Whether you’re slowing down in the run up to the Bank Holiday weekend, or simply need a jolt of entertainment in your down time, we’ve got you covered. This week’s telly slate has some exciting gems, from slow-burning dramas to ideal binge watches, so this round up of ticks all boxes.
Paapa Essiedu and Siobhán Cullen’s Babies sounds like a BBC drama you won’t want to miss, followed by a returning anthology series that sees The Crown’s Victoria Hamilton step into the tense role of a teacher, whose world is blown up by a revenge-driven student.
Netflix’s returning coming-of-drama XO Kitty is also bound to be your binge-watch of choice, as the chaos queen returns determined for her senior year to go off without a hitch. However despite her best efforts, drama is always brewing. Read on for all our recommendations of what to watch this week, from Monday 30 March.
Babies 
BBC
A six-part series set to both break and warm your heart. Starring Paapa Essiedu and Siobhán Cullen, Babies follows Lisa (Cullen) and Stephen (Essiedu) whose hopes of growing their family are repeatedly crushed after experiencing multiple miscarriages.
Forced to confront an unbearable grief, the couple cling on to each other as they navigate this tumultuous time in their lives.
The BBC have called the “intimate, raw and quietly powerful” series “a tender yet urgent love story” that explores “the emotional resilience of a couple navigating the heartbreak of pregnancy loss.
Babies is available from Monday 30 March at 9pm on BBC One.
The Teacher, season 3 
Channel 5
Taking the mantle from Kara Tointon and Sheridan Smith, who starred in previous seasons, The Crown’s Victoria Hamilton steps into the lead role in the anthology series The Teacher. Now in its third run, the drama will focus on Helen (Hamilton), a respectable drama teacher in her 50s who has been promoted to the Head of Drama at a prestigious private school.
The trailer has revealed that there’ll be friction between the students and teacher, sparking “a battle between the generations” – with the synopsis of the show adding: “A difference of opinion rapidly turns into a sinister grudge match, and after a tragic event on school grounds, the situation intensifies when a video emerges suggesting Helen is to blame, and she finds herself being blackmailed.”
The Teacher season 3 is available to watch on Monday 30 March at 9pm on Channel 5.
XO Kitty, season 3 
Netflix
It’s Kitty’s final year of KISS and she’s determined to make her senior experience one she’ll never forget.
She’s got it all mapped out. She’ll figure out where she wants to go to college, make meaningful memories with her friends, get closure to her family in Korea and define her will-they-won’t-they relationship with Min-ho (Sang Heon Lee).
However the final leg of her Korean adventure is derailed by huge revelations that bring about a much-anticipated family reunion, with To All the Boys’ Lara-Jean (Lana Condor) flying in from New York to see her.
XO Kitty season 3 is available from Thursday 2 April on Netflix.
Bloodhounds, season 2 
Netflix
Having taken down the loan sharks in season one, enemies-turned-friends Gun-woo (Woo Do-hwan) and Woo-jin (Lee Sang-yi) return with a renewed drive.
Gun-woo intends to become a boxing champion with Woo-jin determined to help him get there. However the pair’s troubles are far from over as a new foe, Baek-jeong (Jung Ji-hoon), surfaces and threatens the very things they hold dear.
Fans can look forward to more thrilling action sequences as Gun-woo and Woo-jin fight to protect the things that matter.
Bloodhounds season 2 is available from Friday 3 April on Netflix.
Your Friends & Neighbors, season 2
Apple TV+
The unlikely suburban thief is back for season two, and Andrew Cooper (played by John Hamm) has no plans to give up on his lifestyle. Not until the arrival of a brand new neighbour Owen Ashe (James Marsden).
After discovering Coop’s secret, the charming but dangerous Owen forces Coop into a partnership that threatens to not only expose him, but to put his family at risk too. Westmont Village is set to get a whole lot more tense in season two.
Your Friends & Neighbors season 2 is available to watch on Friday 3 April on Apple TV.
Nippon Sangoku: The Three Nations of the Crimson 
Prime Video
Based on the manga by Ikka Matsuki, The Three Nations of the Crimson Sun, set in Japan, depicts a nation struggling to cope after the fallout of nuclear war results in a revolution, natural disasters and a corrupt government.
Civilisation has crumbled, forcing a divide in a nation that has split into three, each vying for controlling power. In the show, Aoteru Misumi (Kensho Ono), a local government official, turns his dreams of reunifying Japan into action. Rising through the ranks, Aoteru Misumi is determined to make a change but it won’t be easy. There are those who mean to ensure he does not succeed.
Nippon Sangoku: The Three Nations of the Crimson is available to watch from Sunday 5 April on Prime Video.
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TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. Â For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. Â She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
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