What We Do in the Shadows
Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi’s bravura bloodsucking comedy gets a terrific TV update. It’s set in NYC with its feckless vamps played by a trio of Brits: Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou and Kayvan Novak. Expect gore, werewolf feuds, and something called an “energy vampire”, who drains humans’ spirits by boring the life out of them.
Sunday 18 May, 9.45pm, BBC Two
What/If
An Indecent Proposal-style offer from Renée Zellweger to a cash-strapped younger couple is the jumping-off point for Mike Kelley’s new thriller, which explores ambition, moral boundaries and the chaos that can spiral out from a single fateful decision.
From Friday 24 May, Netflix
Gentleman Jack
A new Sunday evening costume drama from Sally Wainwright, this new series stars the always excellent Suranne Jones as gay 19th-century Halifax landowning maverick Anne Lister. Lister documented her life via a secret diary written almost entirely in code – and a brilliantly scandalous life it was too, given the attitudes of the era.
Sunday 19 May, 9pm, BBC One
Primetime
An interesting new pod from Todd VanDerWerff exploring the cultural and political impact of significant TV moments. It begins with liberal wish-fulfilment fantasy The West Wing. Did it manage a realistic portrayal of American politics? And if not, did it lead to a damaging raising of expectations?
Podcast
The Other Two
Already regarded as one of the year’s best comedies in the US, this sardonic sitcom gets a UK airing. Drew Tarver and Heléne York star as two listless thirtysomethings trying to get their heads round their much younger brother’s sudden ascent to Bieber-level pop stardom. As well as taking potshots at the relentless churn of celeb culture, it has much to say about millennial gay culture, too.
Thursday 23 May, 10pm, E4
Hatton Garden
The story of the daring Hatton Garden heist of 2015 reads like the synopsis of a mindlessly entertaining Britflick. So it’s no surprise that several cherished old lags of the British screen come together here to re-enact events. Timothy Spall, Geoff Bell and Kenneth Cranham all feature.
Monday 20 to Thursday 23 May, 9pm, ITV
Eurovision Song Contest 2019
The Daily Express has already speculated that Michael Rice’s UK entry Bigger Than Us might be “a remainer anthem”. Which provides a suitably ludicrous backdrop to a reliably bonkers festival of camp songcraft and hilariously blatant geopolitical vote rigging. Bring it on.
Saturday 18 May, 8pm, BBC One
Game of Thrones
Here we go then: after eight seasons, TV’s biggest, bloodiest show prepares for one last hurrah. If there have been some doubts as to the storytelling decisions in this closing run, you don’t doubt that this final instalment will be preposterously epic, as Jon, Tyrion, Sansa et al are forced to reckon with Dany’s lurch into villainy.
Monday 20 May, 9pm, Sky Atlantic
Graduation
When Eliza (Maria Dragus) is assaulted outside her school, she is unable to sit the exam that will potentially win her a scholarship to a British university, so her surgeon father (Adrian Titieni) must plead for help from the authorities. Intelligent and bleak, this is Romanian director Cristian Mungiu’s most scathing indictment yet of a corrupt, oppressive society.
Monday 20 May, 12.35am, Film4
She’s Gotta Have It
The Netflix spin-off from the Spike Lee film of the same name returns for a second season. Nola Darling (DeWanda Wise) is turning over a new leaf. She is hellbent on maturing as an artist, a lover and a person. But how do her ambitions stack up when set against the practical realities of staying afloat in New York City?
From Friday 24 May, Netflix
