Pick of the week
The Assassin
Julie (Keeley Hawes) is icy, sardonic and dissolute. She’s also the absolute antithesis of maternal so she hasn’t been looking forward to the arrival of her adult son Edward (Freddie Highmore), who is visiting her on the Greek island she calls home. Not that Edward is relaxed about it either – he wants information about his elusive family background. Julie is also a former assassin. Flashbacks suggest she was a ferociously efficient one too. But how retired is she really? When her past catches up with her and the pair’s prickly but sunny sojourn is interrupted by bloody chaos, they’re forced to go on the run. Brutal action set pieces and equally brutal dialogue makes for slick, nasty fun.
Prime Video, from Friday 25 July
***
Washington Black
Adapted from Esi Edugyan’s Booker-nominated novel about slavery and emancipation, this drama flattens out some of the book’s more fantastical edges and loses a little magic but it’s still nicely realised. It follows Washington as a child (Eddie Karanja), enslaved but under the wing of white saviour Titch (Tom Ellis), and the older Washington (Ernest Kingsley Jr) as a free man, obsessed with building a flying machine and in cahoots with Sterling K Brown’s Medwin Harris. The performances are engaging and it asks serious questions about freedom in a world where Black people are constrained by their history.
Disney+, from Wednesday 23 July
***
Acapulco
It’s the fourth and final season of this bright and breezy flashback comedy drama which delights in its sunny setting and retro stylings. As we return to Las Colinas resort, it’s 1986 and all is not well. Máximo (Eugenio Derbez) has been promoted and is now head of operations – but this has happened at a challenging time with rival resort Alma del Mar having taken over top spot in the Acapulco hotel pecking order. Cue much agonising and a twist when the identity of Alma’s new manager is revealed. Will Máximo be able to steady the sinking ship?
Apple TV+, from Wednesday 23 July
***
Critical: Between Life and Death
It was only a matter of time before the streaming platforms latched on to the magic combination of real-life human triumph and tragedy (not to mention the inexhaustible subject matter) represented by documentaries exploring the work of the emergency services. This series – from the makers of Channel 4’s 24 Hours in A&E and tonally fairly similar – follows the staff of the four major trauma centres in London as they deal with whatever comes through their door over a three week period. It is inevitably stirring, moving and heart-in-mouth nerve-racking.
Netflix, from Wednesday 23 July
***
Shiny Happy People: A Teenage Holy War
“It’s like Coachella for youth groups.” While it’s just about possible to identify with this description of the Teen Mania evangelical movement that swept parts of the US towards the end of the 90s, the clips in this three-part documentary series are more akin to the Nuremberg rallies. There’s hysteria in the air that feels decidedly threatening. Sure enough, beneath the ecstatic veneer of these gatherings lurked sadistic boot camps, staged martyrdom drills and an apparent attempt to turn innocent teens into a fanatical army.
Prime Video, from Wednesday 23 July
***
Hitmakers
A strange hybrid of talent show and luxury porn hate-watch, this reality series follows 12 (already successful) songwriters and producers including Jenna Andrews and Sevyn Streeter as they gather at a writing camp – which looks more like a swish resort from a dating show – to write songs, have minor breakdowns and figuratively scratch each other’s eyes out. It’s essentially a carefully staged clash of gigantic professional egos. While none of them desperately need this exposure, their unstoppable main-character energy means they can’t help but buy in.
Netflix, from Thursday 24 July
***
Under Fire
A gritty Belgian thriller in which a tight-knit crew of firefighters find the existence of their station threatened after a fatal mistake caused by miscommunication after a leadership change. When the media gets involved and starts investigating individuals within the group, cracks start to emerge in the solidarity necessary to undertake such dangerous work. Can this motley but committed band regain the trust of their community and their internal unity? It feels generic but there are plenty of impressively realised stunty sequences to keep energy levels up.
Channel 4, from Friday 25 July
