Pick of the week
Bad Monkey
An entertaining comedy drama adapted from Carl Hiaasen’s 2013 novel about detective turned hotel inspector Andrew Yancy (Vince Vaughn) – dismissed from the Miami Police Department but dragged back into the vague vicinity of law enforcement by the discovery of a severed arm on a fishing trip. A parallel tale about Bahamian beach bum Neville Stafford (Ronald Peet) and his attempts to save his ramshackle home from property developers eventually dovetails with the main storyline but narrative thrust isn’t really the point here: the strength is its picaresque, rambling, slightly stonerish vibe. It’s dryly funny and Vaughn is great as the strangely indefatigable Yancy.
Apple TV+, Wednesday 14 August
***
The Twelve
The Australian crime drama that focuses on the jurors rather than the accused is back with a meaty new case and another 12 citizens making the call on what really happened. This time, wealthy cattle farmer Bernice Price has been found dead at the bottom of a well – with a head injury that proves this was no accident. Renowned barristers Brett Colby (Sam Neill) and Frances O’Connor’s Meredith Nelson-Moore defend the accused (sharing notes over wine in a hotel room) to a jury including a former footy star, a local hero and two ex-lovers. HR
ITVX, Thursday 15 August
***
Romance in the House
A tale of family conflict and rebirth from South Korea. After several failed business ventures leave them in financial difficulties, the father of a family of four, Byeon Moo-jin (Ji Jin-hee), is rather brutally exiled. However, 11 years later, Byeon returns, newly wealthy and determined to regain the trust of his children and the love of his wife, Geum Ae-yeon (Kim Ji-soo). But how did he acquire his wealth and can his motives be trusted? It’s a tangled web of romance, betrayal and possible reconciliation, told in overheated, pleasantly melodramatic style.
Netflix, out now
***
Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures
“Younglings: you must face new trials and explore new worlds.” Another series of this gateway drug of a spin-off show, machine-tooled to recruit the little padawan apprentice in your life into the seemingly infinite Star Wars franchise. And, as ever, it’s a slightly cheesy but undeniably slick and stylish expansion of the narrative universe. We follow Jedi youngsters Kai Brightstar, Lys Solay and Nubs as they explore the galaxy, helping the needy and generally learning the ropes. Needless to say, the force is with them at all times.
Disney+, Wednesday 14 August
***
Stags
“Have you never seen Banged Up Abroad?” It’s a flippant question that turns deadly serious when a group of Londoners try to smuggle an illicit substance through South American customs on their way home from a stag do. This endearingly ragged and occasionally gruesome comedy drama, starring Asim Chaudhry and Charlie Cooper, arrives very quickly at the nightmare scenario: the gang are transported to a terrifying prison island that seems to run according to its own warped internal logic. Can these blithering Britons survive?
Paramount+, Thursday 15 August
***
Emily in Paris
The return of this fizzy, almost provocatively shallow series is good news for anyone anticipating missing the endless, wistful establishing shots of the Eiffel Tower afforded by the Olympics. Whether it’s good news for lovers of nuanced, well-constructed drama is another question altogether. As we return to the glossy, idealised world of Emily Cooper (Lily Collins) our girl is nominally single again and noticing that Paris is full of hot men. However, even if she thinks she’s left it behind, the eternal triangle involving her, Gabriel and Alfie will not resolve itself. Will Emily ever break free? Of course she won’t.
Netflix, Thursday 15 August
***
Evil
From the Walter Presents slate, here is an intriguing class and classroom-based drama set in 1950s Stockholm. When troubled teenager Erik is expelled from his school for fighting and running a money-lending gang, he’s sent to a prestigious boarding school in the hope that he can be reformed. But do the pupils at his new home know what they’re getting? When the posh kids try to force Erik to submit to the routinely brutal abuse at the school, they’re in for a shock – Erik isn’t an easy kid to bully. Isac Calmroth is a charismatic lead.
Channel 4, Friday 16 August
