Five things to watch this week

The Beanie Bubble — Apple TV+

In the 1990s the Beanie Babies, a line of stuffed toys for children, sent Middle America into hysterical collector fever. Housewives drove all over the country trying to collect them before reselling them on the nascent internet auction platform  eBay for hundreds of times what they’d paid for them.

This solidly acted if not narratively surprising dramedy tells the story of Ty Warner, the man behind the invention of the toys, the company he created and the mess he made of the lives of all of those who helped him get to the top of the American entrepreneurial pile before it all came crashing down.

Starring a clean-shaven and initially hard to recognise Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks and Sarah Snook, it’s a watchable story that scrapes the surface of bigger ethical questions.

The Fragile King — Prime Video

SA director and Oscar winner Tristan Holmes makes his feature debut with this small but emotionally honest and affecting drama about a young Durban teen who, after the tragic death of his mother, is given over to the care of his gruff, estranged grandfather.

Together the uncomfortably forced together pair take a road trip to the West Coast to find the boy’s father. Along the way they learn some hard truths about each other and develop a bond that may or may not be able to save them from the grief they’re both carrying.

Buoyed by a superbly lived-in performance from Andrew Buckland as the grandfather and a strong feeling for the bleak beauty of the landscape and the emotional challenges of the situation, it’s a small but ultimately effective tale of loss, regret and self-discovery.

Serena vs The Umpire — Disney+

The 2018 US Open Women’s final was supposed to be a momentous occasion for tennis GOAT Serena Williams as she faced newcomer Naomi Osaka in a match that, were she to win, would take her to equalling Margaret Court’s record of 24 career Grand Slam titles.

Instead,  Williams found herself in a very messy and tearful confrontation with umpire Carlos Ramos who penalised her a game for verbal abuse, which led to her losing the match. The fight between Williams and the umpire went viral and accusations of racism and sexism were hurled at Ramos for his handling of the situation.

Veteran reporter Don Van Natta Jr unpacks the notorious incident — speaking to veteran former players, commentators and umpires — in an attempt to figure out whether blame should fall on Ramos or the  ambiguous rules of the game he was enforcing.

To End All War — Showmax

This well-put-together and informative documentary offers a fascinating accompaniment to Christopher Nolan’s epic atomic bomb drama, Oppenheimer.

Featuring extensive archive material, interviews with Nolan, Pulitzer Prize-winning writers Kai Bird and Richard Rhodes, The Day After Trinity documentarian John Else and science historians, the film delves into the psychology of J Robert Oppenheimer and presents his story as both a typically American one of self-invention, ambition and classical tragedy in which he was undone by hubris and his too-late regret at the horror that the bomb unleashed on a forever changed world that had no time for his pleas for peaceful post-nuclear coexistence.

Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers — Disney+

The HBO Max sports dramedy Winning Time which fictionalises the story of the late 1970s’ transformation of the LA Lakers into a successful and hugely entertaining NBA-changing franchise, drew much criticism from its real life subjects for the way they were cheekily portrayed.

This exhaustive 10-episode docuseries directed by Antoine Fuqua gives the legendary Lakers on-court players — from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James — and behind-the-scenes figures their chance to put the record straight as it tells the fascinating story of how Dr Jerry Buss — a former chemist turned real-estate developer turned sports owner — made the team one of the most successful in US sports history.