Pick of the week
Étoile

Amy Sherman-Palladino’s previous drama, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, lifted the curtain on the world of 60s standup comedy. This series does a similar (present-day) job with ballet. It follows twin companies in Paris and New York as they struggle to balance artistic and commercial sustainability while managing a high-maintenance crew of dancers headed by the cartoonishly volatile Cheyenne (Lou de Laâge). It’s full of backstabbing, bad behaviour and waspish wit but the snark is undercut by moments of sincerity as long stretches of performance showcase the artistry that make all the backstage machinations worthwhile. Charlotte Gainsbourg, Luke Kirby and Simon Callow also star.
Prime Video, from Thursday 24 April

Teacup

A slow-burning horror series set on a ranch in Georgia and inspired by Robert McCammon’s novel Stinger. For a while, the nature of the threat faced by the ranchers is intriguingly ambiguous – there’s a suggestion that the danger might be psychological with internal tensions. But soon Teacup plunges into more traditional and less satisfying sci-fi chiller territory: there’s a spooky kid who seems able to predict the future and everything is unpacked neatly. It’s impressively gory in places so not without thrills, even if they’re slightly cheap ones.
Paramount+, out now

Secrets of the Penguins

While all nature documentary fans will know that penguins are among the most extraordinary creatures on Earth, this three-part series suggests we didn’t know the half of it. Narrated by Blake Lively, it follows colonies of penguins from the Arctic realms with which they’re most associated and finds that increasingly these birds can now be found in towns, too. Sadly, this is yet another consequence of the climate crisis, but even though humanity is making life tough for penguins, this show is testament to their extraordinary adaptability and powers of endurance.
Disney+, from Monday 21 April

Andor

While devotees of the Star Wars universe already know exactly where Cassian Andor ends up at the conclusion of this prequel series – they’ve all seen Rogue One: A Star Wars Story after all – it has been fun mapping the route. This is one of the most accomplished additions to the canon in years, bringing humour and humanity to the world-building and boasting a fine cast that includes Diego Luna, Genevieve O’Reilly and Adria Arjona. This series is both more personal and more widely political –what turns a cynical, detached man such as Andor into a rebel? Disney+, from Wednesday 23 April

Battle Camp

This show brings together a bunch of contenders from Netflix’s not always illustrious reality TV slate to compete in a Champion of Champions-style deathmatch. Expect to see a bunch of people you very vaguely recognise from shows such as The Mole, Too Hot to Handle and Squid Game: The Challenge competing in various physical challenges. There are shades of Takeshi’s Castle, Celebrity Bear Hunt and even It’s a Knockout in some of the games, but for all the silliness there’s also big money on the table, with $250k waiting for the winner.
Netflix, from Wednesday 23 April

You

You has never been a subtle show but any nuance goes out of the window for the final season as this psycho-drama exits in a blaze of glory. Penn Badgley’s murderous smoothie Joe is back in New York; he’s found a measure of fame as the husband of philanthropist Kate (Charlotte Ritchie). However, journalists have dug out a deadly story about Kate’s past – and they’re not going to be silenced easily. Almost everything about You is absurd and it remains problematic in terms of perspective, essentially asking viewers to root for a serial killer. And yet, it remains a weirdly watchable guilty pleasure to the last.
Netflix, from Thursday 24 April

Wondla

A second season for this wholesome sci-fi animation starring Jeanine Mason as Eva, a teenage girl who was raised by a robot after an apocalyptic event on Earth. In spite of this singular upbringing, she’s surprisingly well adjusted. We last saw her searching (sometimes in the company of a giant tardigrade called Otto) for other humans. This time, she’s found some, chancing upon an enclosed city state called New Attica, which resembles a giant mall (even so, it must be a relief to Eva). But it’s soon obvious that New Attica isn’t all it seems.
Apple TV+, from Friday 25 April