Catch-22
The freewheeling structure of Joseph Heller’s treatise on the madness of war is a famously tricky beast to coax on to screen. George Clooney stars in and produces this six-part attempt, with hunky Girls star Christopher Abbott playing exasperated bombardier John Yossarian, in a series that largely succeeds in balancing comedy with the horrors of conflict.
Thursday 20 June, 9pm, Channel 4
Years and Years
Not everyone has taken to Russell T Davies’s prognosticating drama, finding its take on the near future too absurdly apocalyptic. Yet there’s not doubting that this is one of the more ambitious UK TV series in years, and it ends with the Lyons family facing up to PM Rook’s authoritarian regime.
Tuesday 18 June, 9pm, BBC One
Gomorrah
Sky Italia’s take on the Roberto Saviano book about the Neapolitan mafia shares little with Matteo Garrone’s forensic, award-winning film of the same name. It’s a more swaggering, blunt affair, but hugely watchable too, full of red-blooded performances and big twists. The fourth season confronts a shocking death last time around, and the prospect of all-out war.
Wednesday 19 June, 9pm, Sky Atlantic
Ear Hustle
One of the best reportage podcasts around, this effort recorded inside San Quentin State Prison returns for a new season with change in the air. Earlonne Woods, its producer, is out on parole, giving the show a chance to explore re-entry into society as well as life behind bars.
Podcast
The Eric Andre Show
Already available in full on All 4, Adult Swim’s deconstruction of the late-night talkshow somehow finds its way on to proper telly. Be warned: it’s deeply odd, with Andre pushing interviews with the likes of Seth Rogen, Mel B and Chris Rock to the limits of decency. Broad City’s Hannibal Buress, in the role of sidekick, tries to lend a note of normality to proceedings, but usually just falls asleep instead.
Friday 21 June, 11.50pm, E4
Dark
When it first arrived 18 months ago, this twisty German horror-mystery was misdiagnosed by many as “Stranger Things with subtitles”, a description that did its altogether more Lynchian sense of dread a disservice. Season two begins with Jonas catapulted to a spooky-looking 2052.
From Friday 21 June, Netflix
The Edge of Democracy
How did Brazil, once a model for forward-thinking nations, end up electing a wannabe authoritarian such as Jair Bolsonaro? Petra Costa’s doc tries to figure that out, tracing the country’s escape from military rule in the 80s to the rise and fall of progressive leaders Lula and Dilma Rousseff to its current parlous state.
From Wednesday 19 June, Netflix
Hometown: A Killing
Globetrotting reporter Mobeen Azhar returns home to Huddersfield to investigate the death of Yassar Yaqub, an office clerk who was shot by police on an M62 slip road in January 2017. On the way he uncovers a larger tale encompassing institutional racism, everyday violence and the heroin trade in West Yorkshire.
From Wednesday 19 June, BBC Three
Mia Madre
For obsessive film director Margherita (Margherita Buy) the show must go on – even when her mother, Ada (Giulia Lazzarini), lies dying in hospital. Which means bouncing between the hospital and the shoot, and John Turturro’s high-maintenance American star in particular. Director Nanni Moretti plays her brother, Giovanni, in a typically warm, wise comedy.
Saturday 15 June, 12.45am, BBC Two
Top Gear
Clearly hoping to recapture the blokey joshing the Matt LeBlanc era failed to conjure, the Beeb has plumped for both Andrew Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness as part of its revamped presenting triumvirate. Returning to join them is actual motoring journalist Chris Harris, so at least one of them will know their dipsticks from their sump pans.
Sunday 16 June, 8pm, BBC Two
