IF the hot weather is too much for you and you fancy staying in next to a fan or close to your freezer, thankfully the streamers have got some good things to distract you this week.
Here’s our round-up of the best shows to watch in the UK as selected by our telly experts at The Sun’s TV MAG.
If you’ve been lying awake at night for the past year and a half praying that lovely Lauren Speed and Cameron Hamilton from are still together, or wondering if Amber Pike and Matt Barnett have managed to make it work (surely not?!), then you’ll be delighted to hear that a three-part Love is Blind reunion special is heading our way.
And what a time it’s been – with the pressure of a pandemic to contend with, relationships have really been put to the test.
It remains to be seen if all of the contestants will be returning – Mark Cuevas was notably absent from the trailer – but there’s one showdown that’s an inevitability which we CANNOT wait for: Barnett vs Jessica Batten. Pass the popcorn…
Available from Wednesday
It was way back in 1943 when cute and mischievous chipmunks Chip and Dale first scurried onto our screens, causing havoc and creating mayhem.
Over the decades, these squeaky-voiced pals of Mickey Mouse, Pluto, Donald Duck and co have delighted generation after generation of youngsters, cropping up in a host of animated family favourites such as their much-loved series.
Now they’re back once again for a new series of 36 seven-minute episodes, which places the pair in a big city park, where exciting adventures unfold in the company of other iconic Disney characters such as Pluto and Butch.
As ever, Chip is the nervous worrier, while Dale is the laid-back dreamer and they’re forever getting themselves into – and out of – awkward scrapes.
But unlike many of their previous incarnations, these new episodes are non-verbal, giving the series something of a classic cartoon feel, reminiscent of old favourites like Tom & Jerry. It looks fab too, thanks to some beautiful and bright animation.
While some children of the 80s might miss the more madcap, plot-heavy adventures of Rescue Rangers, not to mention those squeaky voices, Park Life is vibrant, imaginative and spirited family fun that’s sure to win the acorn-loving duo a legion of new young fans. Welcome back, guys.
Available from Wednesday.
He might be into his 60s now but the Muscles From Brussels, Jean-Claude Van Damme, proves he’s still a lean, mean fighting machine in this enjoyably over-the-top action comedy.
Shadowy former secret service agent Richard Brumere (Van Damme) – codenamed The Mist – is reluctantly forced back to France when his estranged son is framed by a terrorist organisation and falsely accused of arms and drugs trafficking by the government.
With the security of the nation at stake, it seems only the Mist can save the day. Filled with echoes of his action hero 80s heyday and high-octane set pieces, it’s a knockabout, Expendables-style nostalgic treat.
In French with subtitles. Available from Friday.
Anyone who likes the sound of a sun-kissed summer movie that mashes with Love Island is very much in luck.
When aspiring pop princess Erica (Christina Milian) reluctantly agrees to provide the entertainment at a plush wedding in Mauritius, she’s mortified to discover that the groom-to-be is none other than her ex-fiancé Jason (Jay Pharaoh). Awkward.
Inevitably, it isn’t long before a confused Erica realises she still has strong feelings for her former flame, but unfortunately two small things stand in the way of a fairytale romantic reunion: Jason’s beautiful bride-to-be Beverly (Christiani Pitts) and his handsome, sensitive brother Caleb (Sinqua Walls). Could Erica perhaps be pining over the wrong brother?
While it’s unlikely to win many awards for originality or unpredictability, the Alicia Keys-produced Resort to Love is funny and smart, features spirited performances across the board – but particularly from Milian – and looks incredible, thanks to that perfect, paradise island backdrop.
If you didn’t feel in need for an exotic summer holiday before you watch it, you most certainly will afterwards.
Available from Thursday.
A movie based on a Disneyland theme park ride might not sound like the most promising idea but it certainly worked for Pirates Of The Caribbean and, thanks to the charisma and energy of Dwayne Johnson, this epic new blockbuster Jungle Cruise is just as much fun.
Johnson plays Frank Wolff, an Indiana Jones-style adventurer and riverboat captain who takes eccentric explorer and scientist Dr Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt) on a perilous voyage through the Amazon in search of the mystical, magical Tree Of Life.
Also starring the likes of Edgar Ramirez and Jack Whitehall and crammed with terrifying creatures and dastardly villains, it’s a thrill-soaked, action-packed romp that makes perfect summer holiday viewing for all the family.
Available from Friday.
Fans of the addictive Tattoo Fixers are in for a real treat.
Eye-popping new US reality show introduces us to a parade of folk decorated with some of the worst tattoos ever seen, and watches as they have their hideous, horrible inkings transformed into something spectacular by a team of talented tattoo artists.
As with the British show, every terrible tatt comes with an entertaining backstory and, to add to the drama, the new designs will be chosen by a friend, the remorseful person with the tattoo.
In fact, they’ll only get to see it once the cover up is complete. What could possibly go wrong?
Available from Wednesday.
Before you ask, this isn’t a spin-off of Netflix’s terrific four-part drama, but a series that mixes -style reality melodrama with an insight into the Orthodox Jewish community in the US.
We follow the life and family of Julia Haart, who is now CEO of Elite World Group – the largest conglomerate of model agencies in the world – but was born Talia Leibov into an Orthodox Jewish family in Russia and raised in a strict community in New York, before leaving that world behind to forge her own path. Fascinating.
This docuseries’ title pretty much says it all – across six episodes, acerbic narrator Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) looks at the brutal tactics that Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Idi Amin, Joseph Stalin, Muammar Gaddafi and Kim Il-Sung used to obtain absolute power in their respective countries.
It starts with the transformation of Hitler from failed Austrian landscape artist with a clammy handshake to deadly dictator, via a pivotal moment while fighting for the Bavarian Army in World War I. Far more compelling than your standard history documentary.
American sketch comedy shows haven’t made much of an impact on British shores over the years, but this one is something of an outlier.
Across two seasons, comedian Tim Robinson writes and stars in a series of absurdly brilliant sketches which poke fun at really, really irritating people, like brunch-loving social-media fanatics, a man obsessed with talking about ejaculation and Dragon’s Den-esque entrepreneurs with egos bigger than their bank balances.
Guest stars in the second series include Bob Odenkirk and Vampire Weekend singer Ezra Koenig. Dark, but definitely funny.
It’s now on its third and final season, but the mystery of what happened to the missing passengers on board Flight 828 hasn’t been solved – so this lot had better get a move on.
We pick back up a year on from the unbelievable turn of events in the season two finale when (spoiler alert!) a boat near Cuba discovers a plane’s tail fin in the ocean, which is identified as belonging to Flight 828.
This seems impossible, because Flight 828 apparently has already returned. But as we know, is impossible in this drama.
All episodes from all three series are currently available to stream, but you can also catch series three on Fridays at 9pm on Sky One.
In spite of the title, this drama is actually German. It’s now back for a second series, with five tightly-packed feature-length episodes.
Mother and daughter duo Karin and Julia return to investigate more crimes across the Baltic Sea island of Usedom, and Julia has got herself in a right mess – she’s been spotted by some not-so-nice people scoping out a property while investigating the disappearance of a motorcycle club member, so she does what any of us would do and legs it.
Only, she doesn’t make it very far before she takes a tumble down the side of a rock face. Ouch. Think meets Vera meets The Bridge. Subtitled.
TV Mag is available in The Sun every Saturday.
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