Netflix
The Crown
Netflix parks its tanks on the BBC’s lawn, offering up the kind of lavish, faithful period fare that’s more readily associated with Sunday evenings on BBC1. Small-screen old hand Peter Morgan is at the helm for this unarguably plush drama, detailing the occasionally stormy passage of our beloved Queen Elizabeth II from baffled heir apparent to starchy national matriarch. Claire Foy polishes up her RP in the leading role, and Matt Smith relishes the role of her darkly charismatic but sometimes gaffe-prone Greek suitor.
Available from Friday
BBC3
Trump’s Youngest Superfans
A spectacular implosion in the past couple of months has left Donald Trump looking almost certain to fail in his grim bid to become leader of the free world. Yet the former Apprentice host and alleged serial groper still manages to attract a surprising number of followers to his dubious cause. In this one-off, Angela Scanlon meets some of Trump’s younger supporters, from primary school children to LGBT and African-American voters. Scanlon also encounters some of the white nationalist “alt-right” sewer people, who believe a Trump presidency would bring their hateful movement into the mainstream.
Available from Thursday
BBC iPlayer
Louis Theroux: Savile
You have until Tuesday to watch Louis Theroux’s documentary on Jimmy Savile, which considers how so many people – the film-maker included – managed to miss, or even turn a blind eye to, the entertainer’s misdeeds. Crucially, it devotes as much time to hearing from some of Savile’s victims, all of whom show remarkable honesty and fortitude in recounting details of their abuse. Truly essential viewing.
Available now
Online
Yaddo
Nick Fraser left his role as overseer of the BBC’s reliably wonderful Storyville strand to curate this new platform, so we can be assured of Yaddo’s pedigree. It looks to offer the very best of documentaries from around the world and it currently hosts superb films such as Leslee Udwin’s searing India’s Daughter. Its latest initiative is particularly intriguing: Yaddo is looking for pitches from the general public with a view to commissioning 125 documentaries in the next 12 months. So if you’ve a burning idea, this might be your chance to receive professional guidance and maybe even some proper funding.
Available now
Podcast
Videohead
In heartening news, MTV has started to show a willingness to actually live up to the M in its name and focus a bit more on all things musical. This newish podcast looks at an area that was once the network’s meat and drink: music videos. It sees Daniel Ralston interview prominent directors from Jonas Akerlund (responsible for the Prodigy’s Smack My Bitch Up and Lady Gaga’s Telephone) to Tamra Davis (Hanson’s MMMBop and Sonic Youth’s 100%), discussing with them the qualities that contribute to an agenda-setting vid. It’s part of an ever-expanding podcast network that also features regular series on politics (The Stakes), feminism (Lady Problems) and general pop-culture (Speed Dial).
Available now
