Drama

In the Know

TV 

Episode 2 of ITV's new Sheridan Smith drama Cleaning Up raises the stakes and Sam's life starts to crumble. She needs to get better, otherwise she'll lose everything

Essential

TV 

In True Detective season 3, Mahershala Ali plays Wayne, a retired detective with dementia. He has to explore his fading memories to solve a case that's burdened him since 1980

Essential

TV 

From the new dark tale in True Detective with Mahershala Ali to the bleak BBC adaptation of Les Miserables with Dominic West, here's the best TV to watch this week

Preview

TV 

Part comedy, part social drama, part heist thriller. Sheridan Smith stars in this new, genre-clashing ITV series Cleaning Up

In The Know

TV 

Cleaning Up, the upcoming comedy-drama from ITV, looks like a fun but emotional journey into insider trading. We attended a Q&A for the show with Sheridan Smith and others

Essential

Best of 

From the final season of Game of Thrones to the long anticipated second season of Big Little Lies, 2019 is a year packed with excellent television

Essential

Theatre 

After a seven-year break from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Regent's Park bring back the magical Open Air production

We love

Cinema 

Innocence and experience jostle in Shoplifters, a beautiful, alchemical family drama from Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda who snapped up the Palme d'Or at Cannes

We love

Cinema 

A directorial debut from actor Paul Dano and starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan, Wildlife is a stripped-back drama about being reckless in your quietest moments

Essential

TV 

From the producers of The Night Manager, a new le Carré series storms onto the BBC: The Little Drummer Girl

We love

Cinema 

A revenge story of cosmic proportions from visionary director Panos Cosmatos featuring a career-defining performance from Nicolas Cage, Mandy has us holding on to our seat

Tried and Tested

Cinema 

Bradley Cooper directs and stars alongside Lady Gaga for the fourth iteration of this story – but everything about A Star Is Born still feels alive and essential

Tried and Tested

Cinema 

Gaspar Noé returns with Climax, another piece of provocation, blending sex, drugs and faux-philosophical musings

Book Now

Theatre 

A fresh new interpretation of the legendary collection of tales

Book Now

Theatre 

Vinay Patel's love story spans seven decades and three continents in An Adventure at Bush Theatre

Tried and Tested

Cinema 

The latest film from UK-based Polish director Paweł Pawlikowski, Cold War is a chilling black-and-white melodic odyssey through Communist Europe, Paris and beyond

In the Know

Best of 

Bigger hair, bigger outfits, bigger stakes: the gritty porn drama The Deuce from creator of The Wire returns

Tried and Tested

Cinema 

Henry Cavill, Angela Bassett and Vanessa Kirby join Tom Cruise for Mission: Impossible — Fallout, the stunning sixth instalment of the action film series

Tried and Tested

Cinema 

In Hotel Artemis, Jodie Foster tops off a cast including Sofia Boutella and Sterling K. Brown in a dark yet lighthearted film set in a deeply criminal future L.A.

Tried and Tested

Cinema 

Swelling with small screen British talent, Swimming with Men sees Rob Brydon fight his mid-life crisis by joining an all-male synchronised swimming team

Tried and Tested

Cinema 

The latest from Winter's Bone director Debra Granik, Leave No Trace is a memorable and moving drama about those teetering on the edge of the American dream

Tried and Tested

Cinema 

Emily Mortimer and Bill Nighy charm in The Bookshop, a heart-warming, if two-dimensional, tale for book lovers

Tried and Tested

Cinema 

Still stylish, with plenty of machismo from leads Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro, Sicario 2: Soldado is a less brainy, more brawny but fitting follow-up to the 2015 original

Tried and Tested

Cinema 

Rising stars Shailene Woodley (Big Little Lies) and Sam Clafin save the sinking script of latest nautical survival drama, Adrift

Tried and Tested

Cinema 

Boasting a stellar performance from model-actress Diane Kruger, In the Fade tracks one woman's lonely fight for justice in a country not quite finished with its dark nationalist past

Tried and Tested

Cinema 

The Ciambra is an effective and affecting expose of life on the fringes of Italian society and an overdue update on one of the country’s defining cinematic ages

Tried and Tested

Cinema 

Touted as the best horror movie of the year, Hereditary is also stunning drama about the ravages of grief and the menace of family featuring an outstanding Toni Collette

Tried and Tested

Cinema 

Directorial debut from Rupert Everett, The Happy Prince is a heartfelt account of Oscar Wilde's final years in Europe that just holds itself together. Colin Firth and Emily Watson feature.

Tried and Tested

Cinema 

The latest offering from François Ozon, L'Amant double is a ripe gorgonzola of a film that will be enjoyed by drunk film students for years to come

Tried and Tested

Cinema 

A star-studded cast featuring Marion Cotillard and Charlotte Gainsborough can’t save the latest from Arnaud Desplechin, Ismael's Ghosts from partially sinking under the weight of symbolism-induced hollowness

Tried and Tested

Cinema 

Nordic folklore is combined with grisly crimes in a Swedish genre-bender Border, based on the writings of John Ajvide Lindqvist

In the Know

Netflix 

From the producers of The Babadook comes Netflix film Cargo, an Australian thriller held together by a convincing performance from Martin Freeman