From bloodthirsty Viking warriors to clumsy sabre-toothed squirrels, here’s what you need to be watching this weekend.
It’s odd, isn’t it, that we celebrate Easter with bunnies, eggs and chocolate. If something that looks like a chocolate egg comes out of the back of a bunny, do not eat it. We repeat, do not eat it. Nothing takes the wind out of your bank holiday weekend sails like accidentally ingesting rabbit shit. Still, there's plenty to watch while you recover.
Violent, over-the-top and bloody as anything, The Northman is metal as all hell. Based on the same ancient Nordic tale as Hamlet – meaning it has a similar plot to The Lion King – it stars Alexander Skarsgård as a vengeful warrior prince ready to bash in as many skulls as he has to to get back at his murderous uncle. (It’s a lot more violent than The Lion King.) Robert Eggers, of The VVitch and The Lighthouse, is on a roll, producing fucked-up masterpiece after fucked-up masterpiece. This is his first Viking one, though, which automatically makes it his best. Plus Björk’s in it!
In cinemas from April 15
Based on the bestselling novel by Sarah Vaughan, this miniseries stars Sienna Miller and Rupert Friend as a powerful couple caught in a media frenzy following a damning accusation. How much protection can their wealth and privilege provide? Is it possible to be so powerful that the truth simply can’t touch you? Full of twists and turns, as well as complex questions about power and consent. No Vikings, but you can’t have everything.
Available on Netflix from April 15.
Look, even on a four-day weekend, nobody’s got unlimited time. Luckily, there’s Scrat Tales, a super-short spinoff series from the Ice Age movies (which there are so many of) detailing the ongoing adventures of prehistory’s clumsiest sabre-toothed squirrel. This time round, rather than facing aliens or lightning, Scrat is facing fatherhood. After 20 years of chasing acorns, is Scrat about to face an existential crisis about what parenthood means? Or is he mainly going to fall off a bunch of shit?
Available now on Disney+.
Sure, watching one episode of a show a week seems absurd in this day and age, but with the third and final series of Derry Girls – one of the greatest sitcoms of the last decade – 25 minutes a pop go a long way. And the first two series are sat right there, so it would almost be rude not to revisit…
Available now on All4.
Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum star in a cheerfully silly, slightly old-school caper, in which a bestselling romance novelist and her not-too-bright cover model get involved in a big-ass jungle adventure at the doing of an eccentric billionaire (played by Daniel Radcliffe). Then it’s all chases, explosions, goofy one-liners, wacky misunderstandings, lingering looks and will-they-won’t-they-yes-they-probably-will sexual chemistry. Daft, unambitious fun.
In cinemas from April 15.
