Seven Must-Watch Films on Television This Week
This week's television schedule offers a compelling mix of award-winning drama, musical biopics, and classic cinema, providing viewers with exceptional entertainment options across multiple channels and streaming platforms.
The Zone of Interest: A Haunting Masterpiece
Jonathan Glazer's Oscar-winning historical drama The Zone of Interest stands as this week's essential viewing. The film presents a chilling portrayal of Rudolf Höss, the Auschwitz commandant, and his family living in an idyllic country home adjacent to the notorious concentration camp. Christian Friedel delivers a transformative performance as Höss, while Sandra Hüller portrays his wife with unsettling normalcy.
What makes this film particularly powerful is its immersive approach to depicting how domestic life continues uninterrupted while industrial-scale murder occurs just beyond the garden wall. The audible screams and distant horrors create a profound commentary on humanity's capacity for compartmentalization during atrocities. This isn't merely historical drama but a film that resonates with contemporary relevance, exploring themes of complicity and moral blindness that continue to challenge audiences.
When to watch: Saturday 24 January, 9.45pm on Channel 4
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Golden Globe-nominated biopic Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere brings together two of prestige television's most celebrated actors. Jeremy Allen White, known for his role in The Bear, embodies Bruce Springsteen during a particularly introspective period of the musician's life. The film focuses on Springsteen's retreat to his Colts Neck, New Jersey home, where he grappled with childhood trauma while developing the demo that would eventually become his landmark 1982 album Nebraska.
Jeremy Strong, acclaimed for his performance in Succession, portrays Jon Landau, Springsteen's loyal manager and producer who consistently supports the artist through creative and professional challenges. The film offers intimate insight into Springsteen's creative process during a pivotal moment in his career, capturing the vulnerability and artistic determination that defined this period.
Where to watch: Available now on Disney+
Classic Cinema and Contemporary Gems
The week's programming includes several notable films spanning different eras and genres:
- The Blob (1958): This cult classic B-movie features Steve McQueen in his first leading role, battling a carnivorous alien amoeba that grows increasingly destructive. Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has praised the film's alien concept from a scientific perspective. Sunday 25 January, 2.25am on Talking Pictures TV
- Election (1999): Alexander Payne's sharp political satire stars Matthew Broderick as a high school teacher attempting to sabotage the student council campaign of over-achieving pupil Tracy Flick, played by Reese Witherspoon in a career-defining performance. Monday 26 January, 11pm on BBC Three
- River of No Return (1954): This musical western showcases Marilyn Monroe at the peak of her cinematic beauty, paired with Robert Mitchum in a frontier story loosely inspired by Bicycle Thieves. The film's mountain sequences make spectacular use of American landscapes. Wednesday 28 January, 2.40pm on Film4
- The Naked Gun (2023 reboot): Liam Neeson takes on the role of Lt Frank Drebin Jr in this well-received revival of the law enforcement farce, teaming up with Pamela Anderson's crime novelist character to recover a stolen device and restore order in Los Angeles. Friday 30 January, 9.10am on Sky Cinema Premiere
- Bird (2023): Andrea Arnold's magical realist coming-of-age story follows twelve-year-old Bailey, played by debutant Nykiya Adams, as she navigates parental neglect and forms an unexpected friendship with an eccentric stranger called Bird. The film continues Arnold's tradition of astonishing youth-focused narratives. Friday 30 January, 11pm on BBC Two
This diverse selection offers something for every cinematic taste, from thought-provoking historical drama to musical biography, classic Hollywood, and contemporary storytelling.
