The 20 best shows to watch On Demand this weekend -... trends now
A Northern Irish cop show that strikes a chord, a man frozen in time during an avalanche and thawed out in 2024... there's so much to watch On Demand right now.
We've selected the 20 best offerings - sifting through thousands of options so you don't have to.
Looking for a new series or film to stream On Demand?
Read on to find out the shows worth investing your precious time in...
Blue Lights (Series 2)Return of the explosive, character-led Belfast cop show
Year: 2024
Certificate: 15
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This Northern Irish cop show struck a chord with critics and audiences alike, and now the 'Peelers' are back for a second series. Crime is flooding the streets of Belfast, but this first episode spends as much time reacquainting us with the characters - rookies, veterans and dearly departed - as it does establishing that there's a new crime gang in town.
Partners Stevie and Grace are still flirting over their lunchboxes, Tommy (Nathan Braniff) catches the eye of the paramilitary task force whilst also trying to sort out his love life and Annie gets an eyeful of the hunky new guy Shane (Frank Blake).
Jen (Hannah McClean), meanwhile, might have left the force, but has not forgotten her late comrade, Gerry. She's now working as a solicitor and sets out to investigate the chip-shop bombing that haunted him.
As for that crime wave, you can expect plenty of nail-biting action for the response teams, from life-threatening stand-offs with desperate junkies to dramatic rescues from burning buildings. (Six episodes)
Our Living WorldCate Blanchett narrates an innovative series about the interconnected natural world
Year: 2024
Certificate: pg
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Just what links the habits of hippos in Africa to the grazing patterns of reindeer in the Arctic? No idea? Don't worry - this four-part documentary series reveals all, as it sets out to uncover the interconnected web of natural life that covers our planet.
Looking at everything from chimpanzees to penguins, hammerhead sharks to tiny bugs, the plants of the rainforests to the concrete jungles of humanity, it offers a fascinating new way to approach the concept of nature filmmaking. It's a memorable one too, with fantastic visuals bolstered by a powerful narration from Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett, who also happens to keep bees. (Four episodes)
Feud: Capote vs The SwansTom Hollander plays Truman Capote in series two of this star-studded anthology
Year: 2024
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With Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange excelling as Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, the first series of this grand anthology show by TV giant Ryan Murphy set the bar punishingly high. This second run matches it, though, as British actor Tom Hollander takes on the role of waspish US writer Truman Capote as he faces off against a group of vengeful New York socialites after he reveals their dark and frequently twisted secrets in a magazine article.
The female cast alone makes it worth streaming as Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Chloë Sevigny, Calista Flockhart, Demi Moore and Molly Ringwald all relish the chance to portray the iciest of high society queens. (Eight episodes)
FalloutExplosive video game adaptation from the creators of the Westworld TV series
Year: 2024
Certificate: 15
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Video game adaptations used to have a bad name - does anyone remember Bob Hoskins playing the Italian plumber Mario in 1993's Super Mario Bros film? It's probably best that you don't.
Those days are now long though, especially after HBO's The Last Of Us upped the dramatic ante in 2023 and won eight Emmy Awards for its trouble. Fallout looks set to continue that trend, coming as it does from Westworld creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, a producing duo with great expertise in serving TV audiences big and complex worlds.
And Fallout is certainly that - the games are set in a sprawling, post-apocalyptic wasteland centuries after a nuclear war has devastated the planet's surface. Underneath that wasteland are The Vaults, in which cheery survivors have been living lives of order and relative luxury while those above scrabbled for scraps.
That culture clash is at the centre of the series, following Lucy (Yellowjackets' Ella Purnell) as she leaves the safety of The Vaults for the chaos above. 'Practically every person I've met up here has tried to kill me,' she despairs in her opening week. There's a lot of comedy in that clash and we meet a lot of eccentric characters as it unfolds, too, especially Justified's Walton Goggins as a roaming bounty hunter.
Fallout is primarily an epic action game though, and this ambitious and visually impressive series keeps that very much in mind. It should certainly please those in search of a little popcorn entertainment and, even if it doesn't quite reach the dramatic heights of The Last Of Us, it's also a rich evocation of an exciting world. (Eight episodes)
MammothMeet the 1970s PE teacher who was frozen in time, literally, as he tries to navigate the 2020s
Year: 2024
Certificate: 12
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Tony Mammoth (Mike Bubbins) is the 1970s man who, a bit like Austin Powers, was frozen in time (during an avalanche in the French Alps) and thawed out in 2024. The world has changed, but Tony has no intention of keeping up. Sticking to his existing wardrobe (roll necks, medallions) and values (lots of booze, lots of women), he's back in his old job as a PE teacher and set for a surprising clash with an overprotective mum (Car Share's Sian Gibson).
Bubbins, who used to be a PE teacher in real life, is clearly comfortable with his 1970s persona but none of the irony is lost on him. He's a dinosaur but it's not his fault, and while his continuous pursuit of women and self-belief could be irksome, Bubbins makes Tony just likable enough. As for nostalgia, if Tony's friend Roger looks familiar, then that's 1990s nostalgia you're feeling. Roger is played by Joseph Marcell who was dry-as-a-bone butler Geoffrey in Will Smith's sitcom The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air. (Three episodes)
Bluey: The SignThe much anticipated half-hour special for the delightful Australian family of dogs
Year: 2024
Certificate: u
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If you've not heard of Bluey, the Australian cartoon about a loveable family of canines, it'll be hard for you to comprehend the level of fan anticipation that has surrounded this half-hour special of what is usually a seven-minute show. If you've seen even one of those seven-minute episodes, though, you may understand why so many people are so excited by the idea of it expanding to 30 minutes. Bluey is one of those rare children's shows that everyone in the family genuinely enjoys, because it tackles stories with a warm but philosophical and distinctly unpatronising point of view that plenty of 'adult' TV could learn from. You see children's stories and adults' stories unfold at the same time, and the children's ones often interrupt the adults' in exactly the way they do in real life. So what will its writer Joe Brumm do, given more space to roam?
'Everything will work out the way it's supposed to, Bluey,' says a voice in the trailer for The Sign, a story that mixes the sweet and the bitter to such a nice degree that it'll delight its younger fans and likely leave older ones with a tear in their eye by the end. We can't say much about the plot itself - we can say it involves some great dancing and a chase - but, suffice to say, this show stretches to half an hour far better than Peppa Pig ever did. Could a movie be next? (28 minutes)
Baby ReindeerRiveting drama based on comedian Richard Gadd's experiences with a stalker
Year: 2024
Certificate: 18
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Described as 'not your typical bunny-boiler story', this bracing seven-part drama is based on Scottish comedian Richard Gadd's award-winning debut play of the same name. That play came from his horrifying real-life experiences with a stalker who, at the very mild end of things, sent him 41,000 emails.
When Gadd performed that play on stage, Martha was represented by a bar stool. In this TV series which he wrote, produced and stars in she's a loud and colourful presence, played with vulnerability and a dark, dangerous hilarity by The Outlaws' Jessica Gunning. She's a woman who Donny (Gadd) wants to understand - not your typical bunny boiler, in short, and it's this rounded approach to character that really marks the show out as something special.
Gadd has been very clear that he made mistakes in the way he handled his stalker, and the honesty he's poured into the script translates into a show that's very hard to stop watching even when, at some points, you may really want to.
While far from an easy watch, Baby Reindeer (the title comes from Martha's nickname for him) is certainly a gripping one that plays with your sympathies throughout. And don't forget that Gadd is also, fundamentally, a comedian - so it's also a very funny show at times too, sometimes when you least expect it to be. (Seven episodes)
ArgylleHenry Cavill and Bryce Dallas Howard star in a wacky spy film from the director of Kingsman
Year: 2024
Certificate: 12
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If you like your spy movies big and silly, this barmy adventure from Kingsman director Matthew Vaughn is worth a look. It stars Superman's Henry Cavill as Agent Argylle, a superheroic spy. He's not a fully fledged character in the film, though - he's the creation of cat-loving novelist Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) in her best-selling book series. Or is he? One day, Elly learns that everything she's been writing for all these years may be a little closer to reality than she realised...
The less said about the craziness that follows that twist the better but, suffice to say, it involves a much bigger role for Elly's cat than you might expect. The more than two-hour running time may be too much of a stretch for some, but that's much easier to deal with at home than it was in cinemas - and, if you like the sound of Elly's Argylle book, you can actually buy it. There was a rumour going round at the time of the film's release that 'Elly Conway' was actually Taylor Swift but, sadly, that turned out not to be true. (139 minutes)
Michael Palin In NigeriaMichael Palin embarks on an epic 1,300 mile journey across the 'Giant of Africa'
Year: 2024
Certificate: 12
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Michael Palin is no stranger to tough travel, and his arrival in Lagos, the largest city in Nigeria, is a full-on assault of the senses. Lagos has a population of 21 million - that compares to 13 million in London, the UK's most populous city - and it's a figure that is growing by the day. The sheer volume of people and noise is exhausting and you've got to hand it to Palin who, at 80 years old, is virtually undaunted.
As a whole, Nigeria is buoyed by an oil-rich economy that generates around $600 billion a year, so it's staggering to learn that 60 per cent of the country's population lives in poverty. At the vast informal settlement, or slum, of Makoko, Palin meets schoolchildren who are among those defiantly making the best of things, even though the government wants to dismantle Makoko.
Outside of the city, Palin finds some peace and quiet at a beach, but it's tinged with the dark story of slavery. He then meets Yeni Kuti, daughter of Afrobeats pioneer Fela Kuti, at a venue that celebrates the global influence of Kuti's music. Expect Palin's three-part series to be tinged with these kinds of incredible contrasts and for Palin to greet it all with his unique brand of open-minded wonder. (Three
