This week we have Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman as a married couple at war in The Roses, and Gillian Anderson playing a ruthless matriarch in The Abandons. David Dimbleby is asking What’s the Monarchy For? Elsewhere George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern and Billy Crudup team up for the comedy drama, Jay Kelly.

Here’s your curated weekend watchlist …

The Abandons (Netflix)

The latest project from Kurt Sutter, the creator of Sons of Anarchy, this new ten-part western drama is set in the Old West in the 1850s. The story follows Fiona Nolan (Lena Headey), a devout Irish woman who can’t have children. Instead she adopts orphans in belief that this is her higher purpose. She soon finds herself struggling against Gillian Anderson’s ruthless and wealthy Constance Van Ness as the matriarchs battle for power and control against the dusty Oregon backdrop.
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The Roses (Disney+)

Based on the 1981 novel The War of the Roses by Warren Adler and a reimagining of the 1989 film starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito, it wasn’t long ago this satirical black cinema was in the cinemas. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman the film directed by Hollywood comedy veteran Jay Roach tells the story of a successful couple whose seemingly perfect life and marriage begins to crack and fall apart.
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What’s the Monarchy For? (BBC iPlayer)

With the scandal around the former Prince Andrew — now just Mr Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor — still attracting headlines across the world, now is a fascinating time to make a documentary about the British monarchy. Leading the probe into the role of the royal family in 2025 for this programme is David Dimbleby, who interviews republicans, royalists, politicians and academics, including David Cameron, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Mary McAleese.
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Jay Kelly (Netflix)

George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern and Billy Crudup, yes, you read that correctly — the writer and director Noah Baumbach has assembled an enviable cast for his latest comedy drama. The film follows the fortunes of a veteran actor, the titular Jay Kelly (Clooney), and his friendship with his manager (Sandler) as they travel through Europe and reflect on their relationships and life choices — and wonder what they will be remembered for.
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Say Nothing (C4 streaming)

Although this Troubles drama based on Patrick Radden Keefe’s book of the same name has been shown on Disney+, this is the first time it becomes available for a free-to-air audience. The powerful drama reveals the lives of people growing up in Belfast across the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties, their involvement with the Provisional IRA and inquiries into “The Disappeared”, particularly the murder of Jean McConville. Woven into the narrative are interviews from the Belfast Project, which documents testimonies from the period.
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