TVIf you only watch one, make it …House of GuinnessNetflix; available nowFionn O’Shea as Benjamin Guinness, Louis Partridge as Edward Guinness, Anthony Boyle as Arthur Guinness and Emily Fairn as Anne Plunket in House of Guinness. Photograph: PA/NetflixSummed up in a sentence “Like Succession but about a booze dynasty in 19th-century Dublin, Steven Knight’s latest show is full of smarts, heart and sex appeal. It’s a career peak for him.”What our reviewer said “As the shouting, fighting and drawing-room tensions escalate, and sex proves to be as much of a hindrance to clear thinking as money (the casting of James Norton, pheromones fairly radiating from the screen, is a big help there), House of Guinness matures into a romp that you can hardly resist.” Jack SealeRead the full reviewFurther reading Why we can’t get enough of a good dynasty dramaPick of the restWaywardNetflix; available nowMae Martin as Alex Dempsey and Toni Collette as Evelyn Wade in Wayward. Photograph: Michael Gibson/NetflixSummed up in a sentence Mae Martin’s followup to the immaculate romcom Feel Good is this mesmerising mystery set at an academy for troubled teens, headed up a brilliantly chilling Toni Collette.What our reviewer said “Wayward is stylish and hugely watchable – it’s hard for one’s inner adolescent to look away from a punchy eight-parter where so many comeuppances are delivered to horrible grownups.” Lucy ManganRead the full reviewThe Covid Contracts: Follow the MoneyITVX; available nowSummed up in a sentence A devastating look at the biggest spending scandal ever – the Tories’ “VIP lane” for PPE suppliers during Covid.What our reviewer said “Watching this programme forces us to at least consider something that is almost too disgusting to contemplate: that when our country faced one of its darkest hours, certain people in charge saw not a crisis, but an opportunity.” Jack SealeRead the full reviewYou may have missed …High PotentialDisney+; new episodes available weeklyKaitlin Olson in High Potential. Photograph: Christine Bartolucci/DisneySummed up in a sentence Kaitlin Olson’s practically perfect turn as an extremely intelligent crime-solver is fun, cosy, crowd-pleasing TV.What our reviewer said “This virtuoso citizen detective can always be relied upon to save the day.” Rachel AroestiRead the full reviewFilmIf you only watch one, make it …One Battle After AnotherIn cinemas nowLeonardo DiCaprio in One Battle After Another. Photograph: Pictorial Press/AlamySummed up in a sentence Paul Thomas Anderson updates Thomas Pynchon for the era of Ice roundups, pitting shaggy revolutionary Leonardo DiCaprio against cartoonish forces of reaction.What our reviewer said “One Battle After Another is at once serious and unserious, exciting and baffling, a tonal fusion sending that crazy fizz across the VistaVision screen – an acquired taste, yes, but addictive.” Peter BradshawRead the full reviewFurther reading ‘I’m a hustler, a grinder’: Teyana Taylor on music, motherhood and One Battle After AnotherPick of the restThe Dead of WinterIn cinemas nowEmma Thompson as Barb in The Dead of Winter. Photograph: Vertigo/PASummed up in a sentence Emma Thompson stars in an icy Fargo country thriller as a good-natured Minnesota widow bringing her charm, and her gun, to tackle some concentrated nastiness.What our reviewer said “It has an old-school barnstorming brashness, some edge-of-the-seat tension, a mile-wide streak of sentimentality, a dash of broad humour and a horrible flourish of the macabre.” Peter BradshawRead the full reviewBridesIn cinemas nowSummed up in a sentence Two friends leave the UK and head to the Syrian border to marry Islamic State jihadis in this spirited and poignant drama.What our reviewer said “Perhaps the movie should actually be called Fiancées because the actual, brutal experience of being married in this situation is not what the movie wants to imagine, although the closing sequence certainly hints at a horrible disenchantment and a reality very different from that promised on social media.” Peter BradshawRead the full reviewFurther reading ‘Those young women were so vilified’: Nadia Fall on her debut film BridesThe LibrariansIn cinemas nowSummed up in a sentence Documentary about the heroic administrators battling book bans and censorship as rightwingers attack material covering LGBTQ+ issues or race.What our reviewer said “Incredibly principled and brave, the librarians talk about their vocation and standing up for the young people for whom libraries are a safe space where they can discover their identity in the pages of books.” Cath ClarkeRead the full reviewNow streamingWeaponsAvailable to rent on Amazon, Sky, AppleAlden Ehrenreich as Paul in Weapons. Photograph: Warner Brothers PicturesSummed up in a sentence Zach Cregger’s slick Barbarian follow-up horror as 17 children from the same class get out of bed at 2.17am and run off into the darkness.What our reviewer said “It’s a tantalising set-up, pitched somewhere between Stephen King and the Brothers Grimm, and Cregger’s careful slow build keeps us in thrall for the most part, eager to see just how the puzzle-pieces fit.” Benjamin LeeRead the full reviewFurther reading Hit horror Weapons doesn’t have a deeper meaning but that’s OKBooksIf you only read one, make it …If Anyone Builds it, Everyone Dies by Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate SoaresReviewed by David ShariatmadariSummed up in a sentence How AI could destroy humankind.What our reviewer said “Yudkowsky and Soares present their case with such conviction that it’s easy to emerge from this book ready to cancel your pension contributions”Read the full reviewPick of the restHeirs and Graces by Eleanor DoughtyReviewed by Zoe WilliamsSummed up in a sentence An intimate portrait of modern aristocrats.What our reviewer said “She knows everything – where an earl sits relative to a viscount, how many there are of each. Her work is peppered with first-hand accounts, piquant details from visitors’ books, the story of every great house told brick by brick.”Read the full reviewCat on the Road to Findout by Yusuf/Cat StevensReviewed by Alexis PetridisSummed up in a sentence The spiritual singer-songwriter tells his story.What our reviewer said “As the 70s progress, he tries Buddhism, the Bible, meditation, the I Ching: you couldn’t accuse him of not shopping around before settling on Islam”Read the full reviewFurther reading Yusuf/Cat Stevens at Glastonbury review – singer-songwriter’s ‘legends’ set is a lowkey triumphWill There Ever Be Another You by Patricia LockwoodReviewed by Beejay SilcoxSummed up in a sentence An autofictional account of long Covid from the cult American stylist.What our reviewer said “Lockwood’s brilliance has always been her ability to strip a joke back to its mechanics, and make it sharper in the disassembly (see her viral poem Rape Joke). But that power has begun to turn in on itself.”Read the full reviewFurther reading ‘I’ve seen so many people go down rabbit holes’: Patricia Lockwood on losing touch with realityYou may have missed …John and Paul by Ian LeslieReviewed by Blake MorrisonSummed up in a sentence The volatile bromance between Lennon and McCartney.What our reviewer said “To Beatles aficionados, the cast and chronology will be familiar. But Leslie’s approach is fresh because it focuses on the double-consciousness (‘a duet not a duel’, ‘a group within the group’) and their ‘shared ownership of each other’s talent’.”Read the full reviewFurther reading John, Paul and the ‘romance’ that transformed cultureMusicIf you only listen to one, make it …Olivia Dean: The Art of LovingOut now Photograph: Capitol Records/Polydor Records/PASummed up in a sentence Second album from the chart-conquering London songwriter, full of diaristic detail and sweetly understated vocals.What our reviewer said It’s exceptionally well made but feels entirely natural; it’s mainstream commercial pop, but laudably devoid of obvious cliches. If Dean’s debut seemed like an artist trying to find their place in the landscape by ticking relevant boxes, The Art of Loving seems like someone finding their own voice. Alexis PetridisRead the full reviewPick of the restGeese: Getting KilledOut now Photograph: APSummed up in a sentence The Brooklyn indie rock band’s fourth album is full of dread and dark absurdity.What our reviewer said Getting Killed can be opaque, but its brilliance is still obvious: the invention, the irreverence, the melodic knack, the swagger all great bands require. Rachel AroestiRead the full reviewFurther reading Geese’s Cameron Winter on leaving crowds in tears with his supernatural voiceBaltimore SO/Alsop: Clyne, AbstractionsOut nowSummed up in a sentence Marin Alsop’s fine recording offers a chronology of Anna Clyne’s orchestral writing.What our reviewer said “In each piece here Clyne’s command of her material seems ever more assured and focused.” Andrew ClementsRead the full reviewVarious Artists – Pasé Bél Tan: Francophonies and Creolities in LouisianaOut nowSummed up in a sentence Collection of largely African American folk music from the 50s to the 80s, spanning poignant lyricism to full-throated celebration.What our reviewer said “The quiet moments offer an affecting window into history; even through lo-fi recordings, you can hear the singers’ breathy, yearning tones, calling out into the Louisiana wetlands for someone to listen.” Ammar KaliaRead the full reviewOn tour this weekDeacon BlueMotorpoint Arena Nottingham, Sunday 28 September; touring until OctoberDeacon Blue at Brighton Centre in 2025. Photograph: Jamie CarterSummed up in a sentence Veteran band bring political bite and pop prowess to a crowd-pleasing set.What our reviewer said “You can occasionally pick out the influence of Prefab Sprout on Deacon Blue’s sound but refitted for broader appeal, made brawnier and more unashamedly poppy. It was too crowd-pleasing in approach to be critically acclaimed, but nearly 40 years on, even a dedicated naysayer might be forced to concede it worked.” Alexis PetridisRead the full review