Emma Corrin on top form in A Murder at the End of the World
The actor, who played Princess Diana in the Crown, stars as a spunky sleuth in this slick thriller from the team behind The OA.
A Murder at the End of the World
Disney+
Emma Corrin, who played young Princess Diana in The Crown, stars in this series as Darby Hart — a spunky pink-haired hacker and amateur internet sleuth. After publishing her true crime novel to critical acclaim, Darby is invited to a retreat for “original thinkers” — artists, moguls, an astronaut, etc — by the mysterious tech billionaire Andy Ronson (a subtly menacing Clive Owen) and his wife, Lee (Brit Marling), a former hacker and hero of Darby’s, at their weepingly beautiful Iceland hotel. Also present at the gathering is Bill Farrah (Triangle of Sadness star Harris Dickinson), Darby’s former paramour and a fellow sleuther. The two have been estranged for six years, and their sexual tension is off the chain. When someone on the retreat gets murdered, an icy whodunit ensues. There are a lot of meaty themes thrown around in this — climate change, artificial intelligence — which are interesting, sure, but not as tantalising as Darby and Bill’s romance. It is a giddy pleasure watching these two preternaturally gifted actors go tit-for-tat — though it must be said, casting someone as devastatingly good looking as Dickinson to play the role of someone that spent their youth trawling the depths of reddit beggars belief. The stately pacing of the show may get on your nerves — but if you’re someone who gets off on Architectural Digest home tours, it’s bliss.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
Netflix
In 2010, Edgar Wright approached perfection when he adapted Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim graphic novels into a live-action film. It was only a matter of time before it was remade for a streaming service. Abel Gongora’s animated Netflix reboot does not reach Wright’s great heights. They share a premise: Scott Pilgrim is a 23-year-old playing in a flunky indie rock band (Sex Bob-Omb) in Toronto. He learns that Ramona Flowers, a rollerblading girl who has been visiting him in his dreams, is real — but he can’t date her until he defeats her seven evil exes. There is plenty to like about this show — the animations are charming, the visual gags are clever and it’s a treat hearing the original cast — including Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jason Schwartzman, Michael Cera, and now-Oscar winner Brie Larson — reprise their roles. It falls short because all the best material is what’s yoinked verbatim from the movie — who wants an animated Kieran Culkin when you could have the real thing?
His Dark Materials
Binge
There’s something so appealing in taking the year winding down as an opportunity to regress to a childhood state and swaddle yourself in YA fare. At this point, the Harry Potter series is basically Christmas films. HBO’s His Dark Materials is a similar tonic. Now, capturing the strange, haunting beauty of Philip Pullman’s beloved fantasy trilogy is no small task — you may recall it was attempted back in 2007, with the Nicole Kidman-starring film The Golden Compass — mercifully, this series does a bang-up job. Set in a parallel universe where each human has a shapeshifting animal called a daemon, the story follows Lyra Belacqua (Dafne Keen), a scruffy orphan with a unique gift who must save the world from corruptive powers. There are so few complaints to levy against this show: the streaming age has spoiled us in terms of production value, but this reaches Game of Thrones-level grandeur; throw in some acting greats like James McAvoy and Ruth Wilson, and slick CGI, and you’ve got yourself a succulent adventure story.
Stella
Britbox
Ruth Jones was not in an enviable position: she had to follow up the first show she had ever written — the hugely successful, endlessly quotable Gavin and Stacey. Wisely, instead of doubling down on its ribald, laugh-a-minute formula, Jones came up with Stella, a quieter, slower, dare it be said — more mature comedy.
It’s a beautifully crafted show set in the fictional village of Pontyberry in Wales (the kind of quaint town where people keep donkeys for pets). Jones plays the title role — a single mum up to her ears trying to raise two teenagers and navigate a messy love life. It’s out with the leathered-up bondage gear she donned in Gavin and Stacey, and in with frumpy knitted cardies. The drama here is as everyman as it comes — ie, getting through a mountain of laundry as imposing as Romanesque architecture — and that’s the charm of it. The acting is top-notch, and the dialogue pin-sharp.
Bill Bailey’s Wild West Australia
Thursdays 8pm on ABC iview and ABC TV
Let’s not overcomplicate things: if you like Bill Bailey and have a soft spot for travel shows, this will be right up your strasse. In this surprisingly whimsical four-part series, Bailey takes a leaf out of the Coldplay book and shirks the east coast in favour of exploring the unsung nooks and crannies of Western Australia. The journey is worth taking for the spectacular scenery alone, but as a travel show host, Bailey is in his element. One minute he’s delivering a monologue on the splendour of biophilia, the next, he’s serenading the trees with an accordion. It’s not all beaches and lush forests; Bailey also leads us to some peculiar places, like the port city of Albany, a former whaling town. Here, he joins a troupe of Shantymen in a pub that went viral on TikTok.