Chase Infiniti stars in Margaret Atwood’s gripping sequel to the Handmaid’s Tale, plus Dan Levy’s irresistibly goofy new sitcom will thrill Schitt’s Creek fans
This expansion of the Handmaid’s Tale universe is adapted from Margaret Atwood’s 2019 follow-up to her epoch-defining 1985 novel. It’s set several years later, right in the heart of Gilead’s darkness – a preparatory school for elite future wives. Via tentative rebel student Agnes Mackenzie (played with stillness and depth by Chase Infiniti), we see the horrors and the hierarchies in action: the drama meticulously illustrates the ways disempowered people hoard what little agency they have. Agnes is initially at the top of the heap but when she’s given responsibility for enigmatic new girl Daisy, she starts to see Gilead for what it is. Claustrophobic and gripping.
Disney+, from Wednesday 8 April
Two hapless adult siblings, handling a difficult situation with a complete lack of basic common sense? Fans of Schitt’s Creek will find elements of the premise of this sitcom from Dan Levy (co-written with Rachel Sennott) familiar. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of goofy fish-out-of-water laughs. Levy is Nicky, a small-town pastor drawn into organised crime after his sister Morgan (Taylor Ortega) mindlessly swipes a bracelet. Soon, the pair owe favours to some distinctly sketchy people. It’s flimsy but quip-laden fun, powered by Levy and Ortega’s irresistible comic chemistry.
