WTW – what to watch this week
The Pact
BBC One, Monday 17 May at 9pm
When a young brewery boss is found dead, four employees, Anna, Nancy, Louie and Cat, find themselves bound together by a life-changing secret. Breaking Bad’s Laura Fraser, Ray Donovan’s Eddie Marsan and Coronation Street’s Hayley Cropper all star.
Innocent
ITV, Monday 17 May at 9pm
The police crime drama returns to screens for its second series. DCI Mike Braithwaite will reinvestigate the murder of Mathew Taylor, a 16-year-old schoolboy. Originally, a teacher is convicted of his murder, but is later found not guilty in an appeal and released from prison.
Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir
Netflix, Tuesday 18 May
An intimate portrait of Amy Tan, the groundbreaking American author known for The Joy Luck Club which was adapted into a film of the same name in 1993. Using a combination of archival footage (including home movies and personal photographs), interviews and animation it tells the story of Tan’s life and career.
Eurovision Song Contest 2021
BBC Four, Tuesday 18 May and Thursday 20 May at 8pm
Held in Rotterdam, the semi-finals of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest commence. Graham Norton returns to host the live event, while Scott Mills, Rylan Clark-Neal and Chelcee Grimes present from London. Sixteen acts will battle it out, including the UK’s entry, singer-songwriter James Newman, with his single Embers, for a place in the Grand Finale on Saturday.
Museums of the Future
Jesus College Cambridge University, Wednesday 19 May at 7:30pm
What are museums for? What will they be like in decades to come, and has the Covid-19 pandemic changed their future? Join Gus Casely-Hayford, curator, broadcaster, cultural historian and director of V&A East, to discuss the future of the physical exhibit after the world went digital. Tickets for this free online event can be found here.
The Psychedelic Drug Trial
BBC Two, Wednesday 19 May at 9pm
This documentary chronicles the groundbreaking trial at Imperial College London. Filmed over 16 months, it follows scientists and psychotherapists as they compare the effects of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, against an antidepressant on a small group of participants with clinical depression. Read Reaction’s interview with Dr Robin Carhart-Harris, the head of the Centre for Psychedelics Research at Imperial, here.
The Last Days
Netflix, Wednesday 19 May
The classic Oscar-winning documentary from Steven Spielgberg will be made available to stream on Netflix. In late 1944, despite defeat looming, the Nazis put enormous amounts of resources into killing and deporting over 425,000 Jews in the ‘cleansing’ of Hungary. This award-winning feature focuses on the struggle of five Hungarian Jews who survived brutal imprisonment at Auschwitz.
National Theatre: Life in Stages
National Theatre’s YouTube channel, Thursday 20 May at 7pm
The National Theatre has announced three new episodes of its Life in Stages interview series. This instalment will feature a conversation between Dominic Cooke, award-winning associate director, and Sophie Okonedo CBE, award-winning actress. Find the National Theatre’s YouTube channel here.
Subnormal: A British Scandal
BBC One, Thursday 20 May at 9pm
In the 1960s, West Indian migrants coming to the UK hoped to provide better lives for their children. But according to the theories of psychologists Hans Eysenck and Arthur Jensen, their children were labelled as “stupid, difficult and disruptive”, before they ever had a chance to further themselves academically. This feature explores one of the biggest scandals in the history of British education.
ROH Unmasked
Royal Opera House, available to stream until Sunday 23 May
The Jette Parker Young Artists, the Royal Opera Chorus and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House have joined forces to breathe new life into Royal Opera Houses that have been empty over the course of the past year. Featuring beloved pieces from Mozart, Wagner and Puccini, ROH unmasked offers an unconventional take on the traditional music, including behind the scenes footage. Streaming access can be found here.
Solos
Amazon Prime, Friday 21st May
A star-studded cast, including Anne Hathaway, Morgan Freeman and Helen Mirren, join forces for this series on what it means to be human. Episodes revolve around seven different characters and their stories, each taking part at a different moment in time. Inspired by lockdown, it seeks to explain human connection in moments of isolation and promises to be a beautiful watch.