Best TV shows to watch on NOW

There’s a growing TV trend for big fantasy properties getting prequels set centuries, if not millennia, earlier than the original story. So now, following House of the Dragon (300 years before Game of Thrones) and The Rings of Power (at least 5,000 years before The Lord of the Rings) welcome Dune: Prophecy, set more than 10,000 years before the recent big-screen movies starring Timothée Chalamet.

At this point, his character Paul Atreides isn’t even a glint in a sandworm’s eye — but other familiar forces from the films (and Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novels) are in place. We’re still in a galaxy with a weak emperor (Mark Strong), and still pulling the strings are the Bene Gesserit, the all-knowing cadre of witchy soothsayers led by Emily Watson’s Valya Harkonnen and her sister Tula (Olivia Williams).

As various parties scheme and snipe, it rattles along nicely, albeit a little confusingly. But it’s Watson, as the ruthless Valya, who holds your attention.

Huw Fullerton

Eddie Redmayne’s Jackal has much the same box of tricks as Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible movies, in that both use latex disguises, are expert marksmen and can bob and weave their way around European locations with panache. But the Jackal utilises that skillset for ill rather than good, his job seeing him accept big-money online payments in exchange for cleanly executed assassinations.

This we see early on, with one of Redmayne’s blue-green eyeballs magnified through the sights of a bespoke rifle, as this killer-for-hire takes aim at a target in Germany. But the hunter is about to become the hunted, thanks to the ballistics knowhow of MI6 agent Bianca (Lashana Lynch), a spy who’s as persistent as the Jackal is coolly detached.

Their cat-and-mouse game forms the spine of this stylish updating of Frederick Forsyth’s 1971 bestseller.

David Brown

A check of the credits confirms why this espionage thriller, based on the Pulitzer-winning novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen, looks so good: it’s co-created, co-written and initially directed by Park Chan-wook of Oldboy fame.

In Saigon 1975, a man known as the Captain (Hoa Xuande) is in the South Vietnam special police, but is secretly working for the North Vietnam army. When he meets CIA agent Claude (a fantastically overacting Robert Downey Jr) he is offered the chance of a new (double) life in the US. It’s a febrile, sprawling drama that will likely sweep you up in its grand narrative.

Jack Seale

This sci-fi series puts a new twist on the classic time-loop plot-line to winning effect. Paapa Essiedu stars as George, an app developer who realises he’s reliving six months of his life, only to discover time is being turned back by a mysterious organisation in order to prevent apocalypses. Essiedu's star is rising fast and this series is further confirmation of why he's becoming everyone favourite new leading man, and the tight plotting keeps you on your toes throughout.

When it debuted on Sky Atlantic, Gangs of London became the channel’s second largest original drama ever after 2019's acclaimed Chernobyl miniseries. It isn’t hard to see why, as the violent thriller has seen strong praise across the board, with RadioTimes.com describing it as “The Godfather meets The Raid” in a four-star Gangs of London review. Unsurprisingly, Gangs of London has been renewed for a second season, so there has never been a better time to get caught up.

"So...this is a love story," octogenarian Lali Sokolov (Harvey Keitel) tells writer Heather Morris (Melanie Lynskey) as she prepares to write his memoirs in 2003. Through this dramatic device we wind back to see the young charismatic Slovakian Jew (played in his early years by World on Fire's Jonah Hauer-King) taken, as were more than a million others, to Auschwitz, where the full horrors of the concentration camp soon became apparent to him.

"I was 26 and I wanted to live," he says about his guilty decision to grab an opportunity to survive by working as as Tatowierer (tattooist) at the camp. It is in July 1942, while inking ID numbers of the newly arrived prisoners' arms, that he meets Gita (Anna Prochniak) and falls in love, despite the barbaric and dehumanising surroundings.

Although this is a real-life love story, it's also a dark chapter of history so effectively portrayed that it makes for a deeply upsetting and horrifying watch. But, at a time when there's still widespread intolerance and hatred in the world, it is especially important that we never forget about the Holocaust.

Jane Rackham

While the premise of The Regime alone may have you believing that this is quite the political drama, this six-part series is more comedy than anything, as we dive headfirst into the heady world of a fictional European state.

Academy Award winner Kate Winslet turns her hand at crafting our protagonist Chancellor Elena Vernham, who turns to soldier Herbert Zubak (Matthias Schoenaerts) as her dystopian regime begins to unravel. While the tone and style of the series may not win everyone over, Winslet is a key reason to tune in, as she once again embodies a unique role – even if it doesn't quite deliver the kind of gut punch that you'd expect from a series about politics.

Morgan Cormack

Fans of Sex and the City will no doubt have flocked to new continuation of the original show, starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis. And Just Like That is set 11 years after we said goodbye at the end of the second film, and the series included some shocking developments in the lives of the characters, meaning fans of the original show will likely want to catch up.

Two seasons are available.

It's been three years since Game of Thrones bowed out with a truncated final season that, its harshest critics would have you believe, went so badly off the rails that it sorely diminished the legacy and reputation of what was, unquestionably, one of the biggest television shows in the world.

It's unclear if HBO truly felt the sting of any backlash, but it's obvious from the final product that a lot of thought and careful consideration has gone into House of the Dragon, the first of what's set to be several spin-offs from the original series.

However you feel about where Thrones ended up, House of the Dragon strongly evokes its parent show's beginnings – in terms of quality, yes, but also style and structure. The opening episode delivers almost everything a Game of Thrones fan could want – those captivating characters but also rich mythology, stunning vistas, scheming, and, yes, both sex and bone-crunching violence.

Morgan Jeffery

Fans of John Wyndham's novel will know the story of The Midwich Cuckoos has been adapted numerous times before to varying effect, but this modern update pushes all the right buttons. Keeley Hawes stars as Dr Susannah Zellaby, a psychotherapist who finds herself investigating after a strange occurrence leaves all the women in one sleepy commuter town inexplicably pregnant. It's a chilling central concept which here is given its creepy due, in a propulsive adaptation packed with strong performances.

Told exclusively through archive footage, this immersive film begins with clips of Diana as a fresh-faced 19-year-old. It then marks the stages on her journey to becoming the people’s princess; a real-life fairy tale sourly sullied as her marriage deteriorates. The documentary refuses to shy away from Prince Charles’s relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, his frustration with the public’s devotion towards Diana and her deteriorating mental health. So much of Diana’s life was captured on film – it’s a poignant reminder how involved with her most intimate moments the media was.

Kelly-Anne Taylor

Yellowjackets is about a group of high school football players who descend into savage clans after their plane crashes in the wilderness has been pitched as an all-female Lord of the Flies, but the split time periods it deals with instead make it a compelling mystery series. With a stellar cast including Melanie Lynskey, Ella Purnell and Christina Ricci, it's already been renewed for a second season, so now is a great time to catch up.

Each season of Mike White's sharply observed anthology series is set at a different outpost of the luxurious White Lotus hotel chain, focusing on the lives of its wealthy clientele and the staff who work there. The first instalment took place in Hawaii, placing the guests' privilege under the microscope and charting hotel manager Armond's feud with newlywed former frat boy Shane (Jake Lacy) as the latter vies to be let into the prestigious Pineapple Suite.

Round two sees the action take place in Sicily, with White turning his attention to romantic relationships and jealousy. Jennifer Coolidge steals the scene in both seasons as the well-meaning but needy returning guest Tanya McQuoid. A third season has already been commissioned - but where will The White Lotus head next?

This isn't your regular remake. While the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air wasn't afraid to go to some real, dramatic places, it was still ostensibly a fun, breezy sitcom. Bel-Air on the other hand, based on a 2019 fan film, leans into the more serious aspects of Will's situation, tackling issues surrounding race, gender and class. The switch won't be for everyone, but for those willing to give it a try the series is available on NOW.

Benedict Cumberbatch plays the lead role in this five-part series, which follows a man from a privileged yet abusive background, who develops severe problems with drug addiction later in life. The acclaimed series is based on the novels of Edward St Aubyn and won a BAFTA award for best miniseries in 2019…

The latest historical drama from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, The Gilded Age tells the story of the US during the 1880s and is airing its first season on NOW currently. Starring Gone Girl and Avengers: Infinity War's Carrie Coon, the series has received positive reviews, with RadioTimes.com calling it a "Downton-esque delight."

Widely regarded as one of the best television shows of all time, now is the perfect opportunity to revisit The Wire (or binge watch for the first time). The gritty crime drama takes place on the city streets of West Baltimore, which are gripped by criminal gangs and the trade of illegal drugs. Dominic West (The Affair) plays Detective Jimmy McNulty, tasked with leading the police investigation into one of the most prominent drug dealing organisations. The Wire was critically acclaimed throughout its five-season run, taking an unflinching look at real world problems with a stunning cast that includes Idris Elba (Luther), Lance Reddick (John Wick) and several guest stars who have gone on to become huge names.

This hit series takes you inside a media organisation owned by a dysfunctional family, who begin vying for power when the patriarch steps down from his role. Known for effortlessly blending gripping drama with dark comedy, Succession stars a brilliant ensemble cast that includes Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin and Matthew Macfadyen.

The Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco was Golden Globe-nominated for her turn in this globe-trotting mystery thriller The Flight Attendant, starring as the eponymous flight attendant Cassie Bowden. One morning, Cassie wakes up to discover the man she’d spent a night with is dead – with no knowledge of how it happened. When the FBI intervenes, she slowly starts to piece the night together, as she aims to work how who could have been responsible.

If you can’t get enough of American politics following all the drama around 2020's election, check out Golden Globe-nominated miniseries The Comey Rule. The two-parter follows former FBI Director James Comey as he investigates Hillary Clinton’s email scandal and deals with Donald Trump during his early days in office, up until his high-profile dismissal in 2017.

Written by Captain Phillips’s Billy Ray and based on Comey’s autobiography, this drama stars Emmy-winning actor Jeff Daniels (Dumb and Dumber, The Martian, The Newsroom) as Comey and Brendan Gleeson (Harry Potter, Braveheart) as a scarily-accurate Trump, alongside the likes of Michael Kelly, Jennifer Ehle and Holly Hunter.

The follow up to Showtime’s crime drama Dexter, this ninth season took on the title "New Blood" and is now available for NOW subscribers to take a stab at (no pun intended), with Michael C Hall starring as the titular forensic technician and vigilante serial killer.

The story is set 10 years after the events of the original, award-winning series, based on Jeff Lindsay’s novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter, and attempted to make up for the initial, polarising finale.

With three seasons of this Sky Atlantic available on NOW, now is the perfect time to get into Tin Star – a crime drama starring Tim Roth as a former London detective who becomes the new police chief of small Canadian town Little Big Bear. However, when Roth’s violent past catches up with him, his wife Angela (Genevieve O’Reilly) calls into action Jack Devlin – Jim’s violent alcoholic alter-ego – to fight any potential threats to their family. Also starring Christina Hendricks, Abigail Lawrie and Ian Pulestone-Davies.

Arguably one of the most innovative new shows of 2020, The Third Day came from Utopia creator Dennis Kelly, and boasts a starry cast including Jude Law, Naomie Harris, Paddy Considine and Emily Watson. Heavily influenced by folk horror films such as The Wicker Man, the series tells of a mysterious island community, called Osea, and the fates of two seemingly separate people who find themselves visiting the island. The series is also notable for featuring a highly unusual middle section – which saw a 12-hour live event broadcast on Sky Arts, the highlights of which are available along with the rest of the series on NOW.