7 new releases to watch on TV this week
Sweeping fantasy, bouncy musicals, the second series of Tiger King...it's all happening on the box this week. Get into something comfy, pop open the Pringles and settle in for a watch.
Tick, Tick… Boom!, Netflix, 19 Nov
Hamilton genius Lin Manuel Miranda’s directorial debut tells the story of Jonathan Larson, the Broadway legend behind the the musical Rent, who died of an aneurysm before getting to see his own success. In this he’s played by a brilliant Andrew Garfield (The Social Network, The Amazing Spiderman) as an anxious but vibrant young guy working in a New York diner, frustrated by the ticking clock of his own creativity.
The Wheel Of Time, Amazon Prime Video, 19 Nov
Amazon’s most expensive project to date is already being billed by some as the next Game of Thrones. An adaption of Robert Jordan’s successful novel series of the same name, this is a fantastical, eight-part epic starring the fabulously talented Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl, I May Destroy You) as the powerful Moiraine, who oversees five young potential saviours of the world. Swishy cloaks, knockout landscapes, bad-ass ladies… sounds like a solid evening’s escape.
Tiger King 2, Netflix, 17 Nov
Love it or loathe it, the show that defined lockdown 1.0 is back. Return to the unbelievably bonkers world of America’s most notorious big cat owners, as we follow the now familiar crew (of frankly awful people) through the impact of season one’s blowout success. Joe Exotic’s still in prison, the tigers are still in cages, this corner of America is still a mind-boggling place… By all accounts, Tiger King 2 does what it says on the tin.
Children In Need, BBC1, 19 Nov

That annual staple of the philanthropic TV world, Children In Need returns for a telethon of quirky crossovers, amusing cameos, and pulled heart-strings. Presented this year by Graham Norton, Mel Giedroyc, Ade Adepitan, Alex Scott, and Chris Ramsey, highlights are set to be the celebby appearance of Ed Sheeran, a wacky The Repair Shop special, and an Olympic egg-and-spoon race.
Crime, Britbox, 18 Nov

The police dramas just keep coming… This one’s an adaptation of a 2008 Irvine Welsh (who wrote Trainspotting) novel, and follows DI Ray Lennox as his search for an abducted schoolgirl is complicated by his own demons. It’s a gritty six-parter, with some good acting dynamics, that neatly scratches the crime series itch.
American Rust, Now TV, 15 Nov
Jeff Daniels (The Newsroom, Godless) is the chief of police in an economically devastated Pennsylvania steel town, and faces a dilemma when the son of the woman he’s in love with is the prime suspect in a murder case. One for if you enjoyed Mare of Easttown.
Diana — Queen Of Style, C4, 15 Nov

Two decades after her death, Princess Diana and her fashion have become a hot topic. Though perhaps a little intense on pushing the narrative of Diana as “the first influencer”, this documentary is a fun journey through her best fashion moments: from that ‘revenge’ black dress to that sheep jumper. Fashion journalists, royal stylists, and micro-bloggers comment along the way.