Pick of the week
Alice and SteveThere’s a brilliantly cringe take on intergenerational romance in this comedy starring Nicola Walker and Jemaine Clement as the titular middle-aged best friends. Their relationship is shattered when Steve accidentally falls for Alice’s 26-year-old daughter Izzy (Yali Topol Margalith). Alice and Steve (created by Sex Education writer Sophie Goodhart) rightly doesn’t shy away from the messiness of the whole scenario and instead leans into it with great relish. Alice’s fury leads to some terrible behaviour on all sides – there’s a new contender for the most excruciating TV dinner party of all time. But the story is nuanced and sympathetic, too. And the cast, Walker in particular, are sublime. Phil Harrison
Disney+, from MondayRob Rinder: The Crime I Can’t ForgetBrief encounter … Rob Rinder on The Crime I Can’t Forget. Photograph: James Stack/Crime+InvestigationIn 2005, in his previous life as a barrister, Rob Rinder was part of the legal team defending one of the men accused of the brutal murder of 22-year-old Lucy Hargreaves in Liverpool. The men were acquitted and Rinder remains convinced that the verdict was correct. However, as this series shows, that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten about the case. Alongside Rinder himself, we hear from court journalists who reported on the case and reformed gangland figures, as well as people who knew Lucy. An interesting insight into the toll taken by due process. Crime+Investigation, from MondayBest of the World With Antoni PorowskiTasty … Antoni Porowski in Best of the World. Photograph: National Geographic/Disney+Antoni Porowski (the culinary expert on Queer Eye) is a New York resident. But more than anything, he’s all for cultural melting pots. In this engaging four-part series, he takes personal journeys through London, Paris, Mexico City and New York, exploring the food, customs and experiences that best represent these cities. Some of his choices – Big Ben in London or Michelin-starred kitchens in Paris, for example – aren’t exactly paradigm-shifting but he fully immerses himself wherever he visits and his bouncy enthusiasm goes a long way. Disney+, from Monday 8 JuneSesame StreetSweepin’ the clouds away … Sesame Street. Photograph: Zach Hyman/NetflixAfter a worrying period of flux, the sneakily educational and rightly legendary kids’ show is now happily churning out episodes in its new home on Netflix. In this latest selection of adventures, the gang are getting much more ambitious – a trip to space is even on the agenda. The mission soon runs into trouble, though, and an audacious mid-air repair job is planned. As ever, Sesame Street is sweet without being sickly and righteous without being preachy. Its return is one of the more cheerful TV tales of recent times. Netflix, from Monday 8 JuneEvery Year AfterSummer lovin’ … Sadie Soverall and Matt Cornett in Every Year After. Photograph: Justine Yeung/Prime VideoCarley Fortune’s young adult novel Every Summer After has been something of a sensation on BookTok. So it was inevitable that it would turn up on the small screen. It’s likely to appeal to fans of The Summer I Turned Pretty and follows the will-they-won’t-they love affair between Persephone “Percy” Fraser (Sadie Soverall) and Sam Florek (Matt Cornett) as it ebbs and flows over six years of summer holidays in Barry’s Bay in Canada. Expect slick, soft-focus teen romance which expertly tugs on every nostalgic heartstring. Prime Video, from Wednesday 10 JuneProudManning up … Ignacy Liss in Proud. Photograph: HBO/SkyThis drama has made waves in Poland for its depiction of a young gay man taking on the challenges of fatherhood. It stars Ignacy Liss as Filip, a hedonist and successful model who has avoided the responsibilities of adulthood in favour of casual hookups and emotional distance. However, when family tragedy strikes, he’s faced with the palpable need of his infant niece Antonina and surprises himself with his levels of attachment. It’s nicely conceived and performed, and a reminder that even if the issue of LGBTQ+ adoption is largely settled in the UK, in many countries the discourse is very much ongoing. HBO Max, from Friday 12 JuneThe Idaho Student MurdersThe accused … Bryan Kohberger in The Idaho Student Murders. Photograph: Getty ImagesMoscow, Idaho, is a quiet place so the murder of four students in a shared house in 2022 was particularly shocking. The quartet were stabbed and the attack was so brutal that blood leaked out of the foundations of the building. Suspicion soon fell on another student, Bryan Kohberger. This documentary explores the case against him, including a record of previous concerning behaviour towards women. It also remembers the victims, talking to the friends and family of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle.
