Pick of the week
Margo’s Got Money Troubles
Margo’s English tutor thinks she’s Harvard material. If only he wasn’t using this assessment to flatter her into bed. When, with grim predictability, he leaves her literally holding the baby, Margo (Elle Fanning) realises she has followed in the footsteps of her mother Shyanne (Michelle Pfeiffer) who had her after a one-night stand with a punter at Hooters. What unfolds is a story of hardscrabble female solidarity as Margo, determined to retain a degree of autonomy, unlocks both an income and her latent creativity via an OnlyFans account. The script is smart, funny and unsentimental and the lead performances (particularly Pfeiffer) are full of warmth and charm.
Apple TV, from Wednesday 15 April
Beef
The second season of this tense, clever comedy stars Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan and pivots on two couples. Ashley and Austin are young, poor and very much in love. They work at a country club for Joshua and Lindsay who are older, wealthier and very much not in love. When Ashley and Austin film the older couple in the middle of a nasty row, battle lines are drawn, leverage is exerted and a tale of gaslighting, coercion and blackmail begins. The narrative is constructed with scalpel-sharp precision, teasing out the neuroses of the characters and the appalling behaviour they induce. A dark delight.
Netflix, from Thursday 16 April
American Classic
An arrogant urban sophisticate being gently schooled by simple provincial folk? It isn’t an unfamiliar premise but it can still pack an emotional punch. Kevin Kline stars in this comedy drama as self-regarding thesp Richard Bean, who is forced to return to his home town after his Broadway career goes belly-up. What does he find there? An ex-girlfriend, Kristen Forrest Bean (Laura Linney), who is married to his brother and is now the mayor. And a run-down local theatre – which might promise redemption. Wholesome and none the worse for it.
Prime Video, out now
At Home With the Furys
Tyson Fury regards retirement as an ongoing negotiation rather than an end point. “You’re only retired until you get an offer you can’t refuse,” he says. And so, to tie in with Fury’s bout against Arslan Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, this series returns. Expect some familiar sights, namely Fury experimenting with various ways to amuse himself (this time he buys a racehorse). And Fury’s wife, Paris, at her wits’ end with the hulking figure who now dominates her domestic life. The least relaxing portrayal of retirement since One Foot in the Grave.
Netflix, from Sunday 12 April
Untold: Jail Blazers
The latest in this series of sports documentaries explores the US basketball team Portland Trail Blazers. This previously underwhelming outfit were the lab rats in a Moneyball-style experiment in the early 2000s as manager Bob Whitsitt signed players whose talent was only matched by their volatility. Could he sculpt a cohesive team out of this uneasy coalition of misfits? Up to a point. The team’s results took a dramatic upturn but, as recalled here by key protagonists including Rasheed Wallace, scandal soon overwhelmed them again.
Netflix, from Tuesday 14 April
Ronaldinho: The One and Only
Of all the football icons of the last 30 years, the Brazilian Ronaldinho was among the most endearing. With his goofy grin and taste for trickery, he gave the impression that football, even at the highest level, could still be fun. However, off the field life was more complicated: this series explores his frequently difficult childhood and the legal problems that led to him spending time in a Paraguayan prison. Still, you’re rarely more than a few minutes away from another outrageous highlights reel to remind you what all the fuss was about in the first place.
Netflix, from Thursday 16 April
A Gorilla Story: Told By David Attenborough
The silverback of British nature broadcasting returns (not physically but certainly in spirit) to the gorillas of Rwanda with whom he so memorably bonded in 1978. The footage of the group descended from Attenborough’s gorillas is remarkable but what’s even more notable is how emotional he still is when recalling his first meeting with the apes. As a result, the documentary is fascinating and moving, partly because of the wonder of the encounter but also because of Attenborough himself and the span of time he now represents.
Netflix, from Friday 17 April