Pick of the week
After Life
The lack of closure at the end of season two of Ricky Gervais’s tragicomic study of bereavement felt deliberate – after all, grief never really ends. The challenge for this final season is to combine narrative progression with something psychologically plausible. In the opening episode, local newspaper reporter Tony (Gervais) is sent to interview an author and medium, which feels like Gervais pondering his frequently proclaimed atheism. As a writer, he still lurches violently between saccharine sentimentality and snark. But the show does communicate the baby steps of recovery from loss and the sense of getting by without really living. PH
Netflix, from Friday 14 January
***
Twenties
“My life ain’t that messy. Well, it’s a little messy but I’m in the process of trying to clean it up.” The second season of Lena Waithe’s brisk, sparky LA-set drama, which puts Black LGBTQ+ characters front and centre, sees Hattie (Jonica T Gibbs) continuing to try to navigate young adulthood. After her seduction by Sophina Brown’s beguiling Ida B, Hattie is working on a new relationship with a different power dynamic. She’s also trying to move her film script into the next phase. Elsewhere, Mari (Christina Elmore) and Nia (Gabrielle Graham) are facing dilemmas of their own. PH
BBC iPlayer, from Sunday 9 January
***
The Journalist
“Can one journalist really change anything?” The recent furore over partying politicians has demonstrated the impact that good journalism can have – and this Japanese series is an attempt to reposition journalists as glamorous, truth-telling heroes. Anna Matsuda (Ryoko Yonekura) has a similar TV presence to a maverick, rule-breaking cop as she digs into a high-stakes corruption case that no one else wants to touch. Before long, she’s following a trail leading to the very top and, inevitably, giving her editor considerable pause for thought in the process. PH
Netflix, from Thursday 13 January
***
The Real Queens of Hip-Hop: The Women Who Changed the Game
Through wordplay, storytelling and a lot of catchy beats, female rappers have been saying it like it is since the first pioneers shook things up in 70s America. Cheryl Renee James (Salt of Salt-N-Pepa) narrates this one-off special celebrating the legacy of female rap and speaking with its legends such as MC Lyte – a lyrical genius who confidently responded to the oppression of women, and the first female MC to release a solo album on a major label. HR
Disney+, from Friday 14 January
***
Dark Woods
The never-ending small-screen European crime wave continues, this time with a drama based on real-life events that took place in northern Germany in the summer of 1989. It’s a patient affair – this murder investigation spans 30 years and was triggered by the disappearance of the sister of a high-ranking police officer from Hamburg. The officer, Thomas Bethge (played by Matthias Brandt), was on holiday in the area at the time and, inevitably, found himself dragged into the case. A drama that gives up its secrets slowly but rewardingly. PH
All 4, from Friday 14 January
***
Archive 81
Equal parts supernatural horror and doomed, time-hopping romance, this new series takes the “found footage” trope used in films such as The Blair Witch Project and gives it a twist. Dina Shihabi plays Melody Pendras, a documentary film-maker whose investigation into a mysterious cult in 1994 ended suddenly. Dan Turner (Mamoudou Athie) is the modern-day video archivist who becomes emotionally invested in her fate after taking on the job of piecing together her recordings. But what will he discover about the cult and Melody’s connection to them? PH
Netflix, from Friday 14 January
***
The House
This wild, stop-motion animated miniseries is arguably Netflix’s freakiest endeavour to date. It’s a long way from Wallace and Gromit, as within the spooky old pile of the title, three surreal stories jostle for space – seemingly separate and yet tangentially connected. However, the real fun is found in the gratuitously strange visual flourishes: this is a world of dancing cockroaches, anthropomorphic cats and spooky, blank-faced puppets coming to life. Matthew Goode and Helena Bonham Carter are among the actors lending their voices to these abominations. PH
Netflix, from Friday 14 January
