead gives it a refreshing twist. Ballard stands alone as a cold case show with echoes of Dept Q for newcomers but, if you're a fan of Bosch you'll get more out of it, too - not least an appearance from Titus Welliver as Bosch himself. (Ten episodes) A Tupperware Of Ashes (2024 production) Meera Syal's Olivier-nominated performance as a Michelin-star chef with dementia Year: 2024 'What is wrong with you, ma? You're always picking fights these days.' When the grown-up children of Queenie, a widowed Michelin-starred chef, start to notice her memory deteriorating and her character changing, they pressure her into seeing a doctor - and the results lead to a very difficult choice. Meera Syal received an Olivier Award nomination for her performance as the matriarchal Queenie, a very capable woman whose body turns against her, and whose grip on the present becomes increasingly slippery. This shift is subtly staged in dreamlike, occasionally nightmarish fashion in the Dorfman Theatre production, as visions of Queenie's late husband become more persistent and her reality starts to fall apart. The sadness of early-onset Alzheimer's and how it can erode people through no fault of their own is at the core of a play that proceeds with comedy, tragedy and humanity. The moments of comedy are particularly sharp in how they contrast with the tragedy and Syal, an accomplished comic actress, delivers them with laser-like precision. In her performance of the tragedy, she'll have you reaching for the tissues. (126 minutes) Trainwreck: The Real Project X Documentary of the chaos that followed a teen's birthday party going unexpectedly viral Year: 2025 Certificate: 15 Watch now on Netflix The small Netherlands town of Haren, in the north of the country, is basically just a commuter community serving the nearby city of Groningen. Its one big claim to fame? The riots that broke out there in 2012 when the invites to a girl's 16th birthday party went viral. The latest in the one-off series of always-entertaining Trainwreck documentaries follows the events that ensued after the Facebook party invite was set to public instead of private and a bunch of Dutch teens - inspired by the movie Project X - decided to publicise it as widely as they could. The result? At least 3,000 people caused a full-blown riot in the small town. The filmmakers wonder if a million euros in damage could have been avoided if the police and local authorities hadn't just assumed that it was all a big joke and that no one would turn up. (48 minutes) The Real Housewives Of Orange County The original Real Housewives show, now in its 19th series Year: 2006 Certificate: 15 Watch now on Hayu The Real Housewives shows are an undeniable entertainment juggernaut, ticking up many different versions scattered around the US plus no fewer than 21 international editions (including British version The Real Housewives of Cheshire and a London edition) and countless spin-off shows. But once, way back in 2006, this was the only Real Housewives show. Things have come a long way since then and most of the ladies whose personal and professional traumas we followed back then have long since departed the show, but there's no shortage of drama with the current crew. As they air-kiss and scheme, new girl Katie struggles to get along with the rest of the group, the long-running feud between Tamra and Gretchen bubbles to the surface, rumours of infidelities abound and the gang take a few road trips, heading to New Orleans and even abroad to Amsterdam. (19 series) The Resident Slick US hospital drama with an unorthodox lead doctor Year: 2018-2023 Certificate: 15 Watch now on 5 (Ch5) It hasn't got the full-on misanthropy of House, but this hospital medical drama still delivers a heavy dose of cynicism. That comes mostly from the lead, Conrad Hawkins (The Good Wife's Matt Czuchry), a former Marine medic with PTSD who has an unorthodox approach to medicine and spends the early episodes bursting the bubbles of the idealistic new interns. Although he gives them a tough ride, it's all about making them better able to deal with the business of medicine and not end up like the show's charismatic villain - Chief of Surgery Randolph Bell, played with relish by Bruce Greenwood - who's sold his soul for the medical dollar. Although it's generally critical of the US healthcare system, it also delivers what you'd expect of a fast-paced and glossy medical drama, focusing on the relationships and tensions between the staff, their careers and their love lives. Conrad is dating one of the nurses (Revenge's Emily VanCamp) and forges a close friendship with one of his interns, Devon Pravesh (Manish Dayal). (Six series) Strange Darling Serial killer thriller starring Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner Year: 2023 Certificate: 18 Watch now on NOW Watch now on Sky When a young woman (Willa Fitzgerald) on the run from a very dangerous man (Smile's Kyle Gallner) arrives at the remote door of an elderly couple (Barbara Hershey and Ed Begley Jr), it forms just one of the deadly chapters in a twisty and surprising story of murder and betrayal where little is ever what it seems. Told out of order with a structure that flashes forward and backward in the story, this is a brutal and clever serial killer thriller that refuses to conform to standard expectations. Fitzgerald and Gallner are fantastic as the two leads, able to switch from threatening to threatened at the drop of a hat in a film where director JT Mollner toys with the audience as much as he does with his constantly changing characters, throwing surprises at every opportunity. (97 minutes) The Wild Ones Aldo Kane leads an expedition to capture some of the world's rarest animals on film Year: 2025 Certificate: 12 Watch now on Apple TV+ According to Aldo Kane, we lose up to 150 different species every day. It's an alarming statistic and the inspiration for the ex-Royal Marines Commando's quest to film our rarest remaining animals and better understand what threatens them. With the help of wildlife cameraman Vianet Djenguet and camera trap specialist Declan Burley, Kane leads a globe-trotting expedition that he claims could be 'his toughest challenge yet'. As an ex-Commando you have to wonder if that is true, but there's no arguing that it's an eventful trip. The trio's journey begins in Malaysia on the trail of the world's rarest tiger - the Malayan Tiger. The threat of storms looms large and an elephant takes out one of the cameras as it runs through the forest but the footage they come up with as a result of it all is remarkable. And, as with the episodes that follow - that track bears, rhinos, gorillas, leopards and, with some different logistical challenges, whales - you get a portrait of the environment that surrounds the animals as well as the threatened creatures themselves. (Six episodes) Building The Band Music competition show featuring Nicole Scherzinger and the late Liam Payne as judges Year: 2025 Certificate: 12 Watch now on Netflix Imagine the X Factor paired with Love Is Blind and you're getting close to the set-up for this fun music competition. Settled into individual pods, a bunch of wannabe singers are tasked with assembling the band of their dreams. There's just one small catch: they're allowed to hear but never see the various auditionees. It's an intriguing concept that stretches the idea of The Voice to its natural conclusion. When they finally meet face to face later in the series, will the bandmates be able to see past appearances to the sounds that first captivated them? Helping them on the road to becoming finished groups are judges including former Pussycat Dolls member Nicole Scherzinger and the late Liam Payne, who filmed his part in the show before his tragic death in 2024. (One series) Arcadia Dystopian sci-fi where the citizens must maintain their 'Citizen Score' or risk being deported Year: 2023 Certificate: 12 Watch now on Channel 4 This Belgian-Dutch sci-fi thriller is set in a near future where the world has been ravaged by environmental disaster. Life goes on, but it's in the walled nation of Arcadia where society functions at its best, and to live there you need to maintain a good 'Citizen Score', monitored and adjusted by chips implanted in people's hands. Make positive contributions to society and avoid too much alcohol and sugar and you won't lose points, but if your score drops below eight you will be banished (or deported) to the outside, a lawless place with scant resources. We focus on the blended Hendriks-Jans family - Pieter and his second wife Cato, plus sisters Luz and Milly Hendriks, and their stepsisters Hanna and Alex Jans - as their comfortable life in Arcadia is put in jeopardy, and Pieter is deported. Arcadia, with its cool brutalist architecture and strict regime, isn't quite the utopia it first seems and there are conflicting shadowy forces at play. All this is steadily revealed in a show with plenty of intrigue to keep you on your toes. The most expensive Belgian drama to date, it's money well spent and a second series has been confirmed. (Eight episodes) Classic Car Kings Follow a team of experts in Cumbria as they rescue classic cars that appear beyond repair Year: 2025 Certificate: PG Watch now on U (UKTV) A brand new gears-and-grind reality series for fans of Bangers & Cash, Car SOS and the rest, this follows the restoration maestros at Irv's Resto Shop in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. It's a family firm, run by Paul 'Big Irv' Irving and his three sons, Aaron, Lee and Harvey, and it's world renowned for taking clapped-out rusted heaps and getting them back on the road. 'From Beetles to Daimlers, Escorts to Porsches, nothing is beyond repair.' The series showcases the shop's collective welding, blasting, painting and mechanical skills, but as remarkable as the restorations are, it's the banter and character of the team that give the show its life. (Six episodes) Under A Dark Sun Isabelle Adjani and Ava Baya star in a Provence-set French murder mystery series Year: 2025 Certificate: 15 Watch now on Netflix Fleeing a very troubled past, single mother Alba (Ava Baya) fetches up at a flower farm in Provence with her son. At first everything seems idyllic - all beautiful blooms and stunning scenery - but then things take a darker turn when the owner of the farm is murdered. When the investigation discovers that Alba is actually the dead man's long-lost daughter (something she herself denies knowing) and that a big chunk of his estate goes to her, things begin to spiral into a deep, dark well of family secrets, lies and long-simmering betrayals. This twisty and stylish six-part French murder mystery series is packed with atmosphere and boasts a fantastic French cast - not least two-time Oscar nominee Isabelle Adjani as one of the family determined that newcomer Alba doesn't take what they consider to be rightfully theirs. (Six episodes) Ghetto Kids: No Plan B The inspirational story of Ugandan dance troupe Ghetto Kids since their appearance on Britain's Got Talent Year: 2025 Watch now on YouTube When an act appears on Britain's Got Talent, that moment is only a part of their story. The Ghetto Kids dance troupe rose from the streets of Uganda to open the Qatar World Cup in 2022, then reached the final of BGT in 2023. They wowed everyone with their sensational performance and, while it wasn't enough to secure the £250,000 prize, it didn't stop founder (and ex-street kid) Kavuma Dauda from carrying on their story - and Ghetto Kids have gone on to extraordinary social media success in the years since. Good for them, you might think - but this isn't just a showbiz story about cute kids doing well, it's a tale of how following your dream can actually change lives. Filmed over three years and unfolding across six brisk and polished episodes, this uplifting documentary talks to Dauda, hears his origin story and tracks his work for the Ghetto Kids Foundation, a charity devoted to lifting children out of poverty through education and dance. It's an inspirational tale and, given the troupe's huge social media presence, it makes sense for it to sit on YouTube. (Six episodes) The Seed Of The Sacred Fig Powerful drama about the tension between family and national loyalty that had to be smuggled out of Iran Year: 2024 Certificate: 15 Watch now on BFI Player Some films really hit home with the issues of the time when they're made, but few more than The Seed Of The Sacred Fig. Filmed in secret in Iran by director Mohammad Rasoulof before being smuggled out of the country - Rasoulof was also forced to flee after receiving a prison sentence - the drama turns on the dilemma of a family man promoted to a position in which he is expected to rubber stamp executions of protestors against the Iranian regime. He's given a gun to protect himself and when it goes missing at home, he begins to suspect his wife and daughters of taking it. The Seed Of The Sacred Fig is all the more powerful for how naturally performed it is, and in how it's not a gruelling watch despite its subject matter - the early family scenes are actually quite cheery, providing stark contrast to what comes later. Rasoulof uses footage of real protests in Iran to strong effect in a powerful, Bafta- and Oscar-nominated drama. It is long - it feels more like a three-part TV drama - but understandably so, given its subject. (167 minutes) Quiz Lady Sandra Oh and Awkwafina star in a comedy road movie Year: 2023 Certificate: 15 Watch now on Disney+ Watch now on BBC iPlayer When their elderly mum vanishes and they suddenly find themselves liable for her considerable gambling debts, estranged sisters Anne and Jenny (Awkwafina and Sandra Oh) are forced to come up with an ingenious money-making scheme. Their plan? To head across country so that quiz show expert Anne can win the big cash prize in a TV contest. It's bright, cheery nonsense full of slapstick, sarcasm and silliness. Oh and Awkwafina shine as the very different sisters, while the background fills up entertainingly with familiar faces including Jason Schwartzman, Tony Hale, Holland Taylor and Will Ferrell (as the game show host). (99 minutes)
