Judge Romesh
In a twist on soapy courtroom programmes, Asian Provocateur star Romesh Ranganathan presides over real-life disputes in this new mock-up reality show. Ranganathan promises to “help as many people as I can with their crappy problems”, including a few celeb guests – in one episode, he settles a feud between Shaun Ryder and Bez of the Happy Mondays.
Wednesday 8 August, 10pm, Dave
Ghibliotheque
Take a deep dive into the sparklingly surreal work of Studio Ghibli, the world’s most venerated animation studio, as superfan Michael Leader and total newbie Jake Cunningham take a detailed look at some of the studio’s biggest films, starting with the Oscar-winning Spirited Away.
Podcast
Cardinal: Blackfly Season
Part of a genre that we’re dubbing “Candicrime”, the Canadian detective drama returns for a second season, complete with an intriguing storyline: a woman arrives at a bar suffering from amnesia and with a bullet lodged in her brain.
Saturday 4 August, 9pm, BBC Four
Insatiable
This Netflix dark comedy has created an almighty hoo-ha before an episode has even aired, with critics claiming that its premise – an overweight teen finds popularity after undergoing dramatic weight loss – encourages fat-shaming. Its makers have urged viewers to give the show a chance, arguing that it’s a “cautionary tale”. Judge for yourself on Friday.
Netflix, from Friday 10 August
byNWR
An intriguing addition to the streaming roster, this website from Nicolas Winding Refn promises to be an “unadulterated cultural expressway of the arts”. Each month will feature “lost or forgotten” films in the exploitation genre that Refn has restored, accompanied by literature, art and journalism on a similar theme. First up is The Nest of the Cuckoo Birds and gonzo heist flick Hot Thrills and Warm Chills.
bynwr.com
Hang Ups
Stephen Mangan writes and stars in this remake of Lisa Kudrow’s much-loved Web Therapy, and has assembled a killer cast too: Charles Dance, Richard E Grant and Katherine Parkinson are in episode one, while Celia Imrie and Jessica Hynes pop up later in the run.
Wednesday 8 August, 10pm, Channel 4
Paperback Writers
Desert Island Discs’ thinkier younger brother returns with more novelists recounting which songs inspired their work. First up is droll humourist David Sedaris, who explains the importance of the jazz, soul and funk of John Coltrane, Nina Simone and Roy Ayers to his own formative work.
Sunday 5 August, 1pm, Radio 6 Music
Angela Carter: Of Wolves and Women
A blend of drama, documentary and animation, this one-off special explores the life and legacy of groundbreaking British writer Angela Carter, whose transgressive influence stretches as far as Disney’s Frozen. Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood and more pay tribute to the frank, feminist, literary pioneer.
Saturday 4 August, 9pm, BBC Two
Twelve Monkeys
A brilliant if flawed science-fantasy inspired by Chris Marker’s time-travel conundrum, La Jetée. Bruce Willis is our haunted, hangdog hero, sent back in time to trace the origin of a virus that has wiped out most of humanity. Edging towards incoherence, it is dark and doomed, and full of director Terry Gilliam’s trademark visual chaos theory.
Tuesday 7 August, 10pm, BBC Four
For the People
Sky Living relaunches as the slightly less soapy-sounding Sky Witness this week, opening with the debut of this courtroom drama about the frenetic careers of six gifted young lawyers. If that description alone doesn’t convince you to tune in, the fact that For the People comes from the steady hand of Shonda “Scandal” Rhimes may well do.
Monday 6 August, 10pm, Sky Witness
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