If you love folk horror: The Red King (ThreeNow, August 4)
If you like your true crime with afew more creepy masks, burning candles and tarot card vibes, then The Red King might be one for you. Set on the fictional Welsh island of St Jory, the series follows a sergeant sent to be the single copper in charge of a small community of spooky weirdos. Once dominated by a cult called The True Way, it soon becomes evident that something sinister remains lurking on St Jory. With a reportedly excellent performance by lead Anjli Mohindra, The Red King was also praised by The Guardian as “a wickedly playful new spin on The Wicker Man”. Light it up!
If you love cop dramas: Women in Blue (Apple TV, July 31)
If you prefer your cop shows without scary Pagan rituals, Women in Blue follows four of the 16 women who join Mexico’s first female police force in 1971. “If you’ve ever watched Law & Order: SVUand wished the entire team was full of Olivia Bensons, that’s essentially what Women in Blue is selling,” Collider wrote, also praising its deft avoidance of hollow girl-boss sentiments. “The empowerment the women experience doesn’t stem from them holding a gun or beating up bad guys but rather something deeper – their ability to break through the noise and rampant sexism, using their brains and bravery to truly make a difference.”
If you love Cate Blanchett in tailoring: Tár (Netflix, July 29)
No further questions.
If you love Paul Giamatti: The Holdovers (Neon, Aug 3)
We’ll defer to Duncan Greive on this one, who called The Holdovers one of his favourite films of last year. “It is an exquisite piece of 70s-style craft, reuniting the director and star of Sideways. It’s set in a boarding school during a chilly New England winter, where a skeleton staff and a few awkward boys bunker down for the holidays. Truly, not a lot happens, except that everyone involved discovers something quite profound about themselves, something they hold tight and suffer for as a result. Thanks to exquisitely deft writing, directing and beautifully modulated performances, it’s very emotionally resonant, and despite being out of time it’s just right for this time – a quiet but searing film.”
If you love superheroes: Batman: Caped Crusader (Prime Video, August 1)
We’ve long lost count of all the different superhero reboots, spinoffs, collaborations, prequels and sequels out there. But at least this one has Minnie Driver in the role of a gender-swapped Penguin? “She’s properly evil,” Driver told Variety of the role. “She really does some terrible things, and I hope that she will be embraced as the villain that she always has been.”
