Blade Runner 2049
Denis Villeneuve’s future-shock sequel was one of the most talked-about films of last year, with initial critical rapture giving way to something more ambivalent. But however you felt about the story, the pacing or the tone, it was a visual feast and Ryan Gosling’s customary studied blankness made him perfect for the lead role.
Available from Monday 5 February, Sky Store
Jamestown
Like all the best period dramas, Jamestown overflows with implicit hot-takes on the issues of today. Its first season concentrated on the gender dynamics of early British settlers in America. As we return to the muddy colony, a party of slaves arrive from Africa.
Friday 9 February, 9pm, Sky1
Bridget Christie’s Utopia
At various points in the last few years, most of us have probably surveyed the socio-political environment and worried about our sanity. Standup comedian Bridget Christie’s new series ponders coping strategies for unusual times.
Wednesday 7 February, 6.30pm, Radio 4
The X-Files
Even for a show trading in concepts including alien colonisation, psychokinesis and shape-shifting, 2016’s revival drifted into the realms of absurdity. Depending on your point of view, Mulder’s voyage into mind-reading via hallucinogens marked either a zenith or a nadir. Still, as it returns for another run with Scully in a coma, we still want to believe.
Monday 5 February, 9pm, Channel 5
Queer Eye
It is arguable that the 15 years that have passed since Queer Eye for the Straight Guy first aired have rendered its premise moot; surely gay culture and mainstream culture are now cheerfully indistinguishable much of the time? This revival takes a wider brief: the new quintet of mentors dismantle and reassemble every aspect of their subjects’ lives, from decor to diet. It’s still good fun.
Available from Wednesday 7 February, Netflix
The Wu-Tang Clan Radio Show
It is now a quarter of a century since the Wu-Tang Clan’s still-amazing debut album reshaped hip-hop. This week, RZA and DJ Mathematics will be keeping Iggy’s seat warm, playing hip-hop bangers and digging into their wide-ranging, sampladelic source material.
Friday 9 February, 7pm, 6 Music
Absentia
Thriller starring Stana Katic as Emily Byrne, an FBI agent who disappeared while hunting a serial killer in Boston, and Patrick Heusinger as her partner. When Emily is found, barely alive, in a cabin in the woods, she has a whole lot of remembering to do. Expect Memento-influenced hijinks to ensue.
Available now, Amazon Prime
The Bulger Killers: Was Justice Done?
An admirably nuanced take on a crime that horrified the nation in 1993 and continues to echo down the years. To what extent can child-killers be rehabilitated? Does it make any difference if they’re children themselves? And should the relatives of the victim have a say in the outcome?
Monday 5 February, 9pm, Channel 4
Jane Eyre
An excellent, mist-and-rain-by-the-bucketful Jane Eyre, with a pallid Joan Fontaine in the title role, standing up to glowering Orson Welles as tormented Rochester. Despite the studio sets, it whistles up a gust of authentic Victorian Yorkshire, with moody cinematography by George Barnes. Also features an early appearance by Elizabeth Taylor.
Sunday 4 February, 2.10pm, BBC Two
Derry Girls
Lisa McGee’s sitcom has been a warming winter treat, managing to combine irreverent, occasionally filthy hilarity with a lingering undertone of the seismic and often horrific political events that formed the backdrop to life in 90s Derry. Tonight’s finale sees Erin get an exciting new opportunity, which is sure to end in tears. Roll on season two.
Thursday 8 February, 10pm, Channel 4
