Television
Red Dwarf: The Promised Land
Kryten, the Cat and co are back for this feature-length special of the cult series. True to form, we find the anthropomorphic crew engaged in yet another obscure goose chase, this time as a trio of cat clerics seek solace in Lister as their only saviour from feral leader Rodon. Yes, it makes little sense but it’s a welcome distraction nonetheless.
Thursday 9 April, 9pm, Dave
Ride Upon the Storm
The biblical Danish drama returns with Lars Mikkelsen reprising his role as the stern patriarch of priest family the Kroghs, struggling to keep his two sons and daughter on the righteous path to salvation, following the tragic events of last season.
Sunday 5 April, 11pm, Channel 4
Jacqueline Wilson: Four Kids, It and Me
Children’s writer Wilson certainly knows what keeps the kids entertained. This charming doc gives a glimpse into Wilson’s writing process and flowing imagination, ahead of a film release of her adaptation of E Nesbit’s stories.
Sunday 5 April, 7pm, Sky Arts
Du Fu: China’s Greatest Poet
Coming to prominence during China’s cultural explosion in the eighth-century Tang dynasty, Du Fu is one of China’s best-known poets and yet one who is largely unknown in the western world. Featuring readings by Ian McKellen, this film explores how Du Fu went from a civil servant to documenting his era’s transition from hope and modernity to war and violent ruin.
Monday 6 April, 9pm, BBC Four
Alma’s Not Normal
Sophie Willan writes and stars in this raucously dark comedy about Alma Nuthall, an aspiring actor and wild child whose chaotic childhood has left her with a mother in a mental health institution and a vodka-toting grandmother to care for. An empathetic tale of female relationships and largely useless men.
Tuesday 7 April, 10pm, BBC Two
Joe Lycett’s Got Your Back
The Brummie comic is back for a second series of corporate trolling. Joined by his assistant Mark Silcox and special guest Katherine Ryan, Lycett takes on fast fashion and scurrilous scammers, as well as unscrupulous delivery companies.
Friday 10 April, 8pm, Channel 4
Streaming
Future Man
Ready for a laugh about the future of humanity being at stake? You’re in luck! Season three of this Seth Rogan-produced, dude-y time-travel fantasy has just landed, offering up more 80s-tinted nostalgia and Bill & Ted-style capers. Season one and two are also available, natch.
Saturday 4 April, Amazon Prime Video
Peppa Pig
Amazon has made a selection of its family-friendly content free to stream during the current crisis – including Fireman Sam, In the Night Garden and Peppa Pig. Load up on custard creams, gather all available humans/animals/teddy bears in the house, and soothe your brain with the adventures of the gentle piglet.
Available now, Amazon Prime Video
The Vivienne Takes on Hollywood
The Vivienne, for those of our readership who have been hiding under a rock, is the fabulous winner of the recent first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, and here the scouse drag queen finally claims her prize – a jaunt to Hollywood to make a music video, meeting producers, voice coaches and choreographers along the way.
Thursday 9 April, BBC Three
Brews Brothers
A lot of brotherly love (and hate) in this new comedy, which sees estranged brothers Wilhelm and Adam Rodman reuniting to open up their own microbrewery. Expect wry gags from the show’s sibling creators Jeff and Greg Schaffer, who have had a hand in both Curb Your Enthusiasm and That 70s Show.
From Friday 10 April, Netflix
Models: Street to Catwalk
Nemesis modelling agency opens its doors to the cameras in this four-part series. It scouts many of its teens from deprived areas of Greater Manchester, giving an insight into how the world of fashion might hold the key to changing their lives.
From Sunday 5 April, BBC Three
Nudes4Sale
Following on from the current BBC Three drama Nudes, this probing documentary takes a look at the real-life industry of online nude content sharing. Reporter Ellie Flynn investigates, asking whether these adult platforms should be doing more to protect their contributors – namely checking whether they are underage.
From Tuesday 7 April, BBC Three
Films to stream
The Whalebone Box (12A)
(Andrew Kötting) 89 mins
Kötting is one of British cinema’s great eccentrics, with a string of quirkily intelligent documentaries and essay films to his name. His latest is a typically whimsical fable, with a touch of Celtic mysticism. Kötting and friend/collaborator Iain Sinclair take the mysterious box of the title back to the Western Isles, there to try to heal sickness.
Mubi
Trolls World Tour (U)
(Walt Dohrn, David P Smith) 91 mins
In 2016, Trolls harnessed Anna Kendrick’s innate peppiness and Justin Timberlake’s pizzazz into a candy-coloured animation. Well, they’re back, for a smartly conceived “world tour” – the first blockbuster to go straight to streaming in the coronavirus era.
Sky Store
Four Kids and It (PG)
(Andy De Emmony) 110 mins
An adaptation of Jacqueline Wilson’s sort-of sequel to E Nesbit’s novel Five Children and It, modernised for the 21st century. This revolves round a pit-dwelling wish-granter called the Psammead (voiced by Michael Caine no less), and a bunch of kids whose wildest dreams are briefly realised.
Sky Cinema
Coffee & Kareem (no cert)
(Michael Dowse) 88 mins
This amiable cop/kid comedy has Ed Helms as Coffee, a white Detroit patrolman dating Vanessa (Taraji P Henson), mom to feisty 12-year-old Kareem. The unhappy boy gets someone to put the frighteners on him, which naturally backfires.
Netflix
Nona: If They Soak Me I’ll Burn Them (no cert)
(Camila José Donoso), 86 mins
A Chilean fable that melds fact and fiction, about a grandmother who might be an arsonist, this kind of film would hitherto have got a few festival dates then a run at the ICA in London. Now it’s in the spotlight.
Mubi
AP
Podcast
Music Exists
Wish you could recreate the experience of walking into the record shop in High Fidelity but can’t go out? This enjoyably geeky music pod from the Ringer can take you there, with hosts Chuck Klosterman and Chris Ryan mulling over such pressing questions as “what’s the best song ever?”
Spotify
