TV: We Can Be Heroes
Before there was Angry Boys and Summer Heights High, there was We Can Be Heroes. Chris Lilley’s first series suggested that right from the start he was a true chameleon of a performer as well as a fine spoofer of a certain kind of overly earnest aspirationalism. This mockumentary quest to find the Australian Of The Year introduces SHH’s Ja’ime King, Angry Boys Nathan and Daniel, and Phil Olivetti, the hero of a terrible bouncy castle accident. Available from Thursday.
TV: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
A welcome second series for the Guardian’s TV show of 2015. Ellie Kemper’s effervescent Kimmy is perhaps slightly less central now; in Titus Andromedon (Tituss Burgess), the show possesses a scene-stealer who could probably carry a spin-off sitcom of his own. As we begin, Titus’s former wife is back in his life, Jacqueline is ham-fistedly engaging with her Native American heritage and Kimmy is still struggling with her feelings for Dong. It still strikes the right balance between typical Tina Fey snark and a charming, slightly old-school brand of sincerity. Available from Friday.
Netflix
TV: Steve Davis: Snookerstar DJ
In a spring over-burdened with terrorist atrocity, more-than-usually upsetting celebrity deaths and the looming face of Trump, we must take our pleasures where we can. So the news that former potting machine Steve Davis had exemplary music taste and was to showcase this at Minehead’s Bloc festival was an unlikely shaft of light in the darkness. For those who didn’t attend and so weren’t able to gaze in awe as Steve rolled out his fave Autechre joints, this iPlayer-only doc has the lowdown. Available from Friday.
TV: Line Of Duty
Not caught up with the latest run of the Beeb’s superior police drama? You really should: not only is it shaping up to be the best yet, but there are a host of whopping great spoilers that are going to be more difficult to avoid as the weeks rumble on. Catch the series so far on the iPlayer.
TV: Outlander
Set in Scotland and featuring a mix of lusty historical romance and light sci-fi, Outlander is often dismissed as a “kilty pleasure”. Yet its creator Ron Moore has, in Battlestar Galactica, already created a drama that is far more thoughtful than its genre confines might suggest, and the first series managed to smuggle some complex sexual politics and nuanced characterisation into the mix. Season two relocates to Paris, where time-travelling nurse Claire and her beau Jamie attempt to halt the Jacobite uprisings. The first episode is already available with new episodes available every Sunday.
Amazon Prime
