With another bumper TV lineup arriving this weekend, our experts have sifted through the latest offerings to bring you their pick of the top 20 shows to stream... The story of the six socialite Mitford sisters in 1930s Britain Certificate: 12 You might already be familiar with the blue-blooded Mitford family and its six socialite sisters, from the 2019 adaptation of Nancy Mitford's novel The Pursuit Of Love, or from countless books and biographies, or from reputation alone. Upper-class and of very mixed affiliations, the Mitford sisters are notorious for their links to Hitler (Unity) and the British fascists (Diana). In contrast, celebrated novelist Nancy was a pacifist, Jessica a journalist and communist, Deborah a duchess and Pamela the more private, down-to-earth one. Based on the biography by Mary S Lovell and opening in Unity's 'coming out year' of 1931, this suitably decadent six-part series charts the circumstances that set the sisters on their unique, diverging paths. As women from a middling aristocratic family they were expected to marry, and marry well. And when we first meet them, it's only Diana (Joanna Vanderham) who has a husband. But that's also where the scandals start. A bubbly evocation of a family of eccentric toffs, you get a real sense of how much fun it would be to hang out with them, and while the gorgeous frocks and talk of suitable husbands gives it the feel of other more frothy periods drama, the social and political context - the proximity of Hitler, Oswald Mosley and the Second World War - certainly does not. Narrated by Nancy (Bridgerton's Bessie Carter) and seen largely through her writer's eye, it positively rips along, an intoxicating true story full of scandal, romance and radical ideas. Let's hope it returns for a second series, if only to give Vanderham the chance to find out what happened to Diana in the end. The actress claimed that, in her research for the role, she stopped reading about Diana's life at 1936 - so as to be in the same boat as her character. (Six episodes) Grenfell: Uncovered Powerful one-off documentary about the tragic blaze in 2017 Certificate: 12 On 14 June 2017, fire broke out in Grenfell Tower, a 23-storey tower block in North Kensington, west London. It spread rapidly around the outside of the block, due in part to the highly combustible nature of the cladding that 'melts, drips and flows at elevated temperature'. Residents were advised to stay inside their flats as the fire spread, and the ensuing tragedy resulted in the loss of 72 lives. 'I honestly believed it would be dealt with, because this is the United Kingdom,' reflects one contributor to a powerful one-off documentary that digs into the actions of both business and government in an effort to show how it could have been prevented, presenting testimony on how safety regulations were neglected, fire tests rigged and how profit, fundamentally, was put ahead of people. Showing eight years after the event, it's sad testament to the fact that, as of its release, not a single person has been prosecuted for what happened at Grenfell. In lieu of that the film at least provides a place for survivors, the bereaved and the firefighters who tried to control the blaze, to speak. (101 minutes) Murder Most Puzzling Downton's Phyllis Logan gets sozzled as she puzzles her way through crime cases Certificate: 12 Like Ludwig, this is a show about a puzzle setter solving murders, with Phyllis Logan as Cora Felton, aka the Puzzle Lady, a recent arrival in the sleepy market town of Bakerbury, who gets caught up in police investigations. The origin of the show predates Ludwig, and is based on a long-running series of novels by American author Parnell Hall, which began in 1999. The first episode is based on his debut Puzzle Lady book and introduces us to DCI Hooper, who is struggling with his first murder. Cora is soon on the case, and ropes in her niece, Sherry, to help - and as the story unfolds, we learn that neither woman is all she seems to be. For a start, Cora is drunk when she meets Hooper, and remains unapologetically sozzled as she chases clues. This swings between cosy and dark, and is shot through with humour. While comparisons with Ludwig are inevitable, it has its own charm - Logan is a hoot in the lead, and there's room for more than one setter in the genre. (Three episodes) The Waterfront Family crime drama starring Melissa Benoist and Holt McCallany Certificate: 15 The Buckley family are the major power players in the North Carolina coastal town of Havenport, ruling the fishing and restaurant scene for decades. But now their influence is starting to wane and patriarch Harlan Buckley (Mindhunters' Holt McCallany) is forced to come up with a desperate plan to keep the business empire afloat: getting involved with running drugs into the country. Written and produced by Kevin Williamson of Scream and Dawson's Creek fame, this is a smart and slick eight-part crime drama that mixes complex family relationships with razor-sharp dialogue, and has echoes of both Succession and Ozark. McCallany is great as old-school bruiser Harlan, determined to do whatever it takes to get his family out of trouble, but the wider circle is impressive too, with Maria Bello as Harlan's risk-taking wife Belle and Supergirl's Melissa Benoist on particularly strong form as recovering alcoholic daughter Bree. On the script side, Williamson has always had a flair for writing about big situations playing out in small towns. It's there in both Scream and Dawson's Creek and very specifically in this - The Waterfront is inspired by what happened to his own father, a North Carolina fisherman who wound up running drugs when the industry went into decline in the 1980s. He even went to prison for it. 'My dad - a very, very good man - got tempted to do some things that weren't so legal and got in some trouble. It put food on the table, helped me go to college,' reflects Williamson, who also used elements of his dad's story for that of Joey's father in Dawson's Creek. (Eight episodes) We Were Liars Mystery thriller drama series based on the hit novel Certificate: 15 Every summer, the members of the wealthy sprawling Sinclair clan gather at the palatial beach house private island home of patriarch Harris Sinclair (David Morse). His teen grandkids love their time on the island each year, but during her 15th year granddaughter Cadence (Emily Alyn Lind from Gossip Girl) has a severe accident that she barely survives and which robs her of her memories of that summer. When she returns two years later, her fellow grandkids - nicknamed The Liars - nudge Cadence towards remembering the traumatic and explosive events of her lost summer. A complex eight-part mystery drama centring on convoluted family relationships and hidden secrets, this is a dark and sleek adaptation of E Lockhart's young-adult bestseller. The drip-feed of revelations across the series builds towards a deeply satisfying tsunami of a twist as the story reaches its climax. (Eight episodes) The Buccaneers (Series 2) Continuation of the 1870s drama about American brides in Britain Certificate: 15 This spirited expansion of Edith Wharton's unfinished, 1870s-set novel about American brides colliding with the British establishment is back for series two, and has lost none of its swagger. It opens in the wake of Nan's new status as the Duchess of Tintagel and her marriage to Theo, a union that's making her weak at the knees for all the wrong reasons. And there's more drama to come for the new bride, too. Gossip Girl's Leighton Meester joins the cast as her 'Aunt' Nell, whose true identity all up-to-date viewers will know. Nell's sister Patti (Christina Hendricks) isn't keen to fully let that cat out of the bag yet, though. The Buccaneers has been compared to Bridgerton and it's similar in the way that it reinvigorates the costume drama - and uses music to do it - but this is very much its own show and should be seen as such. It has a terrific cast that help with that distinction, including Mia Threapleton (daughter of Kate Winslet) as Honoria, Fenella Woolgar as the embittered Lady Brightlingsea and Amelia Bullmore as the Dowager Duchess. Meester is also a particular delight here, bringing real poignancy to Nell's bittersweet situation. There's a scene between her, Nan and Patti near the end of episode one that's truly beautifully played by all three. (Eight episodes) Alex Garland's grittily authentic portrait of life under fire for Navy SEALs in Iraq Certificate: 15 There's a certain type of military movie - Top Gun, for instance - that turns war into such an exhilarating experience that it virtually serves as a recruiting video. Warfare, based on the memories of troops who served in Iraq, is a counterbalance to that. Set on 19 November 2006, in Ramadi, it follows a platoon of Navy SEALs on a mission that initially involves a lot of waiting and watching, with a sprinkling of banter to relieve the tension - then, it all suddenly takes a very bad turn. Co-written and directed by Alex Garland (Civil War) with Iraq veteran Ray Mendoza, and with a cast that includes Brits Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis (Shogun) and Heartstopper's Kit Connor, Warfare is an uncompromising portrait of life under fire. It's not a light watch by any means and is not for those in pursuit of an easy action fix, but it's a powerful piece of cinema with a strong message. (95 minutes) Stunning, Oscar-winning animation about a cat on an adventure Certificate: u Watching Flow can be a challenge. There's no dialogue - or no words, to be precise - and no human characters and the entire story hinges around a cat wandering through a strange land. Once you let go of the idea that there need to be words or humans, though, then the charm of Flow starts to reveal itself. Firstly, it looks beautiful. Sometimes talking about how a film looks can be another way of saying it's boring, but that's really not the case here. It's like a painting in motion and the land it shows us is truly epic, full of abandoned, ancient-looking cities, rolling seas and mysterious statues - mostly of animals but including one of a human. From the look alone, you can see why this Latvian film picked up the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. On a more basic level, the miaowing cat is also very cute, and its adventures with a steadily growing band of animals (a crane, a capybara, a lemur and a sweetly idiotic dog) are full of lovely details, from very recognisable cat behaviour (chasing lights, batting at tails, etc) to seeing how they all slowly start to work together, and use abandoned human items. From the beginning to the end, this is a thoughtful, beautifully rendered film about what it means to both be on your own and find your place in a tribe - but it's also just a sweet and exciting film about the adventures of a very cute cat. (85 minutes) 28 Days Later Danny Boyle and Alex Garland's visually stunning zombie apocalypse Certificate: 18 The film that put British horror back on the map is a zombie slasher from director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland, about a deadly virus that sweeps through the population after infected chimpanzees are released from a research lab. It remains an excellent example of the genre, with Cillian Murphy as the wide-eyed London bicycle courier who wakes up from a coma to discover a ruined Britain. Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston and Brendan Gleeson pop up on the supporting cast as Jim (Murphy) goes further afield. The landscape is certainly a star here, too. Part of why Boyle's movie has lived on in the way it has lies in its vivid and very local vision of the apocalypse. The scenes of Jim wandering around a deserted central London are remarkable even now, and there was no CGI involved in their creation. The crew just got up very, very early, but the results were clearly worth it and 28 Days Later has since been followed by two sequels - 28 Weeks Later and 28 Years Later. (113 minutes) The Pursuit Of Love Nancy Mitford's 1945 classic gets a lavish and spirited adaptation for contemporary times Certificate: 15 This exuberant three-part adaptation of Nancy Mitford's 1945 novel - loosely based on her own family - follows upper-crust bright young things as they blaze a trail through the inter-war years. Lily James and Emily Beecham star as Linda and Fanny, cousins with very different outlooks on life - Fanny is well-educated and quite serious, while Linda 'lives in a world of superlatives', and has a blind devotion to the idea of love that will surely be her undoing. It's written by Emily Mortimer (who plays Fanny's flighty mother 'The Bolter') and the superb cast also includes Dominic West and an archly flamboyant turn from Andrew Scott. (Three episodes) Racy Spanish series set at an elite training centre for athletes Certificate: 15 Young people push themselves to their limits in a Spanish series that's racy in both senses of the word. Set at a special 'High Performance Centre' where the country's rising athletes train together all day and get up to mischief when they can, our characters include renegade new arrival Zoe (we know she's a rebel because she smokes) and Amaia, an artistic (aka synchronised) swimmer. Amaia is dating Cristian, but you get the sense in episode one that she might also be interested in someone else. And she has professional issues with the other half of her swimming duo, who is hiding something... The title Olympo is the name of a clothing brand on the show that gives out sponsorship deals, without which reaching the Olympics is all but impossible - this year, there are only three spots on offer. Who will get them? Romantic and professional stakes abound in an undemanding eight-parter aimed firmly at the teen market, but produced with enough soapy turns and visual style that it should have broader appeal. (Eight episodes) Documentary about Sally Ride, the first female American astronaut Certificate: 15 When she rocketed away from a Kennedy Space Center launchpad on the Challenger space shuttle in 1983, Dr Sally Ride became the first American woman to go into space (and just the third woman overall). It was a groundbreaking achievement for the US physicist, who - as this documentary notes - briefly became the most famous woman alive. But while her public achievements were well known - Ride would go to space twice in total and would be part of the committees investigating both the Challenger and Columbia shuttle disasters - she kept her personal life under wraps for fear of a backlash against her sexuality. This fascinating documentary biography reveals the full-story of Ride's life for the first time via interviews with her lesbian partner of 27 years, Tam O'Shaughnessy, as well as her close friend, tennis champion Billie Jean King, family members and fellow astronauts. Ride died in 2012, aged 61. (103 minutes) Trainwreck: Mayor Of Mayhem Documentary about controversial Toronto mayor Rob Ford's rise and fall Certificate: 15 Loud-mouthed and controversial, councilman Rob Ford was seen as a joke when he stood in the 2010 election to become the mayor of Canada's biggest city, Toronto. The joke was on all of the pundits though, when Ford went on to actually win. It marked the start of an administration that reeled from controversy to controversy, none bigger than the moment when journalists revealed that they had been shown a video of an inebriated Ford apparently smoking crack cocaine... The story of Ford's early surprise success and subsequent stunning collapse is a fascinating study in modern populist politics. This fascinating documentary paints a damning portrait of him and his administration via archive footage and interviews with politicians and journalists - including those who uncovered the infamous crack video - as it crafts a compelling study of a slowly unfolding political disaster. (49 minutes) The Mortician HBO three-parter about the disturbing goings-on inside an LA funeral home in the 1980s Certificate: 15 Of all the businesses in the world, funeral homes seem among the least likely candidates for scandal. Death is a pretty steady trade after all, even in times of recession. As such, it's understandable that it took so long for the grim goings-on inside the Lamb Funeral Home in Los Angeles to see the light of day. In the early 1980s Lamb was home to disturbing cremation practises, with outsiders observing what seemed like an 'assembly-line' approach to the disposal of bodies in the furnaces. The numbers tell the story best: in 1981, the funeral home was conducted 194 cremations in a year; in 1982, after the arrival of David Sconce, that figure skyrocketed to 1,675. We'll spare you the details of how he did it (the documentary isn't short on them) but, suffice to say, it wasn't nice. Featuring an interview with Sconce, now released from prison, The Mortician is both a portrait of his specific case and of wider problems in the industry. Sconce, for his part, has a chillingly pragmatic perspective on his past deeds - deeds that still cause visible upset to the families they affected. (Three episodes) Elf's Will Ferrell voices a naive dog learning what it means to be a stray in this sweary canine comedy Certificate: 15 This might be a comedy about dogs who talk, but don't expect anything too cutesy. No, the strange charm of Strays lies in the fact that its dogs are rather raucous animals, canines who are no strangers to bad language and bad behaviour - all, that is, except our hero Reggie (voiced by Elf's Will Ferrell), a dog who loves absolutely everything, even his owner Doug, who is constantly trying to get rid of him. One day Doug succeeds, and Reggie learns what it means to be a stray. 'You're a stray now, you can do anything you want,' one of his new friends tells him, but it takes a while for poor Reggie to embrace the opportunities. There's an awful lot of swearing along the way, but a lot of heart too, much of which comes from Ferrell's good-hearted voice. And his casting is spot-on - you may have noticed a certain plot similarity with Elf. Keep an eye out for the blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo from Dennis Quaid. (93 minutes) Ryan Reynolds narrates a mischievous wildlife show about nature's outsiders Certificate: 15 A mischievous wildlife series about nature's outsiders, narrated with sly wit by Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds. Episode one is called 'Superzeroes' and imagines what a superhero team of animals might look like by examining the behaviour of such creatures as the seemingly impervious honey badger, who the movie star follows through a week of merrily bone-headed antics as he's stung by bees, kicked by an ostrich, falls out of a tree and more. 'Their skin is tougher to get through than my five-year-old's dance recital,' reflects Reynolds. Other episodes tackle bad parenting, mating and tactics of deception, before finishing with an episode full off gross-out insights: including how manatees use flatulence to control buoyancy. If you're tired of wildlife documentaries that revel in the wonder of nature, then this could be a nice counterpoint. And it might appeal to older children who prefer a more rebellious perspective on the subject, too - but be warned, the language isn't always clean... (Five episodes) My Life Is Murder Comfy Australian crime drama starring Xena: Warrior Princess's Lucy Lawless Year: 2019- Certificate: 15 Alexa Crowe (Lucy Lawless) used to be a homicide detective with the Melbourne Police Department, now she's a 'police consultant' - a private investigator, in other words. She keeps getting drawn into cases that are stumping her former colleagues, with her old boss (Bernard Curry) regularly asking for her insight on cold cases while a young police data-analyst (Ebony Vagulans) is eager to be mentored. Alexa is cynical and a bit of a misanthrope and her quirk - all TV detectives must have one - is that she loves to bake bread. The first season is set in Melbourne, the following two in Auckland. This is a conventional, old-school case-of-the-week mystery show - a very watchable mix of crime and comedy - and perfect comfort viewing. Lawless, the much-loved star of cult classic Xena: Warrior Princess, is great as Alexa and guest stars have included comedian Bill Bailey and Star Trek's William Shatner. (Four series) Suspicion (2022 series) Five ordinary Brits are accused of kidnapping the son of a prominent U.S. media mogul Certificate: 12 Multistranded global thriller made for Apple TV+, with London as a main location, cool visual flourishes and starring Uma Thurman as the steely CEO and mother of a kidnap victim at the centre of it all. The key excitement to the story is in finding out why the kidnap occurred. Carried out by a team all wearing masks of the royal family, it was caught on CCTV and uploaded to the internet where it goes viral. Thurman isn't onscreen a huge amount; the main story follows four ordinary Brits who are suspected of the kidnapping. There's Tara (Elizabeth Henstridge), the working-class Oxford university lecturer, Nat (Georgina Campbell), the bride from south-east London, Aadesh (Kunal Nayyar), the husband with a pregnant wife who wants more for his family and student Eddie (Tom Rhys Harries). There's also a mysterious fifth man (Elyes Gabel), a master of disguise more adept at flying under the radar. What ties them to each other and the kidnapping? Are they even responsible? The presence of the FBI and Thurman's CEO are sure to mean we're playing in the conspiracy leagues here, though it all takes a good while to show its true form. Stay with it, though, it's not often you get a UK-based thriller with quite as much thrust and global intrigue as this. (Eight episodes) In The Footsteps Of Killers Sombre search for new leads in cold cases, fronted by Emilia Fox Year: 2021- Silent Witness (BBC1) has helped Emilia Fox to secure a lucrative side hustle fronting true-crime series. Teaming up with criminologist David Wilson, Fox re-examines cold cases from around the UK to see if they can dig up any new leads. The duo set about their grim tasks in appropriately sombre mood, and the production values have the feel of a drama rather than the usual true-crime documentary and the endless recycling of home movies and newspaper headlines. If you're a true crime buff you'll know that the likelihood of a real breakthrough coming along is close to nil, but Fox and Wilson make such an unlikely team that it's worth watching for that alone. (Three series) Docuseries charting the career of motorsport legend Alain Prost Certificate: pg A must-see for motorsport fans, this series catches up with French F1 legend Alain Prost, four-time world champion and winner of 51 Grand Prix. At home in Switzerland, he reflects on his life story over six episodes packed with anecdotes and archive footage, including childhood home movies as well as race highlights. Prost shares the story of how it all began when he was 14 years old. His brother (who died of cancer in 1986) - wanted to try go-karting on a family holiday in Cannes and Alain only did so for the sake of his brother. That's when he 'saw the light'. We also hear from British racing legend Jackie Stewart, one of Prost's biggest rivals, who humbly says, 'For me... he was the best that there was, ever.' And what happens when you retire from the business of speed? For Prost, it was swapping four wheels for two, racing bicycles instead of cars. (Six episodes)