What to stream this week: Luther, Homecoming, Little Fires Everywhere and more

You shouldn’t be surprised to find yourself pausing midway and double-checking your windows and doors are locked.

From a genuinely creepy crime classic to Reese Witherspoon’s flashy new drama, there are loads of shows to add to your watchlist this week.

SOMETHING THRILLING

Luther: With its mix of creeping dread and genuine human horrors, Luther is that rare TV show you have to pause midway through to make sure your windows are closed and your doors are locked. Idris Elba’s DCI John Luther may be an effective cop but he’s also ethically and morally compromised in many, many ways – which makes him a fascinating antihero. And then there’s serial killer Alice Morgan and the weird bond she and Luther share. Maybe don’t watch right before bed. Watch it: Stan

Idris Elba as DCI John Luther in a scene from crime drama series, Luther Image supplied by BBC

Homecoming S2: The paranoid conspiracy thriller returns with Janelle Monae taking over the lead from Julia Roberts, whose storyline wrapped up at the end of the previous season in this show about a company and its shady experiments with returned soldiers’ memories. Monae plays a woman who wakes up in the middle of a lake with no memory of who she is or how she got there. Chris Cooper, Hong Chau, Joan Cusack and Stephan James also star. Watch it: Amazon Prime Video

SOMETHING NEW

Little Fires Everywhere: Reese Witherspoon must really have caught the TV bug because this is her third series in as many years after Big Little Lies and The Morning Wars. Based on Celeste Ng’s book and co-starring Kerry Washington, the miniseries is set in the 90s and centres on two mothers from different backgrounds and how they and their families become entangled in each other’s’ lives with unexpected consequences. Watch it: Amazon Prime Video from Friday, May 22

On fire

Almost Australian: Miriam Margolyes is a global treasure. The prolific British star of Romeo + Juliet, Harry Potter and Miss Fisher is witty, insightful and unapologetically honest. Which means when she embarks on a journey around her adopted home, exploring the concept of “Australian identity”, she’s going to ruffle some feathers. Oh boy, and those precious haters came for her, unable to confront some ugly truths about this complex nation as seen through the eyes of an almost Australia. Watch it: ABC iview

SOMETHING FUNNY

Don’t Trust the B- in Apartment 23: Wildly funny and more than a bit strange, this short-lived American comedy stars Krysten Ritter as the perennially self-centred, unfiltered and fun Chloe, and Dreama Walker as June, her responsible housemate. Ritter’s comedic timing is so on point in this show that not even James Van Der Beek playing a fictional and outlandish version of himself as the Dawson’s Creek star can outshine her. Watch it: iTunes/Google Play

Not to be trusted (ABC/BOB D'AMICO)

Mythic Quest special episode: The oddball workplace comedy set in a video game company is returning this week with a special quarantine episode. Filmed remotely and entirely on iPhones, co-creators Rob McElhenney and Megan Ganz (of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia fame) conceived of an episode in which the on-screen team, like the rest of the world, are stuck working at home. Poppy is struggling with being alone, CW is struggling with technology and Ian is struggling, as usual, with his ego and perspective. Watch it: Apple TV+ from May 23 AEST

SOMETHING LONG

Royal Pains: Royal Pains is the epitome of easy, tune-out watching set against the opulent beachside community of the Hamptons. A New York City doctor reluctantly agrees to be a concierge doctor for a lot of rich folk while trying to also be a good person instead of just catering to the wealthy. It’s a super bingeable series with attractive people in an attractive environment. I once binged a whole season on a flight to Hong Kong and didn’t notice the time at all. Watch it: iTunes/Google Play/9Now (first three seasons)

Easy watching, no thinking required

Silicon Valley: If awkward situations and cutting jibes are your thing, Silicon Valley has it by the bucketloads, or maybe that’s server rooms. The Mike Judge co-created comedy about a group of young guys trying to make it in the tech capital of the world, where egos roam as much as ideas and money flow, has a terrific ensemble led by Thomas Middleditch. Over six seasons, the parody is laugh-out-loud funny but also chillingly familiar. Watch it: Foxtel Now

SOMETHING WITH THE KIDS

The Dog House: This sweet series airing on Saturday nights on Channel 10 follows a simple premise: dogs that have been given up find new homes with people who are looking for a furry companion. It’s a bit of a matchmaking game to make sure it’s a fit, and has serious First Dates vibe if that’s your thing. It’s cute and cheesy. Watch it: 10Play

Furry friends. Supplied by Channel 10.

It’s A Dog’s Life: In keeping with the canine theme this week, check out It’s A Dog’s Life, a Disney series hosted by Bill Farmer, the voice of Pluto and Goofy for decades. Over the series, Farmer explores the role of working dogs in our lives, from sheep herders to dogs who track whale poop. Watch it: Disney+

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