Television
The Paralympic Games
Fingers crossed the Paralympics kick-off avoids the controversy of the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony a few weeks back, in which half the organising team had to step down owing to past misdemeanours. Ade Adepitan and Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson provide the chat, with the games themselves beginning on Wednesday.
Tuesday 24 August, 11.30am, Channel 4
Love Island Final
Presuming Ofcom doesn’t pull the plug before the 90-minute finale, Love Island 2021 will draw to a close with two tanned, amorous hotties receiving the £50k prize: a shared deposit for a house perhaps, or a clean 50-50 split to spend on a proper holiday post-break up.
Monday 23 August, 9pm, ITV2
Gossip Girl
The original Gossip Girl blog returns as – what else? – an anonymous Instagram account in this reboot. While the problematic politics have been updated, the drama remains as reassuringly torrid as ever, with long-lost siblings and embittered scions jostling for pre-eminence.
Wednesday 25 August, 10.35pm, BBC One
The Walking Dead
Typically easygoing fare as the post-apocalyptic horror returns for its 11th outing: after Alexandria was devastated by the Whisperers, its survivors are struggling with rebuilding their city, and food is tight. Meanwhile, who knows whether the mysterious Commonwealth, another group of survivors, represent friend or foe?
Monday 23 August, Disney+
McCartney 3, 2, 1
Paul McCartney’s “great little band” description of the Beatles is a touch over-familiar by now. But seeing him exploring his career in the company of Rick Rubin is sure to be a treat. However much you think you know about these songs, they always find a new way of surprising you.
Wednesday 25 August, Disney+
Kevin Can F**k Himself
Annie Murphy, beloved for her portrayal of Alexis Rose in Schitt’s Creek, pulls off more than a straightforward career 180 in her new project: Kevin … is half traditional US sitcom about an average Joe with a hot wife (Murphy), half bleak realism.
Friday 27 August, Amazon Prime Video
Podcasts
Blood on the Tracks: The John Lennon Story
John Lennon packed plenty into his decade of post-Beatles life. The 70s were a turbulent time, and Lennon lived according to the spirit of the era, falling out with Richard Nixon, the FBI and Paul McCartney, too. This pod looks at this less explored period in Lennon’s life and ponders the solo music he created.
Weekly, Double Elvis
Short History of …
Ever felt lost on what should be a familiar subject? This new pod aims to fill in a few gaps in everyone’s knowledge, ideally in an accessible way. So far, the subjects have ranged from the Cuban missile crisis to the Gladiators (the Romans, not the Saturday tea-time TV sensations). But expect further subjects on a weekly basis.
Weekly, widely available
The Guardian Football Weekly
Thanks to the Euros, it feels as if it’s barely been away. But football is back! And so are Max Rushden and Barry Glendenning with their finely honed cheerful cop/sardonic and cynical cop routine. So how is the season shaping up so far? As usual, the pair will be joined by a variety of guests as they pick over the week’s developments.
Weekly, the Guardian
Have You Seen This Man?
The story of John Ruffo is a gift for any true crime podcaster. In 1998, Ruffo engineered one of the most outrageous frauds in US history – a scheme to rob various financial institutions of up to $350m. He received a 17-year jail sentence but escaped – and, remarkably, is still at large. But how? This pod tells his incredible story.
Weekly, Apple
Football Is Nice
Marmite media personality Russell Brand offers a different and personal take on the beautiful game in the company of Gareth Roy and Jenny May Finn. The trio muse about the psychological and philosophical side of football – not to mention streakers, the agony of endless exposure to Sweet Caroline, and the literary career of Steve Bruce.
Weekly, Apple
Film
Pig
(15) (Michael Sarnoski) 91 mins
The hipster eateries of Portland, Oregon, are the stalking ground for a gourmet chef gone feral in this story of a man searching for his stolen truffle pig. A hybrid of The Revenant and Kitchen Confidential ensues, anchored by one of Nicolas Cage’s more soulful turns in one of his best one-for-me movies (which by now seems to be all of them).
In cinemas
Censor
(15) (Prano Bailey-Bond) 84 mins
The moral panic of the 80s video-nasty boom is replayed for surreal chills in this immersive horror, starring Niamh Algar as a buttoned-up film censor whose exposure to slasher movies triggers bad memories. Though set in a world of blood and gore, this trippy nightmare aims directly for the brain.
In cinemas
Reminiscence
(12A) (Lisa Joy) 116 mins
More approachable than Christopher Nolan’s twisters, if perhaps no easier to digest, this thriller is set in a dystopian, near-underwater New York. Hugh Jackman plays a scientist-cum-PI who discovers a way for people to relive their memories. Rebecca Ferguson is the client whose disappearance sends him snooping into the past.
In cinemas
The Night House
(15) (David Bruckner) 107 mins
Rebecca Hall adds prestige to this rather muddled horror-thriller, in which a New York teacher is blindsided by her husband’s suicide. There are shades of Hereditary in what she then unearths, mixing ghost story jump-scares with creepy occult weirdness.
In cinemas
Sabaya
(15) (Hogir Hirori) 91 mins
A tough-to-watch doc that charts the efforts of the Yazidi Home Centre to rescue women and girls abducted by Islamic State and sold into sexual slavery. The bravery on display is remarkable, as agents go undercover in Syria.
In cinemas and on digital
