The best of TV and streaming this week Our critic’s selection of the latest in home viewing © Ben Blackall It’s a Sin — a hedonistic, touching portrait of 1980s gay LondonRussell T Davies’ Channel 4 series about a group of flatmates is full of good times, but the looming Aids crisis has a sombre resonance ITV’s Finding Alice sets family drama in a hazardous smart houseKeeley Hawes stars alongside Joanna Lumley and Nigel Havers as a widow whose move to a dream home becomes a nightmare Silenced: The Hidden History of Disabled Britain explores the roots of ableismA powerful BBC2 documentary traces disability discrimination from the Industrial Revolution to the present day A Discovery of Witches, Sky One — hey-nonny-nonsense from start to finishA time-travelling vampire comes to London in a gorgeously executed second series The Truth About Getting Fit at Home and Are Women the Fitter Sex?Two programmes investigate different aspects of our health, with shocking findings about gender bias ITV’s The Pembrokeshire Murders paints a sinister portrait of a serial killerThree-part series dramatises the cat-and-mouse game between the Welsh police and suspect John William Cooper More from this Series Virus horror series The Stand comes to Starzplay This grisly adaptation of Stephen King’s 1978 novel follows the few survivors of a deadly plague The body fights back on The Truth About Boosting Your Immune SystemThis BBC1 documentary offers a lively look at the human defence system The Man Who Fell From the Sky investigates a tragic stowaway storyThis gripping documentary attempts to find out more about the ill-fated Carlito Vale The Goes Wrong Show’s Nativity and Ghosts Christmas special — boisterous festive fareA busy manger and a mansion full of spirits make for calamitous Christmas viewing in two BBC1 shows John C Reilly leads a motley crew of would-be astronauts in Moonbase 8The four-man team prepare for a lunar mission in the Arizona desert in a new series on Sky Comedy Helen Fielding opens up about Being Bridget Jones on BBC2The creator of the fictional singleton reflects on how the character grew from newspaper column to hit film Jon Meacham uses the past to illuminate the present in The Soul of AmericaThe historian examines the American character through its chequered history on HBO/Sky Documentaries Simon Armitage shares memories of Marsden on the South Bank ShowThe Poet Laureate reflects on career high points and his West Yorkshire hometown The Year That Changed Love, Channel 4 — the reality of being alone Deeper dimensions reveal themselves in a TV series that pokes into people’s homes during the pandemic Dizzying sci-fi drama Raised by Wolves comes to Sky AtlanticDirected in part by Ridley Scott, the series follows two androids tasked with creating a human colony after Earth is destroyed BBC4’s Red Penguins — how Americans tried to rescue the Soviet hockey teamMoney and marketing was pumped into the Red Army after the collapse of the USSR, a riotous documentary reveals Teenagers put to the test in survival drama The Wilds on Amazon PrimeA group of girls must learn to survive on a deserted island after their plane crashes into the ocean New Elizabethans celebrates postwar game-changers on BBC2Andrew Marr examines the key figures who have shaped British society since the 1950s Martha: A Picture Story — warm tribute to a photographer lacks focus Sky Arts’ meandering story of New Yorker photojournalist Martha Cooper is packed with fantastic images Author Bernardine Evaristo opens up on the South Bank Show2019’s joint Booker Prize winner retraces her roots and literary influences with Melvyn Bragg on Sky Arts The Valhalla Murders, BBC4 — hypnotic shots and tinkling dreadA wry and warm detective keeps the chilblains at bay in this frosty Icelandic thriller about a serial killer The Mystery of DB Cooper revisits the hijacker who vanishedThis thrilling BBC4 documentary examines one of the most puzzling episodes in aviation history Belushi — dark and heartwarming portrait of a comedy starRJ Cutler’s programme on Sky Documentaries offers another tragic reminder of the cost of fame His Dark Materials — Pullman adaptation returns to BBC1/HBOThe second season brings multiple worlds, daemons and a villainous Ruth Wilson HBO’s The Vow goes behind the scenes of a modern cultThe chilling series about the abusive NXIVM organisation now comes to Sky Documentaries CripTales, BBC4 — thought-provoking stories about disabilityThis amusing and touching series explores a variety of experiences through six monologues Nick Frost plays a paranormal YouTuber in Truth Seekers on Amazon PrimeThe new comedy horror series has all the charm of a self-deprecating British spin on ‘Stranger Things’ Muslim in Trump’s America, ITV — ‘It feels like you’re not seen’Director-presenter Deeyah Khan delves without fear into a subculture of resentment, weaponry and Islamophobia Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant star in Sky Atlantic/HBO thriller The UndoingIn a new series the A-listers play an elite Manhattan couple whose lives are shaken after tragic events at their son’s school Damilola: The Boy Next Door on Channel 4 — a portrait of widespread traumaThe sensitive film narrates the events surrounding the death of a 10-year-old boy who was stabbed in Peckham in 2000 Old secrets haunt the present in ITV’s ghostly The SisterRussell Tovey stars as a man forced to face his dark past after he is implicated in the disappearance of his wife’s sister Hugh Laurie turns scandalous politician in David Hare’s RoadkillIngenious BBC1 series follows a fictional MP with many a skeleton in his closet The Twelve — chilling Belgian courtroom drama comes to Channel 4This slow-burning Flemish series follows a double murder trial through the eyes of a jury Enslaved, BBC2/Epix — black history from the seabed to the underground railroadSamuel L Jackson co-presents a series that emphasises the bravery of fugitives from US slavery Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor makes The Turn of the Screw newA loose, creepy adaptation transfers the characters and setting of Henry James’s novella to the 1980s Miscarriage: Our Story on Channel 5 — a sensitive discussionJanice Sutherland’s well-handled film is broadcast on Infant Loss Remembrance Day Porn industry comedy Adult Material crackles with humour Hayley Squires excels as a porn star and mum in Lucy Kirkwood’s new Channel 4 series Isis hostages tell harrowing stories in BBC2’s In the Face of Terror A grimly gripping three-part series about the quest to unmask and punish the group’s so-called “Beatles” Brave New World brings a very polished dystopia to Sky One A new adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s novel about a libidinous and inhumane future society is already dated Tehran — a nauseatingly tense spy drama on Apple TV PlusThe platform’s first non-English-language series follows an Israeli agent at large in the Iranian capital Ratched — Cuckoo’s Nest nurse gets starring role in Netflix seriesSarah Paulson, Judy Davis and Sharon Stone in a show of garish plot, gleaming visuals and febrile atmosphere BBC4 traces one of humanity’s most important inventions in The Secret History of WritingThe three-part documentary examines how writing developed through the millennia, from hieroglyphics to the alphabet Criminal returns to Netflix for a second round of questioningAn authentic Sophie Okonedo and pompous Kit Harington feature in the interrogation drama’s new season Jude Law stars in mysterious new mini-series The Third DaySplit into three parts, the drama begins with a man’s journey to the strange island of Osea Bizarre and filthy — Netflix’s The Duchess explores modern parenthoodKatherine Ryan writes and stars in a new comedy about a single mother in north London BBC4’s Mindful Escapes: Breathe, Release, Restore — soothing and light-as-airHeadspace co-founder Andy Puddicombe guides the viewer through peaceful images of nature Stylish Senegalese crime series Sakho and Mangane comes to All 4The French-language show follows two mismatched detectives who must solve a case shrouded in the supernatural Hilary Swank leads a mission to Mars in Netflix space drama AwayThe streaming service has spared no expense, but this ambitious series is let down by a laboured script Maisie Williams is on the hunt for revenge in Sky’s Two Weeks to LiveThe Game of Thrones star plays a young misfit searching for her father’s killer in the comedy-thriller I Hate Suzie is a masterclass in messy disintegration starring Billie PiperAn actress’s life unravels after her phone is hacked in a new comedy by Lucy Prebble on Sky Atlantic Lovecraft Country — a dark fantasy set in the Jim Crow eraThe new HBO/Sky series channels the unsettling novels of horror author HP Lovecraft to explore race in 1950s America BBC1’s A Suitable Boy adapts Vikram Seth’s epic set in post-partition IndiaAmid social change, cocktails and tango parties vie with prayers and obedience to family
