Disney+’s Alaska Daily, Prime Video’s The Rig among great shows to stream this week

ALASKA DAILY (DISNEY+)

The Oscar-winning director and co-writer of Spotlight has returned to the newsroom – and he’s bought a two-time Academy Award-winning actor with him.

Like that true-life tale focused on The Boston Globe’s uncovering of a massive scandal involving the Catholic Church’s cover-up of child molestation, Tom McCarthy’s Alaska Daily is a testament to the power of investigative journalism and the importance of a newspaper in keeping a community informed and its leaders’ accountable.

Hilary Swank plays hard-nosed New York journalist Eileen Fitzgerald, who somewhat reluctantly has to seek a fresh start at an Anchorage newspaper after a scandal brings down her illustrious career in the Big Apple,

A kind of a cross between Sharp Objects and Northern Exposure, Alaska Daily benefits greatly from McCarthy’s ability to create colourful characters and give them something meaningful to say.

BRANSON (PRIME VIDEO)

After a year of less-than-inspiring behaviour from billionaires, particularly those whose ambitions go beyond just this planet, a four-part docu-series on one of their number could have been an ill-conceived disaster.

However, Branson (now streaming on Neon) is actually a fascinating and surprisingly frank four-hour look at the “adventurist, iconoclast, eccentric, high-living playboy and environmentalist” Sir Richard Branson.

Recorded in the middle of 2021, days before the Virgin Galactic owner was due to become the first passenger to reach space in his own spacecraft, it shows the now septuagenarian in a reflective, almost melancholic mood, acutely aware of his own mortality, while also unrepentant about his past.

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D.I. RAY (ACORN TV)

Bend it Like Beckham’s Parminder Nagra plays the eponymous British-Asian policewoman in this four-part police procedural.

New to homicide, she is assigned to investigate the suspected honour killing of a young Muslim man, but quickly realises the two accused Hindu brothers cannot be guilty. However, convincing her superiors and colleagues is not as easy as she would hope.

”Low-key in tone and atmosphere, DI Ray, cop and show, that is, deserves to be a success,” wrote The Independent’s Sean O’Grady.

LITVINENKO (TVNZ+)

David Tennant plays the eponymous former Russian spy, Kremlin critic and British citizen in this four-part ITV mini-series. Lying in a London hospital bed, his condition deteriorating rapidly, Litvinenko claims to have been poisoned and points the finger directly at Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The cast also includes Mark Bonnar, Neil Maskell and Margarita Levieva.

Directed by Episodes’ Jim Field Smith and Lupin and Criminal screenwriter George Kay, the series, we’re told right at the outset, is the result of “extensive research and public accounts”. It’s all entertaining rather than gripping, enlightening rather than truly engrossing, but if you’re into true-crime dramas, this has a refreshing sobriety, sensitivity and sombreness about it, rather than the usual American sensationalist approach.

MYTHIC QUEST (APPLE TV+)

Wrexham AFC co-owner Rob McElhenney headlines this comedy focused on the team behind the biggest multiplayer video game of all-time. Tasked with building worlds, moulding heroes and creating legends, their most hard-fought battles don’t occur in the game — they happen in the office.

Now in its third, 10-part season, events begin with McElhenney’s Ian and Charlotte Nicdao’s Poppy pitching a whole new game.

“With its perfect balance of humour and heart, Mythic Quest keeps getting better with every new installment. In true video game fashion, the show beat the final boss – but then revealed that more adventures were in store after that was said and done,” wrote The Daily Beast’s Shannon O’Connor.

THE RIG (PRIME VIDEO)

Iain Glen, Martin Compston, Mark Addy, Emily Hampshire and Mark Bonnar star in this six-part character-driven mystery thriller that follows the crew of the Kinloch Bravo oil rig, as they fight for survival in the North Sea after a strange fog cuts off all communication with the shore.

To make it out of this increasingly perilous situation will take bravery, heroism, sacrifice and a confrontation with the consequences of the paths that brought them together.

“The faith that it won’t all descend into a Lost-style debacle will keep you going until the end,” wrote The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan.

SHAQ (NEON)

Four-part docu-series which aims to tell the story of basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal, whose larger-than-life personality transcended the sport and transformed him into a cultural icon.

As well as chronicling his ascent to superstardom and four-time NBA Championship winner, it will also take a look at his life off the court – from his military family upbringing to his successful broadcasting and business careers.

“Shaq the personality is bombastic and fun, so Shaq the docuseries is bombastic and fun, and it displays its myriad influences proudly,” wrote The Hollywood Reporter’s Dan Fienberg.

TOM CLANCY’S JACK RYAN (PRIME VIDEO)

As the third season of this latest adaptation of the prolific author’s most-popular literary series opens, our hero (John Krasinski) believes someone might be resurrecting the Sokol Project, before a failed operation in Greece forces him to go on the run.

In order to evade authorities, both foreign and domestic, he’ll need to reach out to an old friend.

“Jack Ryan has successfully evolved its formula of spycraft and gunfights to accommodate John Krasinski’s brand of charm,” wrote Decider’s Johnny Loftus, while Paste magazine’s Trent Moore thought that it “might be as well-worn as those old Clancy paperbacks, but it’s still compelling – if you like the genre.”