Comic Relief 2019
David Lammy’s pointed comments on how Comic Relief depicts Africa have added a note of tension to this year’s festivities; producers would do well to find a way of addressing it during tonight’s event. In the meantime, expect Bodyguard’s Richard Madden donning suit and tie again, a Four Weddings reunion and Partridge on the streets of Norwich.
Friday 15 March, 7pm, BBC One
NB
The NB stands for non-binary, a term that this series from BBC Sounds explores with arguably unprecedented insight. Host Caitlin Benedict is about to come out to her mum and dad but wants to understand what gender identity really means. So, aided by friend Amrou Al-Kadhi, they’re doing just that, discussing everything from pronouns to dating.
Podcast
Cheat
After the ratings hit of Martin Clunes’s Manhunt, ITV drops another new drama in a week-long splurge. This one features top performances from Corrie’s Katherine Kelly and Molly Windsor (from BBC One’s Three Girls) in a taut tale of academic plagiarism and unearthed secrets.
Monday 11 to Thursday 14 March, 9pm, ITV
60 Days on the Streets
As more and more people are forced to sleep rough in Austerity UK, Ed Stafford takes to the streets to give a sense of the plight they face. There is a danger here that the adventurer might treat this like another of his “extreme” jaunts but, thankfully, this is sensitively and thoughtfully handled.
Thursday 14 March, 9pm, Channel 4
The New Girlfriend
François Ozon’s adaptation of a Ruth Rendell story is a darkly playful, sexy comedy in which Claire (Anaïs Demoustier) and David (Romain Duris) bond, with increasing complexity, after the death of his wife – and her best friend – Laura. There are touches of Otto Preminger’s great noir, Laura, in this skilfully composed tale.
Sunday 10 March, 10.20pm, BBC Four
Queer Eye
Another bunch of utterly irresistible makeovers from the fab five. This year’s adventures include a straight wedding, the reinvention of a camouflage-clad squirrel hunter, a road trip to Kansas City and a man whose style icon is Gimli from The Lord of the Rings. Expect the usual sartorial and psychological revelations with plenty of hugging and learning along the way.
From Friday 15 March, Netflix
Baewatch: Parental Guidance
Thought that getting your kit off behind some plexiglass on Naked Attraction was the peak for excruciating dating series? This one might top that, as a couple have their sunshine break snooped upon by their families. Can they impress them, or will they get a thumbs down?
Monday 11 March, 10pm, E4
American Gods
Showrunner changes, script rewrites, cast departures and a subsequent production hiatus mean that this second run of Starz’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s epic lands almost two years after the first. However, with Gaiman still very much involved, it promises to be another curate’s egg of sumptuous, violent, beguiling, neon urban fantasy.
From Tuesday 12 March, Amazon Prime Video
Arcadia
The limited cinema release of Paul Wright’s hypnagogic tribute to Britain’s relationship with the countryside means that you may well have missed it first time around. It gets a far bigger platform here: good news for anyone interested in our country’s antic rural past, and wonderfully woozy archive footage.
Sunday 10 March, 9pm, BBC Four
Turn Up Charlie
Idris Elba has rarely looked less like the next Bond than he does in this comedy about a washed-up DJ who is reduced to supplementing his income by looking after his famous friend’s 11-year-old kid. Can he relaunch his career on the back of the wisdom supplied by his volatile charge?
From Friday 15 March, Netflix
