THE PICK OF TV & FILM ON DEMAND
Paramount+
PERIOD DRAMA
Episode 1 available from Good Friday Ewan McGregor sparkles in an artful dramatisation of Amor Towles’s 2016 novel. Moscow, 1917: as his fellow aristocrats are executed, Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov is spared by the Bolsheviks and handed a lesser punishment instead. He is to live indefinitely in the fabulous Hotel Metropol, but must not leave. The outrageously moustachioed Rostov, who refuses to change his naturally loquacious and inquisitive demeanour, gradually collects a varied array of friends and allies within the building’s twisting corridors — but although the whole piece has a peppy old-school glamour akin to The Grand Budapest Hotel, peril lurks outside.
See feature: p12
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Disney+ Homer Simpson’s perennially cheery neighbour becomes unrecognisable in an episode of The Simpsons where he shaves off his “cookie duster”.
Paramount+ He may not be the most reliable newsreader, but the impressive moustache of Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) in Anchorman is probably what makes him so confident, despite his incompetence.
Disney+
HISTORICAL DRAMA
Episode 6 available from Tuesday
Not the most dynamic episode, although a calm-before-the-storm instalment of the epic Japanese historical drama series is still rich with intrigue. And, once we’ve watched through some political jostling and semi-necessary flashbacks, we get what we want, which is a scene involving Mariko (Anna Sawai) and Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), where what is said between the two estranged — for now, at least — lovers is the most important. The tension mounts as she is obliged to accompany him to the fiefdom’s top brothel.
FANTASY
All 8 episodes available Good Friday
Fresh from the success of Happy Valley, screenwriter extraordinaire Sally Wainwright is taking on a new challenge — full-on fantasy. In her new series, Derry Girls’ Louisa Harland stars as Nell, a woman in 18th-century Britain given superstrength by a fairy (Nick Mohammed) whenever she’s in danger. Soon, she’s using it to protect her sisters and become the most feared highwaywoman in England. It’s pitched at more of a family audience than Wainwright’s other shows, but you’ll recognise her fingerprints on the well-rounded characters.
See feature: p24
FANTASY
Available now
