Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami — Netflix
Billy Corben and Alfred Spellman have made something of a cottage industry over the past 15 years of documenting the so-mad-they-have-to-be-true stories and insanely over-the-top characters of the 1980s cocaine cowboy excesses of Miami. Their first film, 2006’s Cocaine Cowboys, spawned two further instalments — each more violent and more unbelievable than the last. Now they’ve returned to the dark side of life behind the flash of Miami Vice-era Florida for a six-part series focusing on two of the most notorious figures to emerge during that time. Willy Falcon and Sal Magluta were Cuban exile childhood friends who took full advantage of the opportunities offered by the mythical American dream to raise themselves out of poverty to the top of the drug underworld as heads of a multibillion-dollar narcotics empire. This is their story and what a story it is, proving like the drug at its centre to be an addictive, adrenaline-fuelled, devil-may-care vainglorious adventure that’s almost worth the price of its inevitably final spectacular crash.
Your Honor — Showmax
Bryan Cranston makes a welcome return to the world of gritty TV drama in this American adaptation of an Israeli show, relocated to the tense, sweaty streets of present-day New Orleans. Cranston plays a respected, tough, but fair judge whose moral compass is knocked out of kilter when his son is involved in a hit and run that kills the son of a local mob boss. It’s grim and at times preposterously convenient in its plotting but it’s mostly held together by Cranston’s determined performance as a father who will do whatever it takes to protect his progeny.
The Flight Attendant — Showmax
Kaley Cuoco plays a party-loving, binge-drinking flight attendant whose world is overturned by the fateful events of one night after the handsome man she falls for in the air and spends a night with in Bangkok is found dead next to her in the morning. As she tries to figure out what happened, she’s forced to confront some hard truths and keep one step ahead of a cast of menacing characters looking for answers.
Watch the Sounds with Mark Ronson — Apple TV+
Megastar producer Mark Ronson proves to be a charming and engaging host through this exploration of the biggest technical innovations in recent music history and their effects on the aural landscape of modern pop. It helps that he also has an enviably cool contact list of superstar friends to call on for discussions and practical investigations of the ins and outs of sampling, autotune, synthesisers and other game-changers in the development of the sounds of our lives.
Cooking with Paris — Netflix
Paris Hilton makes a desperate attempt for relevance in this uneven series version of her web show. She invites some of her dressed-to-the-nines celebrity friends over to watch her butcher basic culinary ability in her expensive kitchen, where things like the stove can really get “so hot”. It’s worth an episode watch but only for car-crash value, after which it becomes tiresome and without even the basic shallow substance expected in this kind of vanity reality project.
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