Five things to watch this weekend

Waco: American Apocalypse — Netflix

In 1993, the shootout between David Koresh, the armed-to-the-teeth members of his Branch Davidians cult and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents may have seemed to be a one-off battle. Thirty years later and in the wake of the rise of an increasingly crazy and dangerous far-right conspiracy wing of the Republican Party, the events at Waco seem to have been just the beginning. Over three episodes and using previously unseen footage shot by members of the sect as well as interviews with former members, journalists and law enforcement officials who were there, this docuseries offers a terrifying portrait of Koresh, his followers and the devastating consequences of their delusions.

Succession Season 4 — Showmax

Now that we know this will be the final season, all that’s left to decide for creator Jesse Armstrong and his award-winning cast of actors, is who will finally triumph as the successor to grumpy patriarch Logan Roy and his multibillion-dollar global media empire. With everything to play for and time running out, it’s certain that the answer to that question, will — like everything else about recent television’s smartest, most sharply satirical dramedy — not be an easy one to answer. Whatever happens, the endgame is sure to leave many bruised and bloodied one-percenter egos and bodies on the floor in the wake of some legendary insults and withering putdowns. The first episode lands on Monday with new episodes weekly thereafter.

Swarm — Prime Video

After the end of the multi-award-winning and globally acclaimed Atlanta, creator Donald Glover takes his search for worldwide television dominance in a new and much darker direction with this thriller series that dissects the modern phenomenon of superfandom. Dominique Fishback stars as Dre, a troubled young woman whose increasingly dark obsession with a pop star leads her down a perilous path to madness in a show that demonstrates that whatever he’s doing, Glover always finds a way to do it quite unlike anyone else.

My Kind of Country — Apple TV +

Skip straight to the third episode of this new, gently positive talent search country show. There you can see SA-born new-country superstar Orville Peck wearing his tasselled masks, choose four acts from around the world — including Cape Town-based Micaela Kleinsmith and The Congo Cowboys — to travel to Nashville and convince the judges they have what it takes to break through as the next generation of acts moving country forward into a new era. The first three episodes are now available with new episodes added weekly.

The Banshees of Inisherin — Disney Plus

It may not have won all the Oscars it deserved, but now that awards season is over and the hype machine has retired, Martin McDonagh’s small, bleakly absurdist tale of the breakdown of a friendship between two stubborn but ordinary small-town Irishmen can be appreciated on its own excellent terms. Featuring a stellar ensemble cast who all give committed and memorable performances it’s one of the Irish director’s best works and certainly stands the test as a distinctive meditation on fragile masculinity and its ability to blow up everything around at the slightest provocation — no matter the results for those standing around and watching in increasingly perplexed frustration.