Pick of the week
Presumed Innocent
For his first weighty lead role in a prestige TV show, Jake Gyllenhaal plays Rusty Sabich, a high-flying, slightly sanctimonious criminal prosecutor. When colleague Carolyn Polhemus (Renate Reinsve) is found murdered, he steamrolls all competition to take the case. However, details about his relationship with the deceased emerge, along with suspicions that his motivation for taking this initiative may not be entirely pure. Exactly how many skeletons are in Sabich’s closet? Adapted by David E Kelley from the 1987 novel by Scott Turow, this is a pacy, brutal but oddly distancing affair in which everyone is ferociously unpleasant but in a slightly one-note way.
Apple TV+, from Wednesday 12 June
***
The Boys
The Boys is perhaps the TV comic-book adaptation that stays the closest to its inky origins: its violence and gore are brilliantly realised and cartoonishly heightened. As season four begins, the battle between the Boys and Supes is coalescing round the likely presidential term of Robert Singer. Infuriating Captain America spoof Homelander (Antony Starr) has wormed his way to the inside track of the latest evil empire. His sworn enemy Butcher (Karl Urban, with TV’s most amusing cockney accent) is increasingly troubled. However, he’s clearly going to be forced to save the day once again. As always, great fun.
Prime Video, from Thursday 13 June
***
Tour de France: Unchained
There are a lot of cliches surrounding the Tour de France and you’ll hear most of them in this series: it’s the toughest challenge in sport; the competitors are single-minded to the point of obsession; lives are genuinely on the line. The thing is, in this case the cliches tend to be true. With the customary excellent behind-the-scenes access to the men involved in this monumental sporting endeavour, Unchained once again emphasises the sheer extremity of the race. It’s intense, it’s not for the faint-hearted and it’s frequently spectacular.
Netflix, from Tuesday 11 June
***
Under the Bridge
“People call us Bic Girls. Like the lighters. Because we’re disposable.” At the heart of this dark drama is a community of outcast teenage girls. When naive 14-year-old Reena Virk (Vritika Gupta) desperately courts their approval, they begin to bully her. Eventually, bullying turns to murder. The series is a very literal adaptation of Rebecca Godfrey’s 2005 book about the crime – Riley Keough plays Godfrey, an author arriving in a secretive community to write about the killing and finding a dysfunctional town both haunted and unwilling to talk.
Disney+, from Wednesday 12 June
***
Bridgerton
Fans of this glossy, raunchy, regency romp have been very much left hanging by “Polin”-related developments at the conclusion of the first part of the third series. Thankfully, no one has too long to wait for satisfaction – Bridgerton returns this week with Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin (Luke Newton) giddily in love and making plans. Can it possibly last? The conventions of drama suggest there may be further obstacles to overcome just yet. Meanwhile, Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) has problems with her brother and love is in the air for Francesca, too.
Netflix, from Thursday 13 June
***
Joko Anwar’s Nightmares and Daydreams
Prolific Indonesian horror auteur Joko Anwar’s latest project is an anthology of the macabre, the uncanny and the supernatural. The discrete but interconnected stories are certainly not devoid of genre tropes – settings include big, spooky old houses, dark forests and a cyberspace hellscape. But Anwar doesn’t hold back and his determinedly maximalist approach to storytelling gives the tales a certain madcap momentum, even if it lacks the nuance of anthology shows such as Black Mirror. Intriguing for horror fans.
Netflix, from Friday 14 June
***
Criminal Minds: Evolution
In the previous season of this gruesome but generic detective thriller, revived by Disney+ in 2022, the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) threw everything they had at capturing serial killer Elias Volt (Zach Gilford). With Volt now in prison, other priorities should be emerging. But it seems the team can’t fully rid themselves of their nemesis – Volt has negotiated a deal that transfers him to within close proximity of the BAU and he’s finding ways of letting them know. All that, and there’s a high-level conspiracy to investigate as well.
Disney+, from Friday 14 June
