TV

The first series of True Detective is one of the finest crime series I’ve ever seen, and this fourth outing starts out with two huge aces – Jodie Foster and the awe-inspiring Alaskan darkness. Foster is superb as the sassy, self-centred, in-your-face Liz Danvers, who couldn’t care less who she offends, citizen or spectre. And there’s the rub. There are some fantastic moments, and the setting is, indeed, incredible, but the uneasy fusion of police procedural and paranormal just didn’t quite work for me in the end.

I’m the most massive fan of the Anthony Minghella film, so I came to this with some trepidations, but Steven Zaillian’s is a strikingly different take, shot in stunning black and white (sounds a contradiction in terms, but you’ll see what I mean). Andrew Scott is a brooding, knowing but increasingly compelling presence, set against Johnny Flynn’s languorous Dickie. What was music in the Minghella becomes art here – there are many beautiful shots of architectural details but the main focus is on Caravaggio, which is an inspired choice and works beautifully. The Malkovich cameo is a very nice touch, and I should, of course, mention the excellent performance by a splendid cat. Highly recommended

An impressive variant on the We Need To Talk About Kevin plot trope as high-achieving parents Andy (Chris Evans) and Laurie (Michelle Dockery) start to doubt the innocence of their own son (Jaden Martell) after a pupil at his school is killed. Excellent performances all round, and the ending is not quite as predictable as you might assume.

The first and still the best of the TD franchise. Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey are exceptional in this groundbreaking series in which the trajectory of the two detectives is even more compelling that the crime they investigate.

Sarah Phelps has adapted several Agatha Christie novels for the BBC, and people seem to either love them or complain that they’re far too distant from the originals (and to be fair, I struggle to see John Malkovich as the Poirot of the books too). That said, I think they’re wonderful, chilling, unsettling dramas in their own right, and it’s probably best to enjoy them that way.

Henning Mankell’s books have been adapted more than once, but I adore the BBC Branagh version. A classy production, a stunning evocation of the Swedish landscape, and it includes Tom Hiddleston. What’s not to like?

Outcry is an account of what happened when a high-school football star in Texas was accused of molesting a four-year-old boy in 2013. Stranger than fiction, and with far more twists, it’s a moving, horrifying and compelling story.

A true-crime dramatisation of how a wife dumped for a younger model refused to be a woman scorned. A scorching story, with fabulously OTT ‘80s hair and fashions too.

I confess I’d never heard of Hernandez before I saw this, not being a great NFL fan, but that may actually have helped as it meant I had no preconceptions. An incredible descent from millionaire superstar to convicted killer, with a final terrifying coda from medical science.

Dark, delicious and definitely binge-worthy. Juggles the difficult divide between comedy and suspense with great panache.