TV
The One
Available now, Netflix
Adapted by Howard Overman from John Marr’s 2017 novel, The One is a dark sci-fi series in the vein of Black Mirror, or the French series Osmosis. Scientists discover that all humans have a gene that links them to the person they are destined to be with. If it is anything like the book, this will be a stormer.
Bloods
Available 5 May, Sky One/Now TV
As a broad medical sitcom about two mismatched paramedics, Bloods at first sounds painfully generic. However, what marks the series out is its sheer chaotic, pathological cheerfulness – even the crack addicts are aggressively pleasant – plus the livewire, oddball partnership of Jane Horrocks and Samson Kayo.
The Flight Attendant
19 March, Sky One/Now TV
Kaley Cuoco wakes from a blackout next to a murdered stranger. That’s roughly all you need to know about The Flight Attendant, because giving away anything more would spoil your enjoyment of this twisty, thrillingly entertaining show. Imagine a pricier Search Party and you’re on the right lines.
Line of Duty
21 March, BBC One
It is adrenalised and preposterous, and its giant world-shaking twists sometimes appear to be chosen via tombola, but, even so, it’s good to have Line of Duty back. Its sixth series will be business as usual, revolving around Kelly Macdonald’s shady officer and the ongoing hunt for the mysterious H. But whatever. You’ll watch this. We all will.
The Irregulars
26 March, Netflix
A supernatural take on Sherlock Holmes, with Watson mentoring a team of teen crime-solvers, The Irregulars is the sort of Victorian frightener that would be a fine Doctor Who alternative if it weren’t for all the copious swearing and blood. It’s helped out by a great young ensemble, featuring the likes of Thaddea Graham and Jojo Macari. A perfect Halloween treat for, er, March. SH
Film
Notturno
Out now, Mubi
After locating the epicentre of the migrant crisis with Fire at Sea, documentarian Gianfranco Rosi turns his attention to a Middle East reeling from the misrule of Isis. Sweeping across Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Kurdistan, he encounters individuals still psychologically scarred by conflict, in a film that refuses to avert its eyes.
Raya and the Last Dragon
Out now, digital platforms
Kids’ films have been received with open arms by harassed parents over the past 12 months, particularly ones that adults can sit through, too. This handsome effort from Disney certainly ticks that box, imaginatively telling the story of a warrior’s quest to locate a dragon and banish evil from her south-east Asian kingdom.
Bad Trip
26 March, Netflix
Eric Andre, ringmaster of TV’s most gonzo talkshow, brings some of that antic energy to the big screen with this Jackass-style prank comedy. Its loose plot has Andre and comic Lil Rel Howery pursued across the US by Tiffany Haddish’s career crim, but really Bad Trip is just a platform for Andre to unleash some deeply aberrant behaviour on members of the public.
The Banishing
26 March, digital platforms
The haunted house horror, it seems, is unkillable, with inventive directors still drawing fresh chills from an old genre. This British indie impressed critics at last year’s FrightFest, with its gothic tone and political allegory, as Jessica Brown Findlay and her family move into a rectory in pre-second world war Britain. The always-great Sean Harris appears as a ghost hunter.
Oscar contenders
The strangest awards season in memory reaches its climax next month with the Baftas and the Oscars. While some frontrunners are holding on until the return of cinemas in May, others such as Korean-American saga Minari (digital download, 2 April) and Guantánamo Bay thriller The Mauritanian (Amazon Prime Video, 1 April), land in the coming weeks, joining the already-available likes of Mank and The Trial of the Chicago 7 (both Netflix). GM
Music
Aaron Lee Tasjan: Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan!
Out now
A one-man AM rock jukebox, Aaron Lee Tasjan’s self-titled (x3) offering is stacked full of lost 1970s megahits. Up All Night is pure Tom Petty, Another Lonely Day twinkles like George Harrison at his most spiritual, and there’s some wry Warren Zevon on Don’t Overthink It.
Femi Kuti and Made Kuti: Legacy +
Out now
Afrobeat royalty rule together with this double album. The first half sees Fela Kuti’s son Femi fighting for freedom with the horn-led likes of Na Bigmanism Spoil Government, while the second is led by Femi’s own offspring Made, who pushes his own politics into the cross-generational conversation.
Viagra Boys: Welfare Jazz
Out now
With their Cramps-indebted brand of grubby greaser-billy you are likely to feel rather unclean after listening to Viagra Boys’ second album, but not in a bad way. Wayward, wild and properly punk, they’re the first band we want to see play live “when all this is over”.
Valerie June: The Moon and Stars – Prescriptions for Dreamers
Out now
Flipping from meditative jazz that recalls Alice Coltrane and Sun Ra to gospel and songs about “dancing on the devil’s door”, Valerie June’s latest album has a deeply devotional quality. With Mellotron, sax and synths at her disposal, The Moon and Stars … is truly cosmic.
Loretta Lynn: Still Woman Enough
19 March
At 88 years old, country music’s grand dame can still belt out a twanging tune. Loretta Lynn’s 50th studio album bristles with life and encompasses a century of song, with traditional front-porch blues, Carter Family covers and zingy duets with Nashville’s new wave, including Margo Price. LC
Stage
The Great Gatsby
Until 31 March, thewardrobetheatre.com
Lockdown has been a chance to dust down classics you never read. Has F Scott Fitzgerald’s sour cocktail about jazz-age decadence still escaped you? Then try this two-woman show from Wardrobe Ensemble, which packs the tale into 90 minutes.
Save the Bill Murray
Available now, patreon.com/angelcomedy
Not a bid to rescue the ghost-busting star, but a madcap web sitcom devoted to protecting a much-loved standup club, and the whole crisis-hit industry. James Acaster, Maria Bamford, Jamali Maddix and an AI bot that looks a lot like Adam Buxton join in the fun.
Turn On Fest
17 to 27 March, hopemilltheatre.co.uk
Manchester’s buzzy Hope Mill theatre unveils a digital-only programme for its annual LGBTQ+ festival. As well as heaps of new writing, there’s dance, drag and conversations with Ryan Jamaal Swain from voguing drama Pose and Russell T Davies, who will be talking about It’s a Sin.
Gigfest
20 & 21 March, catherinebohart.com
Technical gremlins and chatbox crowd work became standup’s new normal last spring but online comedy gigs have come a long way. The sparky Irish comic Catherine Bohart’s festival weekender presents 10 livestreamed shows including Sindhu Vee, Rosie Jones and Nabil Abdulrashid. Miss the thrill of a front-row seat? Pay a few quid extra to join on Zoom.
Oedipus
21 March, ita.nl
Brexit and Covid are a double blow for the prospects of European theatre shows visiting the UK this year. But Internationaal Theater Amsterdam is among the Euro venues livestreaming gems from its repertoire. Robert Icke’s take on Sophocles’s tragedy, which unfurls in real time over an election night, was hailed at the 2019 Edinburgh international festival. It’s back for one night. CW
Podcasts
Welcome to Your Fantasy
New episodes available Wednesdays
Over the hordes of Chippendales fans, no one can hear you scream. That’s what historian Natalia Petrzela found when she started to look into the phenomenon of the dance troupe, behind whose tanned facade lurks dark tales of corruption and murder. Pop culture meets true crime as the story unfolds. A cut above your usual murderous yarn.
Unexplainable
New episodes available Wednesdays
If thinking about the size of the universe sends your brain into an uncomfortable spin, look away now. Vox’s new podcast promises no answers, but is here to delve into scientific mysteries, whether that’s how the sense of smell works or what the experts really know about dark matter. (Clue: not much.)
The Laverne Cox Show
New episodes available Thursdays
In a sea of celebs trying their hand at podcasting, Laverne Cox is a force worth listening to. “My guests and I? Oh, we go there,” says Cox, before launching into convos about dating over 40 and moving beyond the gender binary with guests including Dr Brené Brown and Alok.
Lost Hills
16 March
This podcast taps into your worst camping nightmares, with the story of a father who was shot dead while sleeping next to his two daughters in Malibu Creek State Park. The New Yorker’s Dana Goodyear investigates cover-ups and missed clues, with the crime shaking up the idyllic image of Malibu.
Invisibilia
Later this month
NPR’s podcast that looks at the little details returns with new hosts Yowei Shaw and Kia Miakka Natisse. Get a taste of its brilliance by bingeing on the back catalogue with episodes on eternal life, artificial intelligence and the distraction of Disney collectibles. HV