TV Picks: 2nd August - 8th August

TV Picks: 2nd August - 8th August

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Monday, 2nd August 2021
Jerk, Mr Corman and I Am Victoria (credit: BBC/Apple TV/Channel 4)
Jerk, Mr Corman and I Am Victoria (credit: BBC/Apple TV/Channel 4)

This week's TV sees the return of RTS-nominee Tim Renkow's sitcom Jerk, a reboot of the 1980s crime classic The Equalizer and the second series of Channel 4's I Am anthology. 

Jerk 

Monday 

BBC One, 10:35pm 

Written by Tim Renkow and Shaun Pye, Jerk once again follows Tim (Renkow), a man who uses his cerebral palsy to get with anything. 

Tim loves to make people feel uncomfortable, but while he’s focusing on life’s small targets he’s missing out on the big prizes. 

Series two sees Tim sign up for a postgraduate course in London, but he has no intention of going, only wanting the student visa so he can stay in the UK. 

With his place in the UK secured, Tim is ready to keep wreaking havoc and taking people’s good intentions and using them to make their lives miserable.

Our Family Farm Rescue With Adam Henson 

Tuesday 

Channel 5, 9pm  

Credit: Channel 5
Credit: Channel 5

Farmer, author and TV presenter Adam Henson is using his expertise to help struggling families across the UK do everything and anything they can to save their farms. 

Henson will help these families risk everything, offering up money-making ideas in a bid to change their fortunes, from alpaca trekking to glamping pods. 

This week, Henson meets farmers Iwan Pughe Jones and Katrina Wheat at Penygraig Farm in Wales, who have found that fluctuating market prices has left them in financial straits. 

Pray Away 

Tuesday 

Netflix 

The documentary, produced by Ryan Murphy, looks at the devastating effects of the highly controversial conversion therapy.

Conversion therapy is the dangerous practice of trying to change a person’s sexual orientation through prayer, psychological or physical interventions. 

Since the movement began, many LGBTQ teenagers and adults have been forced to join these organisations with the promise that they can ‘pray the gay away’.

The documentary focuses on one of the most influential conversion therapy organisations, Exodus International, which was set up in the 1970s.

However, many of the leaders have gone on to disavow the movement and come out as LGBTQ. 

Survivors of the therapy and former leaders talk about the harmful effects and scars they have been left with due to the organisation. 

The Equalizer

Tuesday

Sky Witness, 9pm

Queen Latifah leads this reboot of the classic 1980s crime drama as Robyn McCall, a former CIA operative who appears like a regular single mum to her teenage daughter.  

Using her extensive crime-fighting skills to defend the downtrodden while also in pursuit of her own personal redemption, McCall becomes a New York justice vigilante.

In the series opener, McCall meets with her former mentor, Bishop (Chris Noth, Sex and the City), who is hoping to recruit her, before she springs into action when a teenage girl becomes ensnared in a dangerous situation.

I Am Victoria

Thursday

Channel 4, 9pm


Ashley Walters and Suranne Jones (credit: Channel 4)

Created by Dominic Savage (The Secrets), the female led I Am anthology series, starring Suranne Jones (Gentleman Jack), Letitia Wright (Black Panther) and Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread), explores the experiences of three women in personal, thought-provoking and emotionally raw films, with mostly improvised dialogue.

In the opening film, I Am Victoria, Suranne Jones (Gentleman Jack) stars as a successful businesswoman who has worked incredibly hard to curate a perfect life, from her children’s outfits to her intense morning beauty routine.

Despite appearances, Victoria is struggling to withstand intense pressure in her life, albeit from an unknown source, and takes it out on her loving husband, played by Ashley Walters (Top Boy).

Watch our exclusive preview and Q&A with Suranne Jones, writer, director and executive producer Dominic Savage, and producer Krishnendu Majumdar.

Mr. Corman

Friday

Apple TV+

Written and directed by its star Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer), Apple TV’s new indie comedy series follows Josh Corman, a miserable fifth-grade teacher who is still yearning to pursue his dream career in music.

Prone to bouts of anxiety and loneliness, Josh struggles to regain control of his life as his ex-fiancé Megan (Juno Temple, Ted Lasso) moves out, and his high school friend Victor (Arturo Castro, Broad City) moves in. The relatable dramedy explores Mr. Corman’s struggle through disillusionment in pursuit of happiness.

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This week's TV sees the return of RTS-nominee Tim Renkow's sitcom Jerk, a reboot of the 1980s crime classic The Equalizer and the second series of Channel 4's I Am anthology.