Screening Guide: Deadly monkeys, arranged marriages and murder mysteries

Kristen Bell in Netflix's dark comedy The Woman in the House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window.

The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window
(Netflix)
The mouthful of a title is the first clue that this new psychological crime thriller is not what it seems.
Riffing on the 'introvert witnesses a murder' sub-genre, this dark and satirical comedy stars comedy favourite Kristen Bell (The Good Place) as a troubled wino who begins watching the movements of her new neighbours from behind her window.
But one night, as her little eye is spying on them, she witnesses a gruesome murder. Or - and stop me if you've heard this one before - does she?
The idea here is more suited to a National Lampoon movie rather than an eight-part series but Netflix promises the show will leave you "guessing who, what, where, why and how in the hell?! until the very end."
Streaming from Friday

The Afterparty
(Apple TV+)
Not wanting to be late to the murder-mystery parody party comes Apple with their take on the suddenly so-hot-right-now genre.

Ben Schwartz and Sam Richardson in The Afterparty, streaming on Apple TV+ from Friday.

The Afterparty's spin is that each episode recounts a different character's account of a murder that occurs at a high school reunion. Aside from the laughs, the fun of the series lies in working out who's telling the truth and who is not as you attempt to piece together the bloody puzzle and solve the mystery. Even more intriguing is that each character's story is presented as a homage to a popular film genre.
Critics have been impressed with one calling it "a clever and charming ride that frequently serves up fun surprises".
First three episodes streaming from Friday, weekly after that.

Marvel's Hit-Monkey
(Star on Disney+)
Having successfully taken over popular culture with its mainstream characters, Marvel is now getting pleasingly weird with things. And you have to dive pretty deep down into the Marvel archives to get weirder than Hit-Monkey, the star of this new adult-orientated animated series.

A scene from the adult animation Marvel's Hit-Monkey, streaming on the Star hub on Disney+.

In short, it's about a Japanese snow monkey who joins forces with the ghost of a wise-cracking hitman to get blood-soaked revenge on the Tokyo gangsters who a) slaughtered the monkey's tribe and b) killed the hitman.
Critics have been mostly impressed, with one describing it as: "brutal, bloody, and a whole ton of fun!".
Streaming now.

Arranged
(Three / ThreeNow)
Described as "a rollercoaster of emotion", this series shows how New Zealand singles are attempting to balance the traditional cultural approach to marriage with the freedom of Western society. For everyone involved it's a tightrope walk of tradition, true love, thoughts of the future and, perhaps hardest of all, the parental blessings.

Ashleen and Shafee Khan in Arranged, screening on Three and streaming on ThreeNow from Saturday.

Now in its third season, the hopeful singles suddenly find themselves with a pandemic-shaped spanner in the works that sees weddings cancelled and families separated due to the border closures.
There's certainly a lot for true love - whether arranged or stumbled into - to conquer.
Starts Saturday at 4pm, and streaming on ThreeNow.