Pick of the week
Murdaugh: Death in the Family
A perfectly timed drama about the sense of impunity that comes with being rich, white and American. It’s an adaptation of Mandy Matney’s podcast, which followed the unravelling of a legal dynasty in South Carolina. At its heart is bullying patriarch Alex Murdaugh (Jason Clarke), an attorney whose desire to present himself as a straight shooter barely conceals shady business practices and, eventually, murder. The catalyst is a speedboat accident caused by Alex’s drunkard son Paul – but the story spirals into a gripping parable in which entitlement finally collides with real consequences. As Alex reminds everyone before his fall: “Just because you don’t want to pay a bill, doesn’t mean it isn’t due.”
Disney+, from Wednesday 15 October
***
Mr Scorsese
A giant of cinema receives the documentary he deserves in a five-parter that is expansive in intention and has brilliantly intimate insight. Via interviews with the man himself and wonderful archive footage, director Rebecca Miller paints a vivid picture of Martin Scorsese. The sections exploring his early life – a creative but fragile kid, internalising a heady New York cocktail of violence, Catholicism and organised crime – are particularly fascinating. They offer a clue to the roots of a question that Scorsese has approached from a variety of angles throughout his career: “What are we? Are we intrinsically good or evil?”
Apple TV+, from Friday 17 October
***
Splinter Cell: Deathwatch
The gap between gaming and streaming continues to narrow: this series is an animated adaptation of Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell series of action-adventure stealth games. The animation doesn’t aim for the verite look of the original and feels much more traditional, but many of the first-person-shooter tropes feel familiar. The plot concerns Sam Fisher, a veteran of the game series but now retired. He returns to arms when a young operative asks for help but soon he’s uncovering a global conspiracy. Liev Schreiber and Kirby Howell-Baptiste are the voice stars.
Netflix, from Tuesday 14 October
***
To Cook a Bear
Equal parts folk horror, murder mystery and quest for enlightenment, this grimy, brutal drama is set in an isolated village in Sweden in 1852. The downtrodden local people are inflamed by the arrival of impassioned pastor Lars Levi Laestadius (Gustaf Skarsgård) whose sermons challenge the area’s powerful elite and seem to promise a better life. However, his unsettling provocations are also accompanied by a spate of disappearances. Are these incidents bear attacks? Or could something even more sinister involving Lars (and his foster son Jussi) be afoot?
Disney+, from Wednesday 15 October
***
Loot
More luxury problems for Maya Rudolph’s Molly Wells, as this comedy about a woman attempting to charitably dispose of a multibillion-dollar fortune returns. Molly’s philanthropy is making dangerous waves as her fellow billionaires object to her generosity. This brings her back into the orbit of her excruciating tech magnate ex-husband John (Adam Scott) and also necessitates a trip to the UK where old money rules and cultural misunderstandings are unavoidable. As ever, it’s carried by Rudolph’s fabulous central performance.
Apple TV+, from Wednesday 15 October
***
The Diplomat
“The president is about to do something apocalyptically dumb.” This pacy thriller takes exactly the right amount of liberties with reality – though reality itself feels somewhat far-fetched at the moment. It returns for a third season, with Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) dealing with a deeply flawed new US president whom foreign leaders and diplomats essentially have to babysit. The Potus is a woman, in case anyone should get the wrong idea, but even so, with the US/UK relationship tested like never before, it still feels uncomfortably close to home.
Netflix, from Thursday 16 October
***
Incognito
This week’s troubled cop is Felix Hartman, an undercover agent who is rescued from drowning by a woman called Lize. However, Lize soon finds out that no good deed goes unpunished when, as a result of her bravery, she finds herself under suspicion. Might she actually be a terrorist kingpin known to the police as Samantha? Felix is ordered to infiltrate Lize’s life – but he’s emotionally damaged and the ensuing game of cat and mouse raises all manner of demons. This Dutch drama never feels particularly original but its premise keeps you guessing.
Channel 4, from Friday 17 October
