Five things to watch this weekend

Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal — Netflix

The subject of a recent New Yorker article and much media attention in the US is now a three-part docuseries. After a member of a wealthy and influential South Carolina family is implicated in the death of a friend following a drunken boating accident, the investigation and trial reveal the family’s long history of abuse of power in the state legislature and their nefarious willingness to use their money to corrupt and devastating effect.

Fleishman is in Trouble — Disney Plus

Jesse Eisenberg and Clare Danes anchor a strong cast in this adaptation of the digital era divorce dramedy novel by Taffy Brodesser-Akner. Eisenberg plays the neurotic, Manhattan hepatologist Toby Fleishman who’s going through a midlife crisis after his haughty theatre agent wife Rachel has divorced him. Toby decides it’s time to catch up on all the pleasures of singledom that he missed during decades of marriage and so he discovers the initially confounding but soon shallow, though rewarding, world of dating app hookups.

When Rachel goes off on a yoga retreat and leaves their children with him it soon becomes clear that she’s not coming back, throwing Toby’s life into chaos. Told through the wry narration of Toby’s college friend Lizzy, the story seems to be a straight comedy of middle-class problems that makes you sympathise with Toby and vilify his seemingly negligent former wife. But in its last two episodes it smartly switches perspective to make you think that maybe Toby Fleishman’s troubles are far more of his own making than he would have had you believe.

The Reluctant Traveler — Apple TV +

At age 75, Schitt’s Creek star, Canadian comedian Eugene Levy, has decided perhaps it’s time to expand his horizons and move out of his comfort zone by reluctantly giving travel a chance. The travelogue series takes a gently funny approach to watching the bushy-eyed Levy as he travels the world from Finland to SA in search of new experiences. New episodes are added weekly.

Julia — Showmax

Sarah Lancashire, star of the gritty British crime series Happy Valley, takes on the very different role of pioneering television chef Julia Child. The biographic series follows the eccentric, optimistic 1960s diplomatic wife’s transformation from housewife and dinner party host into the star of a cooking show that set the stage for the cooking-obsessed television landscape we know today.

Liaison — Apple TV +

Vincent Cassel and Eva Green star in this thriller series that mixes international espionage intrigue with romantic drama. When a pair of Syrian hackers is caught trying to sabotage the Assad regime, they escape to Europe, looking for immunity and offering their services to whichever country will offer them protection in exchange for their skills. The race to find them leads a French mercenary and his former British government worker lover back into a professional relationship that’s made more than a little tricky by their past history. New episodes are added weekly.