Watch, listen and be inspired by Calum Henderson's definitive list of what's hot right now and from the vault.
The White Lotus (Neon, from Monday)
In a couple of weeks, when The White Lotus has replaced Mare of Easttown as the next show we're all talking about, remember this trivia: the show's creator Mike White wrote nine episodes of Dawson's Creek, wrote and acted in School of Rock and was a contestant on both The Amazing Race (two seasons) and Survivor.
His new six-part HBO series, The White Lotus, is quite unlike any of those, or anything else on television at the moment – part painfully awkward comedy, part existential drama, potentially a murder mystery? It's set at a luxury Hawaiian resort and spa, following three groups of guests over the course of their week's holiday. And the first episode starts at the end, with a body being loaded on to a plane.
In the Tradewinds Suite, the Mossbacher family consists of a dad (Steve Zahn), who's convinced he's got testicular cancer, workaholic mum (Connie Britton), their two warring teens and one of the teens' friends. One of the adults they mercilessly judge on the boat ride to the resort is Tanya, in the Hibiscus Suite, (Jennifer Coolidge playing the most Jennifer Coolidge character yet), who's there to get a lot of massages and at some point maybe scatter her mum's ashes.
Then there are honeymooners Shane and Rachel (Jake Lacy and Alexandra Daddario) in the Palm Suite, who are having the worst time of everybody – him because he's at war with the resort's scene-stealing Australian manager Armond for putting them in a room without a plunge pool, and her because she's realised she's married the biggest manchild in the world.
It's a dark, funny, singular and often excruciatingly cringe-worthy viewing experience – and quite likely the next big show everybody will be talking about.
Clarice (TVNZ OnDemand)
Set in 1993, a year or so after the events of The Silence of the Lambs, the latest spinoff series of the classic psychological thriller follows FBI special agent Clarice Starling (played here by Australian Rebecca Breeds) as she returns to work after a spell of administrative leave, only to be assigned to a new task force dedicated to hunting down the most twisted of serial killers and sexual predators. The series takes the movie's chilling psychological edge and applies it to a fairly standard crime procedural format, which sounds like a formula for success if not greatness.
Naomi Osaka (Netflix)
In retrospect, Naomi Osaka beating her hero Serena Williams in the final of the 2018 US Open feels like a changing of the guard from one generation's most important tennis star to the next. This new three-part Netflix documentary follows the Japanese-Haitian phenomenon on and off the court over the course of two years, charting her incredible rise both as a player and as a force for change in the tennis world, advocating in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and standing up to the sport's authorities by choosing to prioritise her mental health. And this is just the first act.
Sexy Beasts (Netflix, from Wednesday)
If recent developments in reality television have taught us two things, it's that we will always love a blind date (Love is Blind) and for some reason also can't get enough of mask-based costumes (The Masked Singer). Combine those two elements and Netflix's new dating show seems like a guaranteed smash hit. Singles are put into elaborate and often nightmare-inducing costumes before being sent out on dates with each other, where they develop confusing feelings for their freakish animorph of a partner. Finally, there's the big reveal where we find out they were conventionally attractive all along. Phew!
Movie of the Week: Wolfgang (Disney Plus)
If you were a Hollywood A-lister in the 1980s, you ate at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant, Spago. He's one of the original celebrity chefs, responsible for culinary innovations like Asian fusion salads and pizza in fancy restaurants. This documentary tells the story of his life and career, from a scrappy upbringing washing dishes in Austria to Hollywood food royalty, cataloguing all his contributions to the way we eat along the way. It's made by the people behind Chef's Table and Jiro Dreams of Sushi, so you know it's going to be good.
From the Vault: Backdraft (1991) (Netflix)
The police get a wildly disproportionate amount of movies made about them compared to the other emergency services. If the only fire service representation you've seen in film is the time Bridget Jones slid down the pole, put things right immediately with a viewing of the fiery 1991 action classic, Backdraft. Set in a Chicago fire station dealing with a sudden spate of suspicious fires, the unit includes Kurt Russell and William Baldwin, with Robert De Niro, Donald Sutherland and Jennifer Jason Leigh rounding out a red-hot cast.
Podcast of the Week: Toxic: The Britney Spears Story
You'd have to have Concert FM turned up pretty loud to drown out all the talk surrounding Britney Spears, the weird legal conservatorship under which her family has had control of her life for the past 13 years and the rise of the #FreeBritney movement this year. Now a couple of new podcasts have arrived to carry on the conversation started by February's must-watch TV special, Framing Britney Spears.
The BBC's Pieces of Britney is an eight-part series that uses the recent developments as a lens through which host Pandora Sykes re-examines the pop star's life and career. Meanwhile on the newly-released Toxic: The Britney Spears Story, hosts Tess Barker and Babs Gray take a more personal, in-depth approach.
As hosts of another podcast, called Britney's Gram, dedicated to discussing the star's deeply idiosyncratic Instagram posts, the pair have been following her legal battles for years and were a driving force in getting the now-famous #FreeBritney hashtag trending. On their new podcast, they explore in more detail the complex legal systems keeping her – and many others less famous – trapped in a conservatorship, as well as chronicling how it got to this point the ongoing battle to #FreeBritney.
