Netflix’s Painkiller, Neon’s Men in Kilts among great shows to stream this weekend

CRUEL SUMMER (PRIME VIDEO)

This hit teen anthology drama returns for a sophomore, 10-part season with another thrilling mystery.

In the summer of 1999, small-town computer genius Megan (Sadie Stanley) resents the arrival of outgoing and mysterious foreign exchange student Isabella (Lexi Underwood); little does she know how her life will change within the next 12 months.

“Thrilling and cheesy in equal measure, the series breezes towards its finish as a particularly well-oiled drama,” wrote Slate magazine’s Steven Nguyen Scaife, while Paste magazine’s Lucy Braugher thought that ”although it’s not quite on its predecessor’s level, Season 2 makes for propulsive, entertaining viewing, keeping its audience unsure about who to trust, and embracing a similar go-for-broke style of storytelling”.

FIFTEEN-LOVE (TVNZ+)

Set in the world of professional tennis, this provocative six-part drama looks at the relationship between teenage prodigy Justine Pearce (Ella Lily Hyland) and her maverick coach Glenn Lapthorn (Poldark’s Aidan Turner).

Five years after her own career is cut short by a devastating wrist injury, she’s back working as a therapist at her old tennis academy. Re-encountering Glenn though dredges up the past and leads to Jessica making an explosive allegation which forces everyone to reconsider everything they thought they knew about the pair’s past success.

Switching back-and-forth from a police interview and the events between Lapthorn re-entering Justine’s orbit and his detainment, there’s a certain amount of deviation between their accounts that keeps you gripped and unsure as to where the truth may lie.

While that’s nothing new for contemporary British drama, Hyland and Turner do a terrific job of selling this premise through their undoubted chemistry and establishing the pair as complicated, flawed characters.

HARLAN COBEN’S SHELTER (PRIME VIDEO)

Based on the prolific American author’s 2011 novel of the same name, this eight-part thriller follows teenager Mickey Bolitar (Jaden Michael) as he starts a new life in suburban New Jersey.

But when one of the children in his school disappears, he teams up with his friends Ema (Abby Corrigan) and Spoon (Adrian Greensmith) to uncover a web of mysteries about several missing people from the past.

“Shelter is broader than a barn door, but, at full pelt, it’s also a whodunit with heart, soul and an infectious sense of fun,” wrote The Daily Telegraph’s Ed Power, while San Jose Mercury News’ Randy Myers thought that “with its tongue-in-cheek humour and wild twists, this will become your next guilty pleasure”.

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: THE MUSICAL: THE SERIES (DISNEY+)

The fourth – and final – season of this Emmy-nominated series sees the Wildcats returning to East High, where they prepare a stage production of High School Musical 3: Senior Year.

But, in a meta twist signature to the series, their plans are disrupted when Disney announces that the long-awaited High School Musical 4: The Reunion movie will shoot on location at their beloved high school.

“HSMTMTS goes out with a showstopping bang!,” wrote Pop Culture Planet’s Kristen Maldonado. “They continue the meta humour and the heart that the series is known for, while taking it to the next level with its musical numbers and production quality.“

THE LOST FLOWERS OF ALICE HART (PRIME VIDEO)

Based on Holly Ringland’s best-selling 2018 novel of the same name, this seven-part, Australia-set and shot drama stars Sigourney Weaver, Asher Keddie, Leah Purcell, Alycia Debnam-Carey and Frankie Adams.

When Alice, aged 9 (Alyla Browne), tragically loses her parents in a mysterious fire, she is taken to live with her grandmother June (Weaver) at Thornfield flower farm, where she learns that there are secrets within secrets about her and her family’s past.

“A reminder that when it is handled with skill, sophistication and a measure of restraint, melodrama can be as satisfying as any other style of storytelling,” wrote The New York Times’ Mike Hale, while Los Angeles Times’ Robert Lloyd thought that the “sensitively written, expertly performed by actors young and old, and beautifully shot [story], is in no rush to give up its mysteries, and by drawing out the drama, what’s obvious in the story comes off as proportionally more subtle”.

MEN IN KILTS (NEON)

Outlander’s Sam Heughan and The Hobbit trilogy’s Graham McTavish hit the road again for a second, six-part travel adventure – and this time they’re traversing our motu.

Each episode focuses in on a particular theme, as the charismatic pair explore Aotearoa’s Scottish connections and take a deep dive into this country’s history, people and culture. As the series tagline states: “Same Kilts. New Zealand.”

As with the original galavant around the friends and co-workers’ native Scotland, the delights of Kilts are in the camaraderie, light-bickering and gentle ribbing between Heughan and McTavish.

PAINKILLER (NETFLIX)

If Disney+’s sublime Dopesick took a Traffic/Syriana multi-time and narrative approach to the creation, marketing and effects of the highly-addictive opioid OxyContin, then this six-part series offers up something like a cross between Dark Waters, Spotlight and Up in the Air.

That’s because this six-part “fictionalised” series focuses on depositions carried out by a legal team seeking to prosecute the drug’s manufacturers Purdue Pharma “for their role in starting America’s opioid epidemic”.

Like Dopesick, Painkiller’s fractured storytelling is initially a little challenging and confusing and although this perhaps lacks a compelling character to rival Kaitlin Deaver’s injured miner or Michael Keaton’s conflicted doctor, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood writers Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster do at least attempt the same multi-faceted tactic by weaving in the stories of injured mechanic Glen Kryper (Taylor Kitsch) and young saleswoman Shannon Schaeffer (West Duchovny).

However, where Painkiller works best in its portrayal and potted history of the Sackler family and OxyContin. There’s more than a touch of Succession about the rise of patriarch Arthur Sr. (Marvel’s Agent Coulson Clark Gregg) and his realisation that “the big money in medicine was in sales and marketing – and lies”, as well as his children and wider whānau’s battle for his business interests and legacy after his death – a scrap seemingly “won” by nephew Richard (Matthew Broderick), who took the one remaining company with a potentially profitable product and found a way to transform millions into billions.

WINNING TIME: THE RISE OF THE LAKERS DYNASTY (NEON)

Max Borenstein and Jim Hecht’s star-studded 1980s-set basketball drama is back for a second seven-part run.

Following an incredible inaugural season for Jerry Buss’ (John C. Reilly) new management and team roster, their Los Angeles team is setting their sights on the ultimate prize – a championship win against their arch-rivals, the Boston Celtics.

The impressive acting roster also includes Adrien Brody, Sally Field, Michael Chiklis, Tracy Letts and Jason Segel.

“Hilarious, exasperating and even heartbreaking, the magic has indeed returned,” wrote Variety’s Aramide Tinubu, while The Times’ Carol Midgley thought that “as a piece of drama it is every bit as energetic, flash and audacious as the previous series, with a great use of contemporary music”.