Pick of the week
Steal
Zara (Sophie Turner) is half-heartedly slogging away in a mid-ranking job at a pensions company. But her life is dramatically upended when a brutal and terrifyingly efficient gang of robbers appear in her workplace to carry out a £4bn heist. This thriller gives up its secrets gradually: what originally seems to be a taut crime caper soon twists and turns in unsettling and credulity-stretching ways. It’s a smart attempt to reimagine the perfect financial crime for the digital age and Turner’s lead performance is deceptively subtle, with her apparent office-drone apathy eventually barely concealing a surprising level of slick calculation. Archie Madekwe is also excellent as her sidekick Luke.
Prime Video, from Wednesday 21 January
The BeautyCiao … Bella Hadid as Ruby in The Beauty. Photograph: Philippe Antonello/FX
Hot on the heels of 2025’s zero-star bin fire All’s Fair, Ryan Murphy returns with another flashy, scurrilous, deeply unserious drama. This one is based on a 2015 comic book by Jeremy Haun and Jason A Hurley. The Beauty is an injection, offering physical perfection to users (“One shot makes you hot”). But there are side-effects connected to this real-life fountain of youth. First, it is frequently lethal. Second, it mutates, becoming a sexually transmitted virus – which, given that it makes its carriers irresistible, is a problem. A strong cast, which includes Rebecca Hall and Isabella Rossellini, do their best to make sense of this nonsense.
Disney+, from Thursday 22 January
SandokanA piracy epic … Can Yaman in Sandokan. Photograph: erikakuenka/Erika Kuenka
Turkish actor Can Yaman is already a big star in continental Europe but UK audiences can get to know him in this glossy, melodramatic piracy epic. Yaman is Sandokan, an adventurer who sails the South China Sea with his comrade Yanez, and a cosmopolitan crew. One day, while robbing the Sultan of Brunei, Sandokan frees a mysterious prisoner who turns out to be a prophecy of freedom come to life. However, following this destiny soon brings Sandokan into conflict with the powerful forces controlling the British empire in 19th-century Asia.
Netflix, from Monday 19 January
Star SearchA prolific pipeline of talent … Anthony Anderson hosts Star Search. Photograph: Birdie Thompson/Netflix
This reboot is the third iteration of a US talent show that first aired in 1983. It features multiple categories of contenders, giving slots to singers, musicians, actors and comedians and eliminating them using real-time voting. In its previous incarnations, it was a prolific pipeline of talent, partly due to the sheer turnover of contestants. Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Dave Chappelle, Usher and Adam Sandler all trod the boards. The revival is hosted by actor Anthony Anderson and the judging panel includes Jelly Roll, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Chrissy Teigen.
Netflix, from Tuesday 20 January
Queer EyeTissues at the ready … Jonathan Van Ness, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, Jeremiah Brent and Karamo Brown in the final season of Queer Eye. Photograph: Jenny Anderson/Netflix
America could really use some acceptance, self-reinvention and general fabulosity right now. So this is a good moment for a new series of Queer Eye, even if this one, sadly, is the last. The final season is set, rather pointedly, in Washington DC, the home of US political power but also full of ordinary people in need of a physical and emotional glow-up. Alongside the transformations, there’s plenty of looking back as the Fab Five enjoy a well-deserved lap of honour by remembering a few of their most memorable projects. Tissues at the ready.
Netflix, from Wednesday 21 January
Drops of GodPeculiar stuff … Fleur Geffrier and Tomohisa Yamashita in Drops of God. Photograph: Apple TV
The opening season of this peculiar drama (adapted from a manga series) used wine-tasting to explore a sibling rivalry, as a wealthy man made his daughter’s legacy conditional upon her defeating his protege in various oenophilic tasks. Camille and Issei are now uneasily reconciled and about to set out on a second challenge: tracking down the origins of a vintage wine that defeated their benefactor. However, they’re clearly being manipulated from beyond the grave and, as the mystery of the unique vintage deepens, cracks in their relationship begin to widen.
Apple TV+, from Wednesday 21 January
Kidnapped: Elizabeth SmartCandid … Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart. Photograph: Netflix
In 2002, 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart was abducted from her family home in Salt Lake City and held captive for nine months. This documentary looks at the harrowing case from a variety of perspectives. It explores the community that came together to try to find Elizabeth but it’s also a study in paranoia – at various points, members of Elizabeth’s own family came under suspicion. Thankfully, she is able to tell her own story and speaks candidly about the toll taken by her ordeal and the ways it has shaped her life since.
Netflix, from Wednesday 21 January
