From a brutal Japanese period epic to a controversial Netflix stalking drama and a hit video game adaptation, we pick the year's greatest programmes to stream right now. It would have been enough if the fourth season of True Detective had done nothing more than use the unforgettable word "corpsicles" for murder victims frozen in ice, but this revamped series did much more. Jodie Foster is galvanizing as the acerbic police chief in a small Alaska town, who leads the investigation into an increasingly creepy multiple murder case.
Set at a time of year when the sun doesn't rise for a fortnight, the show is beautifully shot in midnight blues that let you feel the chill and draw you into a world where high-tech scientists live side by side with locals with supernatural beliefs. You could spend hours teasing out the Easter eggs and connections to the original 2014 season of the show, as many have. But no need for that context.
Writer and director Issa Lopez has reenergised the franchise in a way that makes it fresh and captivating from eerie start to jaw-dropping finish. (CJ) Available on Max in the US and Now in the UK As soon as Game of Thrones ended in 2019, conversation turned to what could succeed it – cue many fantasy series, including Amazon’s Lord of the Rings spin-off and HBO's own official Thrones prequel House of the Dragon , vying to take its place. But five years on, its most convincing successor has turned out to be a show without any fantasy credentials whatsoeve.
