NewsBank (Signal)

Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett’s Our Living World proves how fragile the Earth’s ecosystems are. From angry hippos to salmon swimming on tarmac, it is truly valuable television, writes JackSeale .

The latest video game treatment to reach our screens is Fallout, Prime’s take on the beloved post-nuclear RPGs. Ben Allan puts on his Pip-Boy and runs a scan.

Andrew Scott is absolutely spellbinding as the eponymous character in Ripley, a scintillating and noirish adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel that leaves Matt Damon’s 1999 version in the shade, writes Lucy Mangan.

A fun, action-packed romp about super-powered highway robbery, Renegade Nell is like Gentleman Jack with added swagger. And its star could not be more magnificent, writes Lucy Mangan.

Not content with turning one borderline unfilmable set of novels into highly watchable TV, the showrunners behind Game of Thrones have repeated the trick with the deeply complex sci-fi series 3 Body Problem, reports Lucy Mangan.

The sparky comedy Extraordinary, which takes superhero shenanigans to sublime heights of silliness, is back — and this time, it’s as profound as it is crude. Brace yourself for a body-splitting, time-rewinding, dead-communing romp, writes Rebecca Nicholson.

Thirteen years ago, David Nicholls’ best-selling book was butchered by a film starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess. Hollie Richardson, of The Guardian, reports how Netflix turned a box-office disaster into TV dynamite.

Strap yourself in for Shogun, a wild adventure in feudal Japan. This lavish adaptation of the classic samurai novel is beautiful, intellectual fare that amply rewards your full attention. But be warned: it’s gruesome from the get-go, writes Rebecca Nicholson.

Space thriller Constellation is yet another well-produced Apple science fiction series — but it will occasionally make you jump out of your skin. It’s an unsettling, disorienting watch, but with a tendency towards lapses in energy, writes Rebecca Nicholson.

This simplistic, grandiose drama about French couture history treats the second world war as an inconvenience to fashion. Even Juliette Binoche and Ben Mendelsohn can’t save it, laments Lucy Mangan.

Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm may have mellowed over time, but it’s like going to see a veteran rock band who’ve still got it. At this point, the genius flows effortlessly, writes Jack Seale.

In tackling the climate crisis, Ben Lawrie says he wanted to find reasons for optimism, he tells Tom McKinlay.

Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg’s spectacular war story Masters of the Air, a mesmerising white-knuckle ride in which World War 2 pilots take to the skies and try to make it out alive, is the first must-watch show of 2024, writes Joel Golby.

True Detective is finally back for another run and with Jodie Foster in tow, it’s back on spooky form, writes Karl Puschmann.

Karl Puschmann starts the year off with the end of all things via Carol & the End of the World — and he feels fine.

Lee Child’s crime-fighting giant Reacher returns, looking so huge he could wrestle a silverback. It’s an intense, violent ride featuring a lead with an oddball energy you can’t tear your eyes from, writes Graeme Virtue.

As its third season gets under way, grubby spy thriller Slow Horses is, as ever, an utter pleasure. It’s big, bold, daft and sees Kristin Scott Thomas on brilliantly droll form alongside a joyously shambolic Gary Oldman, writes Rebecca Nicholson.

KarlPuschmann takes a look at comedian Matt Rife’s Netflix special, Natural Selection.

The stylish mystery A Murder at the End of the World, about a modern-day sleuth who wants to solve crimes and fix the climate crisis, will wow you — unless you’re a die-hard cynic, writes Rebecca Nicholson.

A gaggle of New York society girls descend on London in the spirited period romcom The Bucanneers. Their raucous capers are total nonsense — but that’s what makes it so lovable, writes Lucy Mangan.

Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight has adapted the hit World War 2 novel All the Light We Cannot See with all the subtlety of ’Allo, ’Allo! Prepare for twee acting, a woeful script and accents that get vurse and vurse, writes Lucy Mangan.

Snoozing otters, lolloping rhinos, an orangutan eating a leaf ... Netflix’s new show Baby Animal Cam stars baby zoo animals doing, well, nothing. It’s just what we all need, writes Stuart Heritage.

At first, the reboot of Frasier struggles. But after a few episodes, the chemistry and the magic are back, all helmed by its lead’s faultless performance — and it is a joy to watch, writes Lucy Mangan.

Netflix’s compelling murder mystery sees detectives grapple with four killings in four different timelines. It’s a highly satisfying watch, writes Joel Golby.

Tom Hiddleston’s lovably narcissistic Norse god is back with Owen Wilson for a spectacular time-hopping caper that may just save the MCU from certain death, writes Alexi Duggins.

The black-hearted superhero satire The Boys has its first live-action spinoff with the arrival of Gen V. Ben Allan signs up for superhero classes.

You can always count on Hollywood to try to squeeze every last drop of success out of anything popular — and so arrives Prime Video’s new John Wick prequel miniseries The Continental. Ben Allan has a look to see if any of the magic has rubbed off.

Financial peril looms as Wrexham FC chase promotion again in Welcome To Wrexham’s second season, which remains acutely sensitive to working-class life — even if it does briefly get a tad silly over royalty, writes Jack Seale.

A decade after the conclusion of the underrated series Justified, Kentucky’s cowboy marshal is back and making bold new moves. The hat still fits, though, writes Emma Johns.

New Zealander Rose Matafeo’s British sitcom Starstruck is no longer a will-they-won’t-they series, writes Rachel Aroesti. Instead, it focuses on the joys of friendship — and becomes more enjoyable, relatable and far more moving.