Pick of the week

The Altruists

For this ripped-from-the-headlines tech bro drama, Netflix have coaxed their go-to chameleon Julia Garner (Inventing Anna, Ozark) into mastering another accent and rifling through the wig cupboard. Anthony Boyle (House of Guinness, Say Nothing) is Sam Bankman-Fried while Garner plays Caroline Ellison in a retelling of the pair’s real-life love affair and the rise and fall of their scandal-hit cryptocurrency, FTX. Next to the likes of HBO Max’s The Audacity, The Altruists can feel a little staid and even dated (nods to Tony Blair and Harry Potter don’t help). But all the same, its cautionary tale of myopic tech idealists fuelled by a love of extreme risk-taking feels rather germane in 2026.

Netflix, from Thursday 19 November

Yellowjackets

The hallucination-heavy, cannibal plane-crash saga is back for a fourth and final series, but it’s hard to escape the feeling that – a la Lost – the Yellowjackets writers’ room may have been winging it for a while now. As the teen survivors finally restart their old lives, can the past and present timelines come together convincingly? And will new additions June Squibb and Molly Ringwald – who join OG cast members including Christina Ricci and Melanie Lynskey – make things more entertaining or just more convoluted, as this tricksy puzzle box drama attempts to stick the landing?

Paramount+, from Friday 20 November

Rewarding

In an unlikely turn of events, this is the second Celtic comedy about care workers from the BBC in recent weeks. While Tall Tales & Murder is a magical realist romp set in Dublin, Rewarding is a quieter and more understated affair, centred on overwhelmed and underresourced Belfast support workers Francis and Sinead (standup comic Vittorio Angelone and Blue Lights alum Hannah McClean). This sadcom may occasionally seem a little too downbeat for its own good, but it does well to cast disabled and neurodivergent actors in roles that feel largely authentic.

BBC iPlayer, out now

The Chosen

A reported 300 million viewers worldwide have watched The Chosen’s five previous seasons, yet it’s far from a household name. That might be because it’s a Christian drama about the life of Jesus of Nazareth, with an overtly Gospel-centric plot (albeit with some modern updates – Matthew is autistic, Mary Magdalene struggles with substance abuse and PTSD). For this penultimate run, there is some blockbuster source material to draw on: the crucifixion of the man himself, with a finale its showrunners modestly dub “a global theatrical event”.

Prime Video, from Sunday 15 November

The Hotline

Opioid-themed dramas Painkiller and Dopesick showed how big pharma has changed the lives of millions of ordinary Americans for the worse. This documentary takes a more intimate look at the drug epidemic that remains the leading cause of accidental deaths in the US. At the Never Use Alone helpline, volunteers aim to prevent overdoses by staying on the end of the phone while their callers use drugs, contacting emergency services if necessary. The Hotline packs a punch, emphasising the need for trust and empathy with this singular public health emergency.

HBO Max, from Thursday 19 November

Melania

Earlier this year, Amazon released its feature-length Melania Trump documentary. To many, Melania was a piece of blatant presidential propaganda but – perhaps more damningly – it was also noted for being dull, vacuous and downright cringey. For reasons that remain unclear, Brett Ratner’s film has now spawned a follow-up series of two episodes (Family and Trust, Pride and Honor). The first lady once wore a jacket that said “I really don’t care do u?” – which, incidentally, may also be some people’s reaction to finding out about this show’s existence.

Prime Video, from Friday 20 November

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

This rich fantasy epic is aimed at tweens but it is ideal family viewing for supersized winter evenings too, with its zippy take on Greek mythology and action that sometimes feels ripped straight from an 80s adventure series. Season three is based on Rick Riordan’s book The Titan’s Curse, with our titular hero and son of Poseidon (played by Walker Scobell) battling to rescue girlfriend Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries) from the evil Kronos. There’s also the little business of attempting to swerve a hex that could trigger the fall of Olympus …

Disney+, from Friday 20 November