Netflix
Bloodline
Betrayals, secret children and murdered mainstays: how will this tangled, vicious family drama move on after the punt it took at the end of its first season? Via a new black sheep, of course, in the shape of Danny Rayburn’s son, Nolan, whose wrong ’un status is signposted by his piercings and smoking. As we rejoin the Rayburns, John (Kyle Chandler) is desperate to establish limits to any investigation into recent events. But will he compromise whatever professional integrity he still possesses? Tense, densely plotted and twisty, even if it’s hard to root for anyone involved.
Available from Friday
BBC3
United States Of Hate: Muslims Under Attack
A worthwhile if depressing film documenting the rise of Islamophobia in the US. The San Bernardino shootings are the starting point and the Brussels attacks the coda. In between, we meet lone wolf bigots such as Robert (whose boneheaded protest group, Bomb Islam, basically just stand outside mosques hurling abuse) and the more organised BAIR (Bureau of American Islamic Relations) who are armed and aggressive. We also meet a heroic imam who reaches out to people who hate him. But even so, it’s hard to emerge with any real sense of optimism.
Netflix
Chef’s Table
A second series of irresistible food porn from Netflix. This series profiling the most brilliant chefs currently walking the earth begins with Alex Atala, who is currently wowing the foodies of São Paolo. Further episodes celebrate the revolutionary likes of Ana Ros in Slovenia and Dominique Crenn in San Francisco.
Available from Friday
All4
Magnifica 70
Off to 1970s Brazil this week in the company of Walter Presents. It turns out it wasn’t all lavishly talented footballers and caipirinhas on the Copacabana. There was dictatorship, censorship, sexual exploitation, violence and sleaze, too. This series – which explores the making of kitschy soft porn flicks in the name of freedom of expression – comes on like a weird, alluring hybrid of The Lives Of Others and Boogie Nights. Promising.
Podcast
Freakonomics
Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner’s book Freakonomics sold millions of copies with a populist take on economics. This long-running podcast continues this approach to enjoyable and informative effect. The latest edition concerns the winning of games. Journalist Tom Whipple has written a book about systems that can ensure dominance in everything from hangman to rock, paper, scissors. But what was the outcome when Dubner took him on?
Amazon Prime
Mr Show With Bob And David
This oddball US comedy might have been relatively selective in its appeal in the mid-90s. But its alumni have distinguished themselves since. Bob Odenkirk and David Cross star as the now commonplace but then groundbreaking semi-fictionalised versions of themselves. Guests included Sarah Silverman and Jack Black.
Available now
