Pick of the week
The Hook Up Plan
The third and final season of this charming French romcom stars Zita Hanrot as goofy but likable Elsa, with Sabrina Ouazani and Joséphine Draï as her well-intentioned but interfering friends. As we left the trio, the show decided to weave Covid-19 into its plotline and the women were trying to maintain their connection through lockdown despite a romantic upset threatening their friendship. Will we see a reconciliation and freedom? Expect a wider focus on the nature of friendship, some new love interests and a pregnancy test. Glossy and soapy but nicely performed and the backdrops – alternating Parisian glamour with bucolic rural France – are seductively escapist. PH
Netflix, available now
Banksy: Most Wanted
For the last couple of decades, it has felt as if graffiti artist Banksy has been simultaneously everywhere and nowhere: a constant ambient presence in British life, but also an absence where detail should be. Wisely, Aurélia Rouvier and Seamus Haley’s documentary largely steers clear of the endless speculation about Banksy’s actual identity and instead asks what Banksy is, how Banksy works and why anyone should care. It’s probably the only realistic approach to an artist who continues to both loom large and elude categorisation. PH
BritBox, available now
Eating With My Ex
There is something undeniably odd about the idea of a former couple deciding to go on television to openly discuss the reasons their relationship ended. But this show has now reached season four so it is clearly an itch people are wanting to scratch. This new series begins with three former couples: Flame and Alex, Jade and Higor, and Jack and Indigo. What will their televised therapy sessions over meals reveal? Issues discussed include text dumpings, emotional inarticulacy and, of course, the corrupting effects of social media. PH
BBC Three, from Sunday 2 January
Rebelde
Textbook telenovela cheese from Netflix, which begins the year with this trashy, soapy melodrama set in a high school in Mexico – although it’s a remake of an Argentinian show from the early 00s. The story follows a new group of students who are bonding, hooking up and preparing for a Battle of the Bands contest while contending with various elaborate hazing rituals from a shady group known as The Lodge. No cliche goes unexploited and no heartstring goes untugged, but it’s undemanding and potentially addictive – especially at a time of year when guiltily bingeing is all too easy to fall into. PH
Netflix, from Wednesday 5 January
El Deafo
Based on Cece Bell’s New York Times bestseller and Newbery Honour-winning graphic novel memoir, here is a charming three-part animation about a girl who loses her hearing and finds her inner superhero – El Deafo. Conscious about wearing a hearing aid on her chest at school, Cece (voiced by newcomer Lexi Finigan) quickly embraces her “super powers” – such as being able to use her aid to detect when the teacher is on her way back from the loo (she picks up the flush). Sweet, funny, poignant and definitely not just for kids. HR
Apple TV+, from Friday 7 January
The Hype House
For anyone who is not on TikTok (basically, if you are over the age of 25) you’re going to first need an education on what the Hype House is: a gen Z collective of the social media platform’s creators established in 2019 and based in a bizarre, collaborative LA mansion. Netflix has now given the group the documentary treatment, promising to show the gory details of life as an influencer and their relationships with each other. Considering every moment of their lives is already shared with millions, is it even possible to get any closer? If you can bear it, tune in to find out. HR
Netflix, from Friday 7 January
The Defence
A gritty Polish legal drama selected by the Walter Presents arm, with Magdalena Cielecka starring as lawyer Joanna Chylka in the second season. As we rejoin Chylka, the nation is scandalised by the arrest of the son of Piotr Langer Sr, a successful businessman. Langer Jr is the heir to a massive fortune but also stands accused of a brutal double murder. Chylka finds herself defending the younger man, which is unfortunate as his dad has decided to publicly cut ties. Chylka smells a rat but Langer Jr seems oddly unwilling to try to defend himself. PH
All 4, from Friday 7 January