Pick of the week
I Love That for You
Joanna Gold is a leukaemia survivor. She’s brittle, lonely, living with her parents and working in a supermarket. Her difficult childhood was soothed by the escapist dreams of shopping channels – so when a related opportunity knocks, she grabs it tightly. There’s real cringe to this comedy: Vanessa Bayer as Joanna is incredibly likable in her accident-prone neediness. And the knowledge that Bayer is a real-life childhood cancer survivor gives the show poignancy – Joanna lost her younger years and, with it, any normal sense of identity development. As a result, she’s an adult still trying out multiple personas for size and not quite fitting any of them. Funny, and cute too. Paramount+, from Thursday 21 July
***
Trying
What started off as an admirably unsentimental comedy about a couple struggling to have children has now turned into a charming comedy about a couple dealing with the early stages of raising an adoptive family. It’s none the worse for that, thanks to the chemistry between Esther Smith’s Nikki and Jason (Rafe Spall) – who do an excellent job of transmitting the insecurity and hard-earned joy of their situation. As we rejoin them, the pair’s domestic situation has become precarious. Worse still, young Tyler (Mickey McAnulty) is growing up to be an Arsenal fan. Apple TV+, from Friday 22 July
***
Bad Exorcist
An oddball curio, this, as Netflix unveils its latest adult animation – about a Polish, booze-addled, leather-clad, self-taught freelance exorcist. Bogdan Boner (Bartosz Walaszek) drives from town to town in his dilapidated van, dealing with demons, often in amusingly blunt and non-spiritual ways (nunchucks and a sawn-off shotgun are favoured weapons) before celebrating heartily with plentiful bottles of grog. It’s a quirky and at times X-rated affair but not without a certain ragged energy. At the very least, it’s not like anything you’ve ever seen before. Netflix, from Wednesday 20 July
***
Virgin River
A fourth season for this bucolic romance, which feels almost stupefyingly twee at times but does serve as an unambiguous dose of escapism. Mel Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge) might have arrived in this pretty, remote Californian town as a kindly if troubled stranger but she’s fully embedded now; in fact, the hectic season three climax – particularly Lilly’s death and Mel’s pregnancy – means there’s plenty to sort out. Most importantly, there’s a reckoning with Jack (Martin Henderson). Is Mel’s baby his? And how will he react if it isn’t? Netflix, from Wednesday 20 July
***
Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous
This fifth and final season of the animated spin-off from the film series offers a decent balance of cuteness, action and wholesome moral messaging. Set on an island devoted to the preservation of dinosaurs in the wild, the action follows six teens who must bond together to survive when the beasts escape captivity. In this latest offering, there’s a new emphasis on animal welfare as an arrival poses difficult questions about the purpose of the island. It’s very broad family entertainment but the dinosaurs themselves are rendered expertly. Netflix, from Thursday 21 July
***
The Thing About Pam
A very odd, chaotic adaptation of an NBC Dateline true-crime documentary, in which the simple thrust of good storytelling gets lost amid the conceptual sprawl. Set in Troy, Missouri, it tells the story of Pam Hupp, who was convicted of murdering her co-worker Betsy Faria and framing Faria’s husband, Russ, for the crime. It’s an astonishing story but very little about this rendering rings true – Pam (Renée Zellweger) is too overtly charmless to manipulate the police and her neighbours, while the slightly smirky tone feels at odds with the tragedy of the case. Paramount+, from Thursday 21 July
***
Blown Away
“All right! Let’s blow some glass!” Yes, let’s. Now on its third series, this niche but compelling Canadian competition show fits neatly into the same box as the various Throw Downs and Bake Offs that have proliferated on British TV. The elimination formula is familiar but, as ever, there’s fun to be had in getting to know the competitors and in the simple pleasure of watching an unusual and difficult thing done well. Plus, there’s added jeopardy in the knowledge that glass-blowing is a high-stakes affair – if you break your piece, you can’t go again. Nick Uhas hosts. Netflix, from Friday 22 July
