Netflix’s XO, Kitty, Apple TV+’s High Desert among great shows to stream this week

BARRY (NEON)

The fourth and final eight-part season of this Bill Hader-starring black comedy opens with his eponymous depressed, low-rent hitman turned aspiring actor finally behind bars after being cornered by an LAPD Swat team.

But while his former acting mentor Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler) is being hailed as a hero for his role in bringing Barry to justice, he and others seemingly have trouble moving on with their lives.

“The struggle for Barry’s soul that unfolds will be remembered as some of the best TV of 2023: nerve-shredding, hilarious and emotionally devastating to the very end,” wrote Empire magazine’s Al Horner.

THE DIPLOMAT (NETFLIX)

Fans of The Americans and Homeland rejoice. This eight-part series looks set to provide an equally absorbing and addictive watch.

The creation of former Homeland, Grey’s Anatomy and The West Wing screenwriter Debora Cahn, The Diplomat offers Keri Russell her best role since she finished her five-season run as KGB intelligence officer Elizabeth Jennings in 2018.

Whether it’s preventing America from attacking an unstable regime without due diligence (or evidence), or worrying that “having scratched my face and picked a wedgie, I have lipstick on my ass”, she might just be the best US political thriller character since Claire Danes’ magnificently chaotic and confoundingly brilliant Carrie Mathison.

It’s gripping, compelling viewing, the crisp dialogue and snappy action also brought to life by the terrific ensemble that also includes Rufus Sewell (The Man in the High Castle), Ato Essandoh (Away), Ali Ahn (Raising Dion), Austin Dennison (The Sandman) and Celia Imrie (Love Sarah).

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HIGH DESERT (APPLE TV+)

Patricia Arquette is Peggy, a former addict who decides to make a new start after the death of her beloved mother in this eight-episode black comedy created by Nurse Jackie and Grace and Frankie duo Nancy Fichman and Jennifer Hoppe-House (along with Miss Congeniality’s Katie Ford).

Still stuck in the small desert town of Yucca Valley, California, Peggy makes a life-changing decision to become a private investigator.

Matt Dillon, Christine Taylor, Brad Garrett, Bernadette Peters and Rupert Friend also feature.

“Ramshackle in the right ways, led by Arquette’s tour-de-force of mad, messy, brazen desperation and determination,” wrote The Daily Beast’s Nich Schager.

SANCTUARY (NETFLIX)

Eight-part Japanese drama set in the world of sumo wrestling. It’s the story of juvenile delinquent-turned-apprentice whose cocky attitude makes him a hit with fans, but upsets those in the tradition-steeped sport.

To portray the athletes, the actors underwent approximately one year of intense physical training under the supervision of experts and an Olympic nutritional coach.

”A sports drama that pushes its characters and its audiences,” wrote But Why Tho?’s Kate Sanchez. “The beauty, the spirituality, the violence, and the politics of sumo are all on display in this phenomenal, excellently crafted series.

SILO (APPLE TV+)

Rebecca Ferguson, David Oyelowo, Rashida Jones and Tim Robbins team up for this 10-part sci-fi drama based on Hugh Howey’s trilogy of best-selling dystopian novels.

It is set in the mile-deep home that apparently protects the last 10,000 people on Earth from a toxic and deadly world outside. However, no one knows when or why the silo was built – and it seems anyone who tries to find out faces fatal consequences.

“Part conspiracy thriller, part social commentary, part police procedural, the series holds our interest with intriguing characters and effective twists and turns,” wrote Chicago Sun-Times’ Richard Roeper.

A SMALL LIGHT (DISNEY+)

While featuring the story of the famous Frank family, immortalised in daughter Anne’s diary, this eight-part series is really all about the help they received from Amsterdam resident Miep Gies (Bel Powely) during the latter-half of World War II.

Former Grey’s Anatomy screenwriters – the husband and wife team of Tony Phelan and Joan Rater – have crafted an adroit and absorbing World War II drama that, despite the obvious tensions, lives up to its name thanks largely to Powley’s shining performance as the colourful Miep.

While the production design, costuming and Susanna Fogel’s (The Flight Attendant) direction are top-notch, it’s the emphasis on character that sets this apart from your standard World War II drama. Look out for Liev Schreiber, Joe Cole, Noah Taylor and Andy Nyman in key roles.

SWEET TOOTH (NETFLIX)

It was the fantasy addiction that kept viewers worldwide enthralled during the southern hemisphere winter of 2021.

Almost two years on – and unlike a couple of other certain high-profile productions – Sweet Tooth, having once again taken advantage of all Aotearoa has to offer, is back with another engrossing and entertaining eight-episode run.

Still set a decade after “The Great Crumble”, when not only did H5G9 became the deadliest virus in our lifetime, but maternity wards began to fill with “hybrids” (children born as if spliced with animal DNA), we pick up the action with our pint-sized, antlered 10-year-old hero Gus (Christian Convery) having been captured by the fearsome General Abbot’s (Neil Sandilands) men.

As with the first series, screenwriter and sometime director Jim Mickle (We Are What We Are) does a terrific job of seguing neatly from lighter, charming moments to scenes of real peril. As well as continuing to present many moments from tween eye-level, he now also makes great use of the magnificently realised cadre of hybrids who all get moments to shine. And let’s just say – both the practical and visual effects departments and the casting director deserve plenty of plaudits.

XO, KITTY (NETFLIX)

A spin-off series from the mega-popular To All the Boys movie trilogy, this 10-part romantic-dramedy focuses in on Anna Cathcart’s Kitty Covey.

A young woman who believes she is extremely knowledgeable about love, she decides to move to Korea with the aim of reconnecting with her long-distance boyfriend. However, Kitty quickly discovers that a relationship is much more complex when it is your own feeling of love at risk.

“A sweet, pretty cupcake of a teen romance,” wrote The Hollywood Reporter’s Angie Han, while Paste magazine’s Lucy Baugher thought that it “fully embraces the high camp of both young adulthood and the K-dramas that share its narrative roots”.