The Jetty

Monday

BBC One, 9.00pm

Something sinister runs through DC Ember Manning's (Jenna Coleman, Doctor Who) hometown. After a devastating fire on a jetty, it becomes her mission to find out exactly what it is. Her investigation brings her into contact with a podcast exploring a cold case, and a man in a relationship with two underage girls.

The seasoned detective calls upon Riz (Weruche Opia, I May Destroy You), a true crime podcaster to help her connect the crimes the small Lancashire town. Whilst the missing persons cold case and possible arson attack boil away in the background, a local man ‘dating’ young girls makes Ember examine some of her own relationships from a different angle.

Lady in the Lake

Friday

Apple TV +

Based on the 2019 novel of the same name, author Laura Lippman took inspiration for Lady in the Lake from two real 1960s Baltimore cases: one highly publicised death of a 10-year-old Jewish girl, and one not-so publicised death of a black woman.

In the fictionalisation of these events, Maddie Schwartz (played by Natalie Portman) asserts herself as a budding journalist, desperate to be more than ‘just a housewife’. Moses Ingram (The Queen’s Gambit) stars opposite Portman as Cleo Sherwood, the young black woman that Maddie finds in the lake. After Maddie uses this discovery to reinvent herself, Cleo’s omniscient narration in the trailer seems less than pleased, saying: “why did you need to drag my dead body into it?”

Those About to Die

Friday

Prime Video

From Saving Private Ryan’s Robert Rodat and Independence Day’s Roland Emmerich comes a visceral drama from the sponge-on-a-stick era, starring Anthony Hopkins as ageing Emperor Vespasian.

Whilst Vespasian decides which of his sons shall succeed him, the Roman Empire’s underbelly is filled with blood, guts and gore in the world of gladiators. Iwan Rheon’s (Game of Thrones) character, Tenax, is trying to make the leap between these two worlds – having reached the top of the lower echelons, he feels the only way is up.

Too Hot to Handle

Friday

Netflix

The concept is simple. A group of party animals think they’re going on a show akin to Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents, but on arrival they are told they’ve been duped into a summer of being financially punished for touching each other. Punishments range from 3,000 dollars for kissing, to 20k for going all the way. It’s always good to have a reality show with a moral lesson, and this series aims at proving emotional connections are more important than physical.

Now in its sixth series, the producers are throwing a few twists at the contestants. Now, the Alexa-like host ‘Lana’ (who tries to keep them in line) will have a devilish counterpart – aptly named ‘Bad Lana’.

Piglets

Saturday

ITV, 9:30pm

Promising a move away from the trend of British tragicomedy, sitcom Piglets examines the police’s policy of hastily hiring 20,000 new recruits with all-out silliness.

Sarah Parish (Geek Girl) and Mark Heap (Friday Night Dinner) appear as two superintendents, training up six disparate new recruits. Parish’s character, Julie, gets wind that there is a mole in the group, who joined the police force under false pretences.

Many of the ‘piglets’ have little to no acting credits, with fresh new faces Abdul Sessay, Sam Pote and Jamie Bisping joining Doctor Who’s Callie Cooke, Dating No Filter’s Sukh Ojla and Wolf’s Ukweli Roach.