AMAZON PRIME Tampa Baes
Friday, November 5th
Tampa Baes is a reality show that follows the often tempestuous relationships between lesbian friends in Florida as they navigate their way through the glitzy world of the city's ever-expanding LGBTQ+ scene. Taking its cues from classic MTV reality shows such as The Real World and Jersey Shore, it's a fly-on-the-wall, warts-and-all account. Although the show has come under fire for its lack of racial diversity, the producers say that focusing on an organic group of friends, rather than relying on manufactured camaraderie, bolsters the show's authenticity.
Curse of the Chippendales
Friday, November 12th
From the production team behind Tina, the recent Tina Turner documentary, and Sophie: A Murder in West Cork comes the fascinating story of The Chippendales. Fans of the incisive podcast Welcome to Your Fantasy will be familiar with the outlandish tale of the much-mocked dance troupe. Curse of the Chippendales treads the same path, moving beyond the baby-lotioned facade of the gyrating himbos to reveal an adrenaline-fuelled story of greed, gangsters, drugs and murder.
The Wheel of Time
Friday, November 19th
Billed as a lavish epic (is there any other kind?), The Wheel of Time hopes to ensnare any listless Game of Thrones fans still mourning the loss of their weekly fix of incest and dragons. Based on Robert Jordan's bestselling novels, it features Rosamund Pike as Moiraine, who is part of a powerful, magical all-female organisation called Aes Sedai that is trying to locate a reincarnated supreme being with the potential to save or destroy humankind. Moiraine persuades five young people to join her on her quest – on which she tries to detect the messiah among them. With Amazon rumoured to have invested an eye-watering $10 million per episode, and with its costly adaptation of Lord of the Rings on the way, too, the streaming service hasn't given up on the quest for a Game of Thrones-sized audience yet.
DISNEY+
Dopesick
Friday, November 12th
Starring Michael Keaton, Kaitlyn Dever and Michael Stulhlbarg, Dopesick tells the horrifying story of the United States' opioid epidemic. From Keaton's misguided doctor, Dever's desperately addicted young girl and Stuhlbarg's chilling turn as Richard Sackler of Purdue Pharma, it dramatises the family pharmaceutical company's promotion of OxyContin across the US, making them one of the country's richest families even as takers of their powerful painkiller grew addicted, often falling into crime and poverty-stricken desperation. Raw, gripping and emotional, Dopesick makes the complicated compelling, never losing sight of the human side of this dark, seemingly endless tragedy.
The Choe Show
Wednesday, November 24th
In this unconventional, chaotic talkshow the artist David Choe, a friend to the stars, talking to his celebrity guests as he paints their portraits. Think of it as a midway point between Marc Maron's WTF podcast and Painting with Bob Ross. Choe tries to capture Val Kilmer, Will Arnett and Maya Erskine, among others, in a new light, exposing their vulnerabilities and exorcising their inner demons. Obviously influenced by his great friend Anthony Bourdain, the much missed culinary obsessive and street philosopher, Choe relishes the uncomfortable moments with his emphasis on immediacy and openness, making the show a curious kind of art therapy.
The Beatles: Get Back
Thursday, November 25th
The Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson reintroduces us to The Beatles, with unprecedented access to more than 60 hours of unseen footage recorded by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. The series pieces together the story of the tumultuous writing and recording sessions for the band's final album, Let It Be, and their preparation for their rooftop farewell gig at their Apple Corps' London headquarters. Their fractious creative process and well-documented disagreements are exposed, but they're balanced by the warmth and affection between the Fab Four.
