Pick of the week
The Pitt<\/p>\n
The anticipation around The Pitt<\/a> has been feverish. And finally, as HBO Max launches, British viewers can dive in<\/a>, with season one available to binge. But does it live up to the hype? Absolutely. On the face of it, The Pitt is a standard medical drama whose real-time format suggests ER meets 24. But the show\u2019s energy makes it irresistible. As Noah Wyle\u2019s laconic doctor Michael Robinavitch begins a shift, he and his team encounter everything from an elderly man whose children refuse to let him die peacefully to a kid who has swallowed cannabis gummies. Longer story arcs (including lingering Covid trauma) loom in the background but the moment-by-moment action grips instantly and never lets up. BaitShaken, not stirred \u2026 Guz Khan and Riz Ahmed in Bait. Photograph: Amazon MGM Studios<\/p>\n Shah Latif (Riz Ahmed<\/a>, the star and creator) is a struggling actor who has secured \u2013 and then blown \u2013 an audition to become the next James Bond. But just as everything has fallen apart, he\u2019s mistaken for Dev Patel on the street, the incident goes viral and a second chance beckons. What unfolds is a darkly comic farce exploring family loyalty, culture war hysteria and British Muslim identity. Not every point lands but it\u2019s an ambitious attempt to examine the internalised effects of racism. The cast includes Guz Khan<\/a> and Patrick Stewart voicing an (imaginary) podcast host living rent-free in Shah\u2019s fevered brain. BTS: The Comeback LiveAll singing \u2026 BTS performing in Seoul in 2022. Photograph: Yonhap Handout\/EPA<\/p>\n Briefly, everything went quiet in the world of gigantic Korean boyband BTS<\/a>. The group went on hiatus in 2022 to pursue solo projects and complete their compulsory military service. Now, creative wings stretched and patriotic duty done, they\u2019re back. This performance will be broadcast live from Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul and will see the lads launch their hotly anticipated new album Arirang (the title is a reference to a famous Korean folk song) and play a few old hits into the bargain. There\u2019s also a behind-the-scenes documentary on Friday. Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary SpecialEarly days \u2026 Miley Cyrus in Hannah Montana: The Movie. Photograph: Alamy<\/p>\n For many viewers, this mildly bizarre, identity-blurring tweenage staple was an era-defining show. And now, Hannah Montana<\/a> \u2013 which starred Miley Cyrus as Miley Stewart, a teen girl living a double life as a pop singer \u2013 returns, after a fashion, for a 20th-anniversary special. Don\u2019t expect a narrative continuation but, instead, a celebration of the show\u2019s world, taking place before an excitable live studio audience and featuring a recreation of Hannah Montana\u2019s original set, a selection of unseen clips and an interview with Cyrus by podcaster Alex Cooper. Heartbreak HighMeans pranks \u2026 Asher Yasbincek and Ayesha Madon in Heartbreak High. Photograph: Netflix<\/p>\n It\u2019s Muck Up day at Hartley High which, as any Australian child knows, means pranks, hijinks and, as is the case here, behaviour straddling the line between unruliness and criminality. It also means the kids are nearly at the end of their time at school; this third series of the teen comedy drama is the last. Still, there\u2019s plenty of time for things to go wrong \u2013 big, agonising decisions are on the horizon. As ever, Heartbreak High<\/a> is admirably unapologetic in its approach to issues around gender and sexuality so expect a satisfying extended climax. Something Very Bad Is Going to HappenCamila Morrone as Rachel Harkin in Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen. Photograph: Netflix<\/p>\n Planning an intimate wedding in a cabin in the woods \u2013 what could possibly go wrong? Think Meet the Parents reimagined as a gothic nightmare in this eight-part horror executive produced by the Duffer brothers<\/a>. Nicky (Adam DiMarco) and Rachel (Camila Morrone) travel into the wilderness to meet Nicky\u2019s family. But nothing can prepare Rachel for the in-laws who haunt an odd, expansive yet claustrophobic house in which nothing is quite as it seems. Soon, Nicky is having second thoughts about everything. Expect to feel every bit as disorientated as her. For All MankindSean Kaufman in For All Mankind. Photograph: Apple<\/p>\n
HBO Max, from Thursday 26 March<\/p>\n
Prime Video, from Wednesday 25 March<\/p>\n
Netflix, out now<\/p>\n
Disney+, from Tuesday 24 March<\/p>\n
Netflix, from Wednesday 25 March<\/p>\n
Netflix, from Thursday 26 March<\/p>\n