Sonal Pandya

Apple TV’s Slow Horses has never shied away from death. In the past five seasons, Slough House has lost several agents, and this season, the count is about to get higher. Gary Oldman’s Jackson Lamb must figure out who is targeting his agents and why. Based on the books of Mick Herron, the MI5 agents of Slough House have endured a lot, but this season, they’re truly on the run as sitting targets in a mission that’s out to get them. Led by Oldman and Jack Lowden, the darkly humorous spy thriller just improves with every season, as the writing, characterisation and direction just get sharper and hit that much harder.

The 2001 British series The Office launched the mockumentary sitcom which many have tried to replicate. Its American remake was the most successful one; last year, it officially got a spinoff, The Paper, set in Toledo, Ohio. The first season, which introduced the characters, took some time to set up, but the second season is finally settling into its identity. Led by About Time’s Domhnall Gleeson and The White Lotus’ Sabrina Impacciatore, the comedy fully embraces its cringe storylines that find its characters at their most outrageous. The Paper is also about the dying field of print journalism; however, those B-plots are either a hit or a miss.

The filmmakers behind Game Night and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, bring a Cold War comedy that is far more entertaining than it looks on paper. Ryan Reynolds plays an American pilot who crash lands in enemy territory, aka the former USSR, during a covert mission, while Kenneth Branagh plays his new Russian friend, a former KGB agent, who is his only way out. With great Top Gun (1986) references and gasp-inducing action sequences, the streaming entertainer ideally deserved a big-screen outing.

Created by Guy Ritchie, Netflix’s crime drama The Gentlemen is back for a darker and more serious second season. Eddie Horniman (Theo James) and Susie Glass (Kaya Scodelario) have even more ambitious plans for their illegal drug business that face several obstacles. With several returning and new characters popping up in the gangster thriller, the Netflix series takes an unexpected twist at the halfway mark of Season 2, leaving audiences gasping with every twist and betrayal depicted in eight episodes. Written by Ritchie and Matthew Read, The Gentlemen Season 2 is more about purpose as Eddie and Susie try to break out from the expectations set upon them by others. Bold and ambitious, the second season does not repeat any formulas of previous Ritchie productions.

Some viewers may remember Ryan Reynolds playing Hal Jordan in the 2011 film Green Lantern. With the new HBO series, the character of Hal has gotten a complete overhaul as the origin and future of DC Studios’ Green Lantern are reintroduced in a way that will pleasantly surprise fans. In fact, creators Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King subvert the superhero series to present a layered mystery that explores the core of its leads and ensemble characters. Every twist and turn in Lanterns gives audiences a taste of different genres, from sci-fi to mystery, buddy comedy to a Western. But ultimately, Lanterns is a story about a mentor and mentee who end up teaching each other more than they expected.

Apple TV’s biggest comedy, Ted Lasso, was supposed to end its run on a high after a pesky third season in 2023. Originally developed from a sketch comedy starring Jason Sudeikis about an American with no clue about football, the character Ted Lasso became a beloved TV icon. The first season of Ted Lasso was perfect in almost every way, and the latter seasons expanded on the show by trying to add depth to its characters. In doing so, it undid much of what made the show great in the first place. Now, three years after Ted goes back to Kansas City, his former boss Rebecca Walton (Hannah Waddingham) brings him back to AFC Richmond, but for another team.

The British series The Bombing Of Pan Am 103, out now on Netflix, assembles a solid cast of actors from both sides of the pond in a compelling drama that aims to cover it all. However, in doing so, the limited series struggles to find a voice and comes into its own in the climax as it shows the legal fight for justice. The emotional series, though dramatised, follows the incident from takeoff to the international courtrooms where two men were finally held accountable for the plane’s bombing. Creator and writer Jonathan Lee finds it hard to gain a foothold from the beginning, and the sombre series remains flat from thereon.

While it is disappointing that Heartstopper never got a fourth season, viewers should be satisfied that the new movie Heartstopper Forever allows the coming-of-age tale to grow up and go out on its own terms. Writer Alice Oseman has adapted the sixth and final volume of their own webcomics. Over the past four years, we’ve watched characters Nick and Charlie met, become friends and fall in love. In the final movie, the two teenagers take tentative steps towards their futures and tackle misunderstandings in their relationship. The movie is a bittersweet ending to a show that makes audiences feel like part of this supportive world.