This week's best telly is jam-packed with new comedy, drama and a powerful documentary exploring race in the music industry.
Here are 7 TV shows you can't miss this week...
1. Murder, They Hope
Saturday 8th May at 9pm on Gold
After three feature-length specials, Johnny Vegas and Sian Gibson are back as Terry and Gemma in Gold's murder mystery comedies, which returns as a three-part series and this time, they've decided to quit the coach tour game and are trying (and failing) to become private investigators.
In the first episode, The Bunny Trap. Gemma and Terry have in their possession a valuable collector's piece that the murderous Bunnyman will stop at nothing to acquire. Whilst Gemma lays a trap for The Bunnyman, Terry heads up his own very low-quality investigation.
Sarah Hadland joins this series as Gemma's spotlight stealing sister, Monica, and Shobna Gulati joins as Gemma's sister-in-law and local police officer, Vicky. The series all features a host of fantastic guest stars including Adrian Scarborough, Ethan Lawrence, Hannah Waddingham, Janine Duvitski, Jason Manford, Kiell Smith Bynoe, Layton Williams, Lee Mack and Paul Whitehouse.
1/3 Continues weekly. All episodes available at launch
2. Fargo
Sunday 9th May at 10pm on Channel 4
Billy Bob Thornton and Martin Freeman starred in the first season of US crime anthology drama Fargo, which each season is set in a different era and location and now it's back for its fourth outing, this time with Chris Rock taking the lead.
Set in 1950’s Kansas, Chris Rock stars as Loy Cannon, the head of the Black crime syndicate fighting for a piece of the American dream opposite the Faddas, the rival Italian crime syndicate. Together, they control an alternate economy of exploitation, graft and drugs. Amongst the turmoil, Patrick “Rabbi” Milligan, played by Ben Whishaw, a man who once betrayed his own family to serve the Italians, watches carefully to ensure his survival.
Intertwined with this tale of immigration, assimilation and power, are the stories of a nurse who cannot abide others’ suffering, a precocious 16-year-old daughter of an interracial couple who own their own mortuary, U.S. Marshal Dick “Deafy” Wickware and Mormon lawman; Detective Odis Weff.
The series also stars Jason Schwartzman, Salvatore Esposito, Jessie Buckley, Jack Huston, E’myri Crutchfield, Andrew Bird, Anji White, Gaetano Bruno, Sean Fortunato, Jeremie Harris, Corey Hendrix, Matthew Elam, James Vincent Meredith, Francesco Acquaroli, Karen Aldridge, Kelsey Asbille, Rodney Jones, Jameson Braccioforte, Tommaso Ragno, Glynn Turman and Timothy Olyphant.
1/11 Continues weekly. All episodes available at launch
3. Three Families
Monday 10th and Tuesday 11th May at 9pm on BBC One
Written by Gwyneth Hughes, BBC One's new two part drama, Three Families tells the compelling true stories of the families behind the controversial campaign to lift Northern Ireland’s restrictive abortion law. A law which was finally lifted in 2019.
The drama begins in 2013 when a mother is forced to question her own beliefs after her teenage daughter reveals she is pregnant. Intent only on protecting her child, Theresa makes a hard choice. But as word starts to get out, she discovers that she could face a prison sentence for breaking one of Northern Ireland’s most controversial laws.
Young newlyweds Hannah and Jonathan are devastated when they learn that their much-wanted first child will die of a fatal foetal abnormality and not survive the pregnancy. In their grief, the couple speak to their doctor about their options, only to realise how limited their choices are.
If they lived in England, Wales or Scotland, both families could seek a legal termination. But this is Northern Ireland, where abortion laws have been among the most restrictive in Europe.
We also meet Rosie, a warm, beautiful, elegant older woman whose unborn baby has a genetic condition called Edward's Syndrome.
1-2/2 Continues nightly
4. Motherland
Monday 10th May at 9pm on BBC Two
As Motherland returns to BBC Two for its third series, a nit pandemic sweeps the school and Julia finds herself accused of triggering a second wave.
Ostracised by the other Mums, Julia needs to find a way back into their good books so she throws a nit treatment party that brings everyone’s drama (and head-lice) into her home.
Elsewhere, the party reveals that Anne has some big news, Meg is facing a crisis and Kevin has committed a terrible crime of passion. And as Amanda super spreads the gossip, Liz waits for news about a career move.
1/5 Continues weekly
5. Inside No.9
Monday 10th May at 9.30pm on BBC Two
Inside No.9 is back for its sixth series as Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith return with six more episodes in their anthology of darkly comic tales. And in this week's first episode, Wuthering Heist, Pantalone is planning the heist of the century – a tasty twelve mil in rough cut diamonds.
But if you’re going to hire a bunch of complete clowns to carry out a robbery, and half of them are planning to double-cross the other half, you’ve not just got a recipe for disaster, you’ve actually got the ingredients of a Tarantino Commedia dell’Arte.
1/6 Continues weekly
6. Danny Boy
Wednesday 12th May at 9pm on BBC Two
BBC Two's new feature-length single drama, Danny Boy, tells gripping true story of a young man’s journey from hero to alleged war criminal, the determined lawyer on his tail and their search for truth in the fog of war.
Anthony Boyle plays the real-life soldier Brian Wood, accused of war crimes in Iraq by the tenacious human rights lawyer Phil Shiner, played by Toby Jones. And questions what we ask of those who fight, and kill, for their country.
The two men go head to head in a legal and moral conflict that takes us from the battlefield - at so-called Checkpoint Danny Boy - to the courtroom, and one of Britain’s biggest ever public inquiries, the Al-Sweady Inquiry.
Memory, evidence and trauma collide, as Brian finds himself caught on the fine line between war and unlawful killing. After his service in Iraq and years of legal investigation, will he ever be able to look his family in the eye again and be the husband, father, and son, they need him to be?
1/1
7. Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop & Power
Thursday 13th May at 9pm on BBC One
In this powerful one off documentary, Leigh-Anne Pinnock confronts her experience as the only black member of Little Mix and as a black woman in the music industry. As well as talking about the racism she experienced growing up, Leigh-Anne wants to understand how she can use her platform and privilege to combat the profound racism she sees in society around her.
With both of her parents being of Caribbean heritage, Leigh-Anne identifies as black and is aware that having lighter skin and being a celebrity means she is in a more privileged position than others. And looks at the complexities and impact of unconscious bias, racial stereotyping and colourism both in and away from the public eye.
During the making of this documentary, news of George Floyd’s death and Black Lives Matter protests began to sweep the world and Leigh-Anne used the force of this global movement to confront those closest to her, including her footballer fiancée, Andre Gray, who in 2012 wrote a series of offensive tweets, some of which were about black women.
In an attempt to bring difficult conversations about black representation right to the top of the music industry, she pulls together a group of black and mixed-race pop royalty for a round table discussion. Comparing experiences with Alexandra Burke, NAO, Raye and Keisha Buchanan who each reveal their own shocking experiences within the music industry because of the colour of their skin.
Since winning The X Factor, Leigh-Anne has often felt like she is treated differently and now wonders whether years of feeling ignored at signings, not hearing her name cheered at events and fans walking past her in favour of the other girls in the band may be down to her race.
The documentary also follows Leigh-Anne with her Little Mix bandmates, at home with Andre and in an emotional scene with her parents, we see how they first reacted when Leigh-Anne told them how she had been feeling as the black member of the band.
As Leigh-Anne begins to receive criticism for putting her head above the parapet, she seeks advice from MP Dawn Butler, who herself has faced horrific racial abuse throughout her career. But when Leigh-Anne decides to confront her label about what they are doing to make positive change, meeting them on camera to join forces to work together going forwards, proves harder than she imagined.
1/1 Available on BBC Three from 6am