Pick of the week
Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere<\/p>\n
It was inevitable that Louis Theroux<\/a> would collide with the manosphere: his diffidence is a perfect counterpoint to the empty bravado that defines the assorted blaggers and oddballs he meets here. As Theroux spends time with influencers including Harrison Sullivan and Myron Gaines, it becomes clear that their performance of hypermasculinity is often linked to loss and trauma. This manifests as bullying but also as an inescapable dullness. However, it\u2019s worryingly evident that many vulnerable young men take the manosphere\u2019s posturing at face value and, as the film goes on, it\u2019s also apparent that Theroux and these influencers are talking to completely separate worlds. ScarpettaAdmirably committed \u2026 Nicole Kidman as Kay Scarpetta in Scarpetta. Photograph: Prime Video<\/p>\n Nicole Kidman<\/a>\u2019s TV roles are rarely understated and the trend continues in this melodramatic thriller, adapted from a series of novels<\/a> by Patricia Cornwell. Kidman stars as Kay Scarpetta, a brilliant but troubled criminal pathologist, who is having a second try at the job of chief medical examiner of Virginia. Her previous spell finished unhappily so the last thing she needs is a case (a possible serial killer) with freakish echoes of one that defeated her years earlier. It\u2019s never subtle but everyone involved commits admirably and Jamie Lee Curtis is in fine sardonic form as Kay\u2019s sister Dorothy. OutlanderWeirdly addictive \u2026 Caitriona Balfe as Claire Fraser and Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser in Outlander. Photograph: Robert Wilson\/Starz\/Sony Pictures Television<\/p>\n The eighth and final season of weirdly addictive hokum from a drama<\/a> that has combined time-travelling mysteries, tribal conflicts and lost children to emotionally exhausting effect. Season seven left us with quite the cliffhanger. It centred on I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside, a song Claire overhears Fanny singing to herself but also a callback to the tragedy of Claire\u2019s stillborn child in season two. Could Fanny\u2019s knowledge of this song open up a whole new branch of the family and tie the show\u2019s many (often baffling) narrative threads together? Girl from Nowhere: The ResetCreepy and uncanny \u2026 Rebecca Patricia Armstrong in Girl from Nowhere: The Reset. Photograph: Netflix<\/p>\n This strange Thai drama \u2013 a reimagined reboot of the original 2018 franchise \u2013 combines generic schoolyard rites of passage and supernatural mischief but ends up somewhere genuinely unusual. Nanno (Rebecca Patricia Armstrong) is an enigmatic teen who transfers to a private school. She doesn\u2019t have much of a backstory but she does have a sense for hidden weaknesses and guilty secrets. Soon, a series of bloody events unfold \u2013 but is Nanno causing them or simply responding to them? The atmosphere is glossy but creepy and uncanny. Sesame StreetA triumph \u2026 Cookie Monster, Rudy, Abby Cadabby, Miley Cyrus, Tango, Elmo, Grover and Rosita in Sesame Street. Photograph: Zach Hyman\/Netflix<\/p>\n These continue to be exciting times for fans of revived kids\u2019 TV from the 20th century. The recent return of The Muppet Show<\/a> has generally been considered a triumph but this charmingly quirky and educational puppet extravaganza got there first, with new episodes arriving before Christmas. This second batch is another wholesome treat, showcasing currently somewhat un-American themes of tolerance and sharing, plus a batch of gigantic cookies, and in the middle of the colourful chaos, a guest appearance from a happily bewildered Miley Cyrus. A delight. Dynasty: The MurdochsSuccession \u2026 Dynasty: The Murdochs. Photograph: David Paul Morris\/Bloomberg\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Arguably the most balefully influential family business in history gets the documentary treatment in a gripping four-part series exploring the Murdoch media empire, mainly from the perspective of the succession battle. With Rupert Murdoch<\/a> now 94 years old, the saga has become increasingly acrimonious. And given the political influence the Murdochs continue to wield, the stakes are, sadly, high for us all. Here, the tensions between the four eldest Murdoch siblings are explored as their father, charming to the last, seemingly pits them against each other. Twisted YogaAn intriguing affair \u2026 Twisted Yoga. Photograph: Courtesy of Apple<\/p>\n
Netflix, from Wednesday 11 March<\/p>\n
Prime Video, from Wednesday 11 March<\/p>\n
Prime Video, out now<\/p>\n
Netflix, out now<\/p>\n
Netflix, from Monday 9 March<\/p>\n
Netflix, from Friday 13 March<\/p>\n