Pick of the week
Sunny
Rashida Jones stars in this series (adapted from Colin O’Sullivan’s novel) about an American woman living in Japan whose husband and son disappear in a plane crash. In a daze of grief, Suzie (Jones) reluctantly takes delivery of Sunny, an infuriatingly cheerful – and worryingly perceptive – domestic robot made by her husband’s electronics company and programmed to respond to her unique sensibilities. But there’s a mystery: Suzie soon becomes uncomfortably aware that robots like Sunny might not be as safe as they seem. It’s a gripping mixture of pitch-black comedy and cleverly realised future shock, with an excellent performance from Jones.
Apple TV+, from Wednesday 10 July
***
Abbott Elementary
Double dates, flirtations and general awkwardness. This charming school sitcom continues to wring as much mileage as it can out of the will-they-won’t-they slow-burn romance between Janine (Quinta Brunson) and Gregory (Tyler James Williams). While we’re all thoroughly invested, there’s a sense it will need resolution very soon – but with another season commissioned, maybe that’s over-optimistic. Abbott Elementary is more than just a love story in any case – it continues to explore the triumphs and trials of teaching with real heart and lightness of touch.
Disney+, from Wednesday 10 July
***
Sausage Party: Foodtopia
Seth Rogen’s smart, oddball 2016 satire Sausage Party was set in a dystopian supermarket full of anthropomorphic food items in search of autonomy. This series acts as a sequel of sorts: in the film, food’s final triumph was celebrated in a no-holds-barred orgy, and here the theme continues in raunchy and squelchy style. However, the food sex is merely an hors d’oeuvre: just as Frank (a sausage) and Brenda (a hot dog bun) are finally getting it on, a dangerous threat to their new society arrives. Its playfulness can topple over into wackiness but it conjures surprising humour from an absurd premise.
Prime Video, from Thursday 11 July
***
Cooking Buddies
Jamie Oliver’s 13-year-old son Buddy has inherited his dad’s knack for simplifying and explaining cookery: in this series, he trades skills with other kids by inviting them to his “Den” (which is kitted out with high-quality kitchen equipment, naturally), showing them a basic and achievable recipe then learning something from them in return. Across the nine episodes, Buddy learns a bit of everything from karate to street art. It might be just the thing to encourage children to put their hands up for some simple domestic chores.
BBC iPlayer, from Wednesday 10 July
***
Vikings: Valhalla
As the subtitle of this series has always suggested, the dying days of the Viking empire were always close at hand. And so it is that our hairy and ferocious heroes face their final reckoning in this concluding run of episodes. We left Leif Eriksson and friends uneasily establishing themselves in Constantinople, but new perils await – particularly for Freydis (Frida Gustavsson), who faces a fight for survival and a possible bolt for home. Leif, meanwhile, is eyeing the far west. As ever, good stories, told straightforwardly but splattered in maximum gore.
Netflix, from Thursday 11 July
***
Exploding Kittens
An absurd showdown between good and evil, expressed via the medium of cartoon cats. God (voiced by Tom Ellis) is sent back to Earth to reconnect with humanity. He finds himself reincarnated in the body of a cat and assigned to a dysfunctional family. His only route back to heaven involves solving their problems. But there’s yet another snag: in a cruel twist of fate, he finds himself living next door to the antichrist, also reanimated in feline form. Daft beyond description but it fully leans into its own ridiculousness and gross-out humour.
Netflix, from Friday 12 July
***
Sisters
A dark comedy written by and starring Sarah Goldberg. Sare (Goldberg) is a Canadian whose mother dies, leaving a massive secret as a parting gift: Sare was the product of a one-night stand her mum had with an Irish busker. She decamps to Ireland in the hope of finding him but finds herself lumbered with her dysfunctional half-sister Suze (Susan Stanley). Will an unlikely friendship blossom? You wouldn’t bet against it. It bowls along jauntily enough without ever quite going deep enough into the issues surrounding identity, addiction and family.
UKTV Play, from Friday 12 July
