Watch, listen and be inspired by Calum Henderson's definitive list of what's hot right now and from the vault.
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (Neon, from Tuesday)
It sounds like a documentary and a lot of the time it looks like a documentary, but Winning Time is definitely not a documentary. It's Adam McKay, the director who made the global financial crisis fun with The Big Short, dialling his film-making eccentricities up to the max to tell the story of how the Los Angeles Lakers – and the sport of basketball in general – went from fuddy-duddy to razzle-dazzle during the 1980s.
Based on Jeff Pearlman's highly entertaining 2014 bestseller Showtime, McKay's new series captures the chaos and ego behind the business of sport as no one else can. The first episode plays out at an often-hectic pace, with characters breaking the fourth wall to explain what's going on to the audience left, right and centre.
The main character, to begin with at least, is larger-than-life property development magnate Jerry Buss (John C Reilly), who introduces himself with a basketball = sex metaphor delivered from a satin-sheeted waterbed in the Playboy mansion. For the reasons outlined, he wants to buy the local team – despite the franchise and indeed the whole league being seen as something of a sinking ship.
But as they say in business, timing is everything, and his acquisition of the Los Angeles Lakers coincides with the 1979 NBA draft, in which the Lakers have the first pick. And against the wishes of permanently furious coach Jerry West (a scene-stealing Jason Clarke), they select a uniquely tall young point guard from Michigan named Earvin "Magic" Johnson (Quincy Isaiah).
"I wanna build something special," the lovably roguish Buss tells Johnson while eating burgers on the hood of his car. Spoiler alert: they do, and Winning Time tells the story – a business story just as much as it is a sports story – with the style confidence it deserves.
Our Flag Means Death (Neon)
Stede Bonnet was not like the other 18th-century pirates – the wealthy British landowner took to the high seas as a folly after having what would these days be described as a mid-life crisis. "The Gentleman Pirate", as he was sometimes called, is brought back to life by Rhys Darby (at his most Rhys Darbyish) in this very silly historical farce very loosely based on the posh plunderer's exploits. The first episode is directed by Taika Waititi, who appears a little later in the series as Blackbeard, while David Fane also appears as one of the lesser-known pirates.
Pieces of Her (Netflix)
Another week, another thriller adapted from a bestselling novel. But this one has something none of the others has going for them: Toni Collette. Based on the book by Karin Slaughter, Pieces of Her stars fellow Australian Bella Heathcote as Andy, a young woman who discovers a whole new side to her mum (Collette) when the pair are caught up in a shooting at a local diner. And when footage from the shooting goes viral, people from her mum's deeply-buried past start to reappear, sending Andy on a dangerous journey to piece together a mystery that changes everything she thought she knew about her family.
The Dropout (Disney+)
You've listened to the podcast(s), you've watched the documentary, you've followed the court case – now watch the limited series. Amanda Seyfried plays Elizabeth Holmes (a role originally meant to be played by Kate McKinnon, but instead she's Carole Baskin in the new Joe Exotic series), whose spectacular rise and fall as the ambitious founder of medical testing start-up Theranos has been very thoroughly documented over the past few years. Naveen Andrews (Lost), William H Macy, and Stephen Fry also feature in the series adapted from the podcast by Elizabeth Meriwether, the creator of 2000s sitcom New Girl.
The Weekend Away (Neon)
Holidays Gone Wrong seems to be a big trend in TV and movies at the moment – see also British miniseries The Holiday on TVNZ OnDemand this week – which means it was a trend in bestselling novels two or three years ago. This one's based on the book by Sarah Alderson, about a couple of best friends (Gossip Girl's Leighton Meester and The Royals' Christina Wolfe), one a new mum, the other recently divorced, who go for their annual weekend away to Croatia. Then one of them disappears, and it gets very stressful indeed.
From the Vault: Malcolm in the Middle (2000) (Disney+)
Before he was meth-dealing suburban dad Walter White in Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston was drug-free suburban dad Hal in Malcolm in the Middle. Is it possible to now view the unhinged early-2000s sitcom as some kind of prequel to the critically acclaimed 2010s drama? If you try hard enough, probably anything is possible. Either way, still fun to rewatch and think about how long ago the year 2000 suddenly feels.
Podcast of the Week: Twin Flames
What would you do if a couple of stone-cold freaks with a YouTube channel told you they knew the secret to identifying your perfect soulmate, your "twin flame", and promised to help you find this amazing person? If you're lonely and desperate enough, you might just choose to ignore all the very clear warning signs and do whatever they tell you to do.
This is the predicament a bunch of people find themselves in Twin Flame, the latest series from podcast powerhouse Wondery (The Shrink Next Door, Dr Death). Existing at the very lucrative podcasting intersection of scammers and weird cults, it's the story of a couple called Jeff and Shaleia, their weird rise to become YouTube love influencers and the very questionable advice they gave their followers.
Narrated by Stephanie Beatriz (Encanto, Brooklyn 99), the series begins with a single woman called Angie and a classic story of workplace romance gone wrong. Enter the truly unhinged Twin Flames romance philosophy, which she is unfortunately susceptible to at that moment. It basically says you have to go out and "claim" your twin flame "by any means necessary" – what could possibly go wrong?
