What to watch on TV this week Our pick of the best television shows Gwyneth Paltrow brings psychedelics and orgasms to Netflix with The Goop LabStaffers go beyond ‘typical workplace experience’ as they get naked, sexy and high together in a quest for wellness Avenue 5, Sky One — Hugh Laurie stars in a space cruise gone wrongArmando Iannucci’s sci-fi comedy is a blast with excellent ensemble work and crisp dialogue White House Farm is a moving drama based on a real murder caseA new ITV crime series takes on conflicting evidence with exceptional care and poignancy Cobra, Sky One — a catastrophe drama with high stakesRobert Sutherland exudes calm and competence verging on ruthlessness as his character handles a national disaster Sex Education, Netflix — the unofficial teen ‘sexpert’ returnsBeyond the bouncing bodies and trembling flesh run a myriad tender emotional storylines Addicted to Painkillers? Britain’s Opioid Crisis, BBC2 — navigating the painkiller mazeEvidence suggests that opioids are ineffective in up to 90 per cent of cases of chronic pain, so why are doctors still prescribing? More from this Series Deadwater Fell, C4 — a slow-burning, brooding taleA doctor and family man is suspected of doing something unspeakable Apocalypse Cow: How Meat Killed the Planet, C4 — a radical take-down of food farmingBritish writer and activist George Monbiot on how the food industry is destroying the living world Messiah, Netflix — mystery figure destabilising the shaky status quoAl-Masih (the serene and assured Mehdi Dehbi) can seemingly force reality itself to bend around him The Planet is Burning, Amazon Prime — Ilana Glazer is naturally warm, shrewd and very New YorkIn an atomising world with diminishing shared culture, it’s interesting to note what topics comedians can now rely on for common ground The Deuce, Sky Atlantic — Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Franco deliver impressive performancesSocial issues and new technology bring change to streetwise but tender characters Festive frights abound in Martin’s Close and A Christmas CarolGhost stories dominate the BBC’s seasonal dramas, with Peter Capaldi in an MR James ghost story and Guy Pearce as Scrooge The Tiger Who Came to Tea and The Snail and the Whale leap from page to screenBeloved picture books by celebrated children’s authors Judith Kerr and Julia Donaldson become Channel 4 and BBC animations ’Tis the season for a wicked send-up in Cinderella: After Ever After and The Goes Wrong ShowRude mischief with David Walliams and costume catastrophes in Sky One and BBC pantos Sticks and Stones, ITV — words cut deep in Mike Bartlett’s workplace dramaNew psychological mini-drama explores the corrosive effects of bullying and mind-play Dirt, disorder and poor care — The Cure dramatises NHS neglectStafford Hospital scandal is the focus of Channel 4 drama, told through the eyes of whistleblower Julie Bailey The Marvelous Mrs Maisel Season 3 delivers vintage screwball comedyThe Amazon Prime series stars Rachel Brosnahan as stand-up comedian Midge in 1950s New York Glenda Jackson is wonderfully cantankerous in Elizabeth is MissingThe BBC1 adaptation of Emma Healey’s novel is a moving and unsparing portrayal of old age The Case of Sally Challen on BBC2 shows justice is not gender-blindGripping documentary follows the course of Challen’s appeal after she was convicted of murdering her husband Vienna Blood, BBC2 — ‘a lusciously detailed show’Final episode takes the duo into a military academy for the elite where young recruits undergo vigorous hazing The Crown Season 3 brings the genius of Olivia ColmanFarewell to Foy and Smith in a new series of palace family drama and treachery on Netflix Climategate: Science of a Scandal, BBC4The story behind a hacking case that derailed a UN conference and tried to sway nations on an issue of global concern The War of the Worlds, BBC1 — a timely take on HG WellsRafe Spall and Eleanor Tomlinson star in the new three-part adaptation of the 1898 sci-fi classic Unremembered, Channel 4 — David Lammy learns about the war heroes who were left forgottenThe MP travels to east Africa to hear about the soldiers who were not offered rites of remembrance His Dark Materials, BBC1 — starring James McAvoy and Ruth WilsonThe eight-part series gives space to address the ever pertinent themes of the Milton-inspired trilogy The Fall of the Berlin Wall with John Simpson, BBC4 — ‘was I wrong to be so optimistic?’BBC’s longest-serving correspondent looks back at the tumultuous days leading up to the events and his coverage at the time The Accident, Channel 4 — the aftermath of tragedyWriter Jack Thorne has constructed his drama with an almost mathematical approach to apportioning blame Giri/Haji, BBC2 — masterful cross-continent thrillerA Tokyo detective is dispatched to London to investigate a suspicious murder in a winning series directed by Julian Farino Ian Hislop’s Fake News: A True Story, BBC4 — a long history of deceitThe Private Eye editor traces fake news back to the end of the 19th century Netflix’s The Politician — a complex, cynical and stylish portrait of ambitionBen Platt stars as a wealthy high-school Machiavel alongside manoeuvring mom Gwyneth Paltrow The Loudest Voice, Sky Atlantic‘How do they sleep at night?’ is a question that resonates throughout this pummelling drama series about the launch of Fox News The Capture, BBC1 — surveillance goes under the spotlightDigital jiggery-pokery and layers of subterfuge pep up this crime thriller Untouchable: The Rise and Fall of Harvey Weinstein, BBC2Alleged sexual misconduct victims describe the brutal power of the movie mogul in this film HBO’s ‘Succession’ returns to Sky Atlantic with a savagely brilliant second seasonThe drama starring Brian Cox is back with raging sibling spats and coarse put-downs Orange is the New Black grips so hard despite the contrivancesHavoc persists inside the prison, whilst the newly released Piper becomes a waitress Undercover: Inside the Chinese Digital Gulag, ITV — chilling insightA film-maker travels to so-called ‘re-education centres’ where reports of torture abound Stranger Things 3, Netflix — a plague of rodents, hormones and ’80s pop hits HawkinsJobs and kissing replace bikes and board games as the goofy young kids turn teenagers The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush FilesIn a new BBC documentary, historian David Olusoga reveals the history of racial prejudice in the UK George Clooney’s Catch-22 recaptures the humour and horror of the novelGlossy, visceral and with an exceptional cast, the satirical mini-series conjures a paradox-laden second world war The Handmaid’s Tale is back, praise be! — season 3 reviewedElisabeth Moss’s Offred is all eerie composure as Gilead’s foundations begin to totter Killing Eve season 2 — cat-and-mouse thriller returnsThe second instalment of the hit series provides all the anticipated flamboyance and high-octane action War on Plastic with Hugh and Anita — 22 households, 4 months, 0 plasticHugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Anita Rani explore hard-hitting realities about single-use plastic Black Mirror Season 5 — Andrew Scott as a creepy cabbie, Miley Cyrus as a doll in captivating new episodesNetflix’s tech anthology series continues with three cunningly plotted stories Tales of the City — Laura Linney stars in this Netflix revivalHas Armistead Maupin’s classic series about a queer community in San Francisco dated badly? Gentleman Jack, BBC and HBO — a sparkling delightWas Anne Lister a lesbian superhero — or an unashamed forerunner of class-privileged white feminism? 63 Up, ITV — is this the last of the Seven Up saga?The cast of Michael Apted’s 1963 TV social experiment reunite for a ninth time Years and Years, BBC1 — a sharp, nightmarish vision of the futureRussell T Davies’ drama presents an all-too-identifiable 21st century through the lens of one Mancunian family Chernobyl, Sky Atlantic — shrouded in mystery and smokeThis series starring Emily Watson and Jared Harris dramatises the events surrounding the 1986 nuclear accident to gripping effect The final series of Game of Thrones is more of the same — but just as addictiveThe last six episodes of the fantasy epic are set to be an enjoyable panoply of improbable sets, outlandish names and ‘sexposition’ Climate Change: The Facts — David Attenborough shows that the truth hurtsThe BBC documentary is a sobering, uncompromising portrait of the effects of global warming on our world The Trial of Ratko Mladic, BBC FourA documentary follows the prosecution and defence cases for one of the darkest episodes in European history Fleabag returns, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s creation remains irresistibleAfter the success of Killing Eve, the writer-director is back with a second — and starrier — season of her brilliantly offhand comedy-drama Leaving Neverland — Michael Jackson protégés turn accusers in harrowing documentaryUncomfortable and graphic testimonies from two men, one of whom defended star during 2005 trial
