Television
Bloodlands
Line of Duty and Bodyguard creator Jed Mercurio is behind this new crime thriller set in Northern Ireland. James Nesbitt plays Tom Brannick, a police detective whose wife was killed by an elusive murderer known as Goliath. When a new case lands on his doorstep, Brannick worries that a killing spree is about to begin again.
Sunday 21 February, 9pm, BBC One
Grayson’s Art Club
Potter Grayson Perry returns for a new series of his lockdown crafting hit, alongside his wife Philippa and a raft of celebrity guests, including singer Boy George in this week’s opening episode. George creates a work based on the theme of family before looking at the public’s efforts.
Friday 27 February, 8pm, Channel 4
Ginny & Georgia
Batwoman’s Brianne Howey stars as Georgia Miller, a young mum of two, in this new drama series. As her family move house yet again, this time to a quiet New England town, daughter Ginny (Antonia Gentry) struggles to fit in, while her wayward mum’s past soon comes back to haunt them.
Wednesday 24 February, Netflix
Blitz Spirit With Lucy Worsley
To mark the 80th anniversary of the blitz, British historian Lucy Worsley uncovers the stories of ordinary civilians on the frontline of the eight-month German bombing campaign, from women who volunteered as stretcher bearers to men in the fire service.
Tuesday 23 February, 8.30pm, BBC One
Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway
The geordie duo’s award-trousering Saturday night mainstay returns for a 17th series. As ever, it offers up a gloriously escapist mix of big showbiz guests including Davina McCall, Mo Farah and Harry Redknapp, ludicrous challenges, and endearingly old-school hidden-camera set-ups.
Saturday 20 February, 7pm, ITV
Rose Matafeo: Horndog
The New Zealand comic Rose Matafeo presciently tackles the lockdown crisis of a lack of intimacy with this standup special recounting her years of teenage angst and dating in her early 20s with an admirable commitment to her own embarrassment.
Sunday 21 February, BBC Three
Big Sky
From Big Little Lies creator David E Kelley comes this pulpy new crime drama centred on a small town in Montana. When two teenage girls go missing, it is left to private detectives Cassie Dewell (Kylie Bunbury) and Cody Hoyt (Ryan Phillippe) to solve the case.
Tuesday 23 February, Star on Disney+
Stand Up & Deliver
The stage fright is on full blast for this charity-themed series tasking five celebs with only two weeks to write and deliver a standup routine in aid of Stand Up to Cancer. Their only lifelines are professional comic mentors, such as Zoe Lyons and David Baddiel.
Thursday 25 February, 9pm, Channel 4
Love, Victor
Set in the same world as 2018’s LGBTQ+ film Love, Simon, this TV spin-off focuses on titular teen Victor Salazar (Michael Cimino) and his rocky road to self-acceptance after he and his family move to a new town. Ana Ortiz and Mekhi Phifer co-star.
Tuesday 23 February, Star on Disney+
Unforgotten
DCI Cassie Stuart (Nicola Walker) and DI Sunny Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar, with trusty backpack in tow) return for the fourth series of ITV’s crime drama. The pair will be investigating a historic murder case to try to uncover its secrets, while the series also promises to look at society’s changing relationship with the police.
Monday 22 February, 9pm, ITV
Podcasts
Unwanted
Qcode brings a new scripted offering, reuniting New Girl’s Lamorne Morris and Jake Johnson for this tale of two video game-addicted slackers hoping to catch an escaped convicted murderer hiding out in their small town for the bounty of $1m. Morris co-wrote the eight-part series, which also stars Aladdin’s Billy Magnussen and Pitch Perfect’s Anna Camp.
Weekly, widely available from Tuesday
This Is Good for You
Thirst Aid Kit co-host Nichole Perkins fronts this enjoyable podcast series exploring the things we love and arguing that there is no such thing as a guilty pleasure. The first episode discusses maximising sexual pleasure with sexologist Tyomi Morgan, while future instalments include the joy of a bad movie.
Weekly, widely available
Full Story
The Guardian’s Australia bureau brings this current affairs pod dissecting stories with a global focus. Recent highlights have included discussions on Australia’s lacklustre policies on the climate crisis, the future of the casino industry in the country, and Collingwood football club’s reckoning with racism in the game.
Weekdays, the Guardian
Black Girl Songbook
Author Danyel Smith hosts this new pod celebrating the talents of black women in music. Episode one discusses Whitney Houston’s rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner at the 1991 Super Bowl and features input from Houston’s friend Deborah Cox, while future episodes focus on Sade and Ella Mai.
Weekly, widely available
Film
I Care a Lot (15)
(J Blakeson) 118 mins
Golden Globe nominee Rosamund Pike brings her cunning Gone Girl stylings to this tasty thriller. She stars as Marla, a legal guardian for vulnerable old people who exploits her position to fleece them. That is until she takes charge of Jennifer (Dianne Wiest), who is connected to some very bad people, chiefly mobster Roman Lunyov (Peter Dinklage).
Amazon Prime Video
To Olivia (PG)
(John Hay) 99 mins
The 1962 death of their daughter Olivia offers a window into the turbulent lives of author Roald Dahl (Hugh Bonneville) and his actor wife Patricia Neal (Keeley Hawes) in this well-acted drama. He’s in the midst of writing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but grief rips apart their cosy, if booze-dulled, domesticity.
Sky Cinema
Pelé (15)
(Ben Nichols, David Tryhorn) 108 mins
An interesting contrast to 2019’s Diego Maradona, this doc on the Brazilian superstar footballer features the same wonder at genius, redemptive story arc and involvement with dubious types. It differs in the likability factor: Pelé seems quite a humble sort, which means the film lacks a little edge.
Netflix, from Tuesday 23 February
The Owners (18)
(Julius Berg) 92 mins
A neat horror, modest but smartly plotted. A group of youngsters, including Maisie Williams and Andrew Ellis, plan to burgle a rural manor owned by a doctor and his wife (Sylvester McCoy and Rita Tushingham) but events soon slide out of their control.
On digital, from Monday 22 February
Glasgow film festival
Retreating online, GFF 2021 features eight world premieres, including the Irvine Welsh-penned Alan McGee biopic Creation Stories and punk doc Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché, plus a focus on black Scottish history and film-making.
Wednesday 24 February to 7 March, glasgowfilm.org
Catch Me Daddy
Daniel Wolfe’s grim but beautifully shot drama explores the horror of “honour” killings. British Pakistani girl Laila (Sameena Jabeen Ahmed) has run away with her white boyfriend, Aaron (Conor McCarron). But hiding out in a caravan on the dank Yorkshire moors will only help for so long, as her brother and cohorts plot revenge for her supposed betrayal.
Sunday 21 February, 12.40am, Film4
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