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TV picks: True crime

The Assassination of Gianni Versace and Tiger King (Credit: BBC and Netflix)

Here are our top picks.

 

The Central Park Five 

Amazon Prime

This documentary examines the case of The Central Park Five, which was recently turned into a Netflix drama miniseries called When They See Us.

The shocking and heartbreaking documentary tells the story of a 28-year-old white female jogger, Trisha Meili, who was beaten, raped and left for dead in New York’s Central Park in 1989.

Five young black and Latino boys aged 14-16 years old were accused and convicted of the crime.

TV picks of the month: July

Stranger Things, season three

From Thursday 4th July, Netflix

With a release date set for U.S Independence Day, the return of Stranger Things for season three is going to be a big event and one fans have been waiting a long time for.

Creators The Duffer Brothers have promised a darker, funnier series that will be worth the wait.

The Stranger Things kids are growing up, but they can’t leave behind the terrors of the Upside Down as the horrifying Mind Flayer is back in Hawkins and ready to wreak havoc.

TV picks of the week: 11 February to 17 February

Famous and Fighting Crime

Monday: Channel 4, 9.00pm

New four-part series, Famous and Fighting Crime, sees Jamie Laing (Made in Chelsea) Sandi Bogle (Gogglebox), presenter Katie Piper and comic Marcus Brigstocke working as volunteer police officers.

The four celebrities are put to the test as they chase after thieves, apprehend violent suspects and intervene in a domestic abuse case amid crippling police cuts and rising crime.

Reframing the documentary: how Amazon and Netflix are changing factual television

All or Nothing: A Season with the Arizona Cardinals (Credit: Amazon Prime)

In February of this year, Netflix won its first Oscar and its first Bafta. Surprisingly, the awards were not for any of its high-profile drama series, but for two documentaries. The Academy Award went to The White Helmets, a film about a group of Syria Civil Defence volunteer rescue workers. The Bafta winner was 13th, Ava DuVernay’s film about race in the US criminal justice system.

Amazon's online drive for audiences

The Grand Tour (Credit: Amazon)

It’s rare for Yorkshire town Whitby to make the national press – unless, of course, there’s been a flood – but wherever Jeremy Clarkson goes, the world follows. Amazon’s impending launch of The Grand Tour is one of the most globally anticipated series of all time.

Jay Marine, vice-president of Amazon Prime Video Europe, says: “It is a huge TV moment, not only for us but for UK TV generally.”

The horn of plenty: TV in a hyperconnected world

The panel (L-R): Hugh Dennis, Sue Unerman, Jim Ryan, Simon Pitts and Ben McOwen Wilson  panel (L-R): Hugh Dennis, Sue Unerman, Jim Ryan, Simon Pitts and Ben McOwen Wilson (Credit: Paul Hampartsoumian)

Comedian Hugh Dennis aired the thoughts of many trying to navigate the new television landscape when he introduced this session. In a video diary shown to conference delegates, he was seen stuck inside a room for a month. His task was to watch all the content available to modern audiences. 

“Watching telly used to be so easy,” he complained. “Four channels, maybe five – everyone watched the same thing in the same place at the same time, unless your family was at the cutting edge of technology and had a VCR.”