{"id":759556,"date":"2026-09-04T09:28:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T09:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/759556\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T09:28:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T09:28:12","slug":"the-mandalorian-and-grogu-to-mayday-the-seven-best-films-to-watch-on-tv-this-week-television-radio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/759556\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mandalorian and Grogu to Mayday: the seven best films to watch on TV this week | Television &#038; radio"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Pick of the week<br \/>The Mandalorian and Grogu<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">With one of the best Star Wars series going <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/film\/2026\/may\/19\/star-wars-the-mandalorian-and-grogu-review-helmeted-hero-tangles-with-hateful-hutts-in-decent-feature-outing\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">feature-length<\/a>, its biggest draw, \u201cBaby Yoda\u201d, rightly shares top billing with Pedro Pascal\u2019s perma-helmeted bounty hunter. Otherwise, it\u2019s business as usual for the grumpy Mando and his cute, Force-friendly ward as they get involved in a spot of Hutt family politics. Hired by the New Republic to track down a warlord still sympathetic to the old empire, they must deal with Jabba the Hutt\u2019s siblings, who want the return of their abducted nephew Rotta (Jeremy Allen White) in exchange for information. Featuring a bizarre cameo from Martin Scorsese as a multi-limbed food truck cook, Jon Favreau\u2019s sci-fi adventure is a\u00a0light, lithe addition to the canon. <br \/>Out now, Disney+<\/p>\n<p>MaydayTrains, planes and military automobiles \u2026 Kenneth Branagh and Ryan Reynolds in Mayday. Photograph: Apple TV+<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Ryan Reynolds is always an easy watch, with his relatable (for a film star) charm and unforced gift for comedy. Both are leaned on heavily in John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/film\/2026\/sep\/02\/mayday-review-ryan-reynolds-kenneth-branagh-cold-war-bromance\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">cold war actioner<\/a>, set in 1987. Reynolds plays fighter pilot Troy \u201cAssassin\u201d Kelly, whose spy plane is downed over the Soviet Union. Wounded and alone in a Siberian forest, he meets Nikolai (Kenneth Branagh), a Top Gun fan of Misery-like proportions but also, handily, a very disaffected KGB covert ops agent. Trains, planes and military automobiles all feature in an undemanding buddy caper. <br \/>Out now, Apple TV<\/p>\n<p>Steel MagnoliasA glorious weepie \u2026\u00a0Daryl Hannah and Dolly Parton in Steel Magnolias. Photograph: Zade Rosenthal\/Tri-Star\/Kobal\/REX\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">A double-bill <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music\/2026\/aug\/25\/dolly-parton-obituary\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">tribute to the late Dolly Parton<\/a> includes Seriously Red, a romcom about a Dolly impersonator, but the real McCoy is here in Herbert Ross\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/film\/2015\/mar\/30\/the-film-that-makes-me-cry-steel-magnolias\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">1989 weepie<\/a>. The drama revolves round a Louisiana beauty parlour run by Parton\u2019s plain-talking Truvy, where a group of close female friends gather to gossip, mark major life changes and set the world to rights. The prime movers are Julia Roberts as bride-to-be Shelby and Sally Field as her mother M\u2019Lynn, but Shirley MacLaine sweeps all before her as the gloriously sour Ouiser (try saying it out loud). <br \/>Sunday 6 September, 6.40pm, Film4<\/p>\n<p>Imitation of LifeRemarkable \u2026\u00a0Juanita Moore in Imitation of Life. Photograph: Channel 4<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Douglas Sirk\u2019s 1959 melodrama is remarkable in that it bats around a number of knotty, topical questions about racism, sexism and class but is also a powerfully intimate drama about the bond between two mothers and their daughters. Lana Turner headlines as actor Lora, whose independent spirit leads to theatre fame, despite being a single parent to Sandra Dee\u2019s Susie. But it\u2019s the other pairing that provides the main dramatic force: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/film\/2022\/nov\/07\/juanita-moore-documentary\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Juanita Moore<\/a> as Annie, Lora\u2019s Black maid, and Susan Kohner as her unhappy child Sarah Jane, who can, fatefully, pass for white. <br \/>Monday 7 September, 4.25pm, Film4<\/p>\n<p><a data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" href=\"#EmailSignup-skip-link-14\" class=\"dcr-76akua\">skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-vf9hps\">Sign up to What&#8217;s On<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1r7my33\">Get the best TV reviews, news and features in your inbox every Monday<\/p>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788514092_152_500.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"dcr-xiq31o\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"EmailSignup-skip-link-14\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-label=\"after newsletter promotion\" role=\"note\" class=\"dcr-76akua\">after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n<p>Call My Agent! The MovieA familiar pleasure \u2026\u00a0Camille Cottin and Laure Calamy in Call My Agent! The Movie. Photograph: Christophe Brachet\/Netflix<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">It is five years since French talent agency ASK closed and the staff have scattered. Andr\u00e9a (Camille Cottin) is about to direct her first film but is in need of a malleable producer, so she calls on No\u00e9mie (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/film\/2023\/may\/28\/call-my-agent-laure-calamy-full-time-origin-of-evil-interview\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Laure Calamy<\/a>), who now works on reality TV shows. From there, it\u2019s a short step to getting the band back together \u2013 though everything that can go wrong does go wrong. With its starry cameos (Eva Longoria, George Clooney) and industry in-jokes, this spin-off from the TV show is a familiar pleasure. <br \/>Thursday 10 September, Netflix<\/p>\n<p>Dune: Part TwoSpectacular \u2026 Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet and Zendaya in Dune: Part Two. Photograph: Everett Collection Inc\/Alamy<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Part Three won\u2019t land in cinemas until December, but such is the complexity of Frank Herbert\u2019s fantasy saga that it\u2019s best to get up to speed with the first two in the trilogy now. In this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/film\/2024\/feb\/21\/dune-part-two-review-denis-villeneuve\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">spectacular instalment<\/a>, director Denis Villeneuve concentrates on the changing nature of Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet\u2019s desert-planet messiah, Paul Atreides, and his relationship with Zendaya\u2019s native warrior Chani. Prophecies and politics clash as an air of foreboding infiltrates events, while Austin Butler makes a memorable first impression as the smirking heir to Stellan Skarsg\u00e5rd\u2019s evil Baron Harkonnen. <br \/>Thursday 10 September, Netflix<\/p>\n<p>SupergirlA 12A John Wick in space \u2026 Milly Alcock as Supergirl. Photograph: DC Studios<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Following her riotous introduction as Clark Kent\u2019s cousin in last year\u2019s Superman, Milly Alcock\u2019s Kara Zor-El gets her own world(s) to play in. Director Craig Gillespie <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/film\/2026\/jun\/24\/supergirl-review-milly-alcock-eve-ridley\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">leans heavily<\/a> into the scuzzy, Guardians of the Galaxy end of the comic-book spectrum, as the hard-partying Kara has to sober up after galactic pirates poison her dog, Krypto, and she has three days to find them and the antidote. Chuck in a plucky orphan girl (Eve Ridley) who is bent on killing the lead criminal and you\u2019ve got yourself a 12A John Wick in space. <br \/>Thursday 10 September, 8.10am, 8pm, Sky Cinema Premiere<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pick of the weekThe Mandalorian and Grogu With one of the best Star Wars series going feature-length, its&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":759557,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[96,2839,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-759556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-movies","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=759556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/759557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=759556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=759556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=759556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}