This week offers a rich selection of cultural highlights, from the highly anticipated return of a hit BBC gameshow to a standout new album from a celebrated indie band. The Guardian's critics have sifted through the latest releases to bring you the essential picks across television, film, books, and music.
Television: Deception, Drama, and David Attenborough
The standout television event this week is the return of Claudia Winkleman to host the fourth series of The Traitors on BBC iPlayer. Following the success of the celebrity edition, the show is back with its regular 'civilian' format but introduces an audacious new twist to keep both players and viewers guessing. Critic Elle Hunt praised the move, noting the BBC has "upped the ante and made the format even twistier" rather than resting on its laurels.
Elsewhere on the box, David Attenborough turns his attention to urban wildlife in the exquisite special Wild London, also on BBC iPlayer. The documentary explores the city's foxes and peregrine falcons, prompting reviewer Chitra Ramaswamy to wonder what we will do without the legendary broadcaster.
For those seeking pure escapism, ITVX offers The Hunting Wives, a star-studded drama described by Lucy Mangan as "the most perfect trash" and a reward for getting through 2025. Meanwhile, the espionage blockbuster The Night Manager returns to BBC iPlayer after a decade, with Tom Hiddleston reprising his role as MI6 agent Jonathan Pine. Jack Seale's review confirms it "still floats far above most of the competition."
Film, Books, and Must-Hear Albums
In cinemas, the film to see is Song Sung Blue, featuring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson as a real-life couple who found fame with a Neil Diamond tribute act. Peter Bradshaw's review warns that its feel-good surface hides a plot that "repeatedly and savagely twists like an unsafe fairground ride." For documentary fans, Frederick Wiseman's four-hour Menus-Plaisirs: Les Troisgros offers a mesmerising, calm look inside a triple-Michelin-starred kitchen.
The literary highlight is Daniyal Mueenuddin's debut novel, This Is Where the Serpent Lives. Reviewer Patrick Gale commends its vibrant portrayal of Pakistan and the author's fluent, often funny writing. Other notable books include Nadia Davids' colonial-era tale Cape Fever and Neil Rollinson's tense gangland debut novel, The Dead Don't Bleed.
The album of the week comes from the left-field indie quartet Dry Cleaning. Their new record, Secret Love, out on 9 January, sees the band expand their distinctive sprechgesang sound. Alexis Petridis observes a "band who have outgrown their original remit" and are shifting confidently into new musical spaces. Other key releases include a new jazz offering from saxophonist Iain Ballamy and a six-disc collection of unreleased recordings from the late pianist Radu Lupu.
Don't Miss These Other Gems
The week's culture round-up also features several other notable entries. On BBC iPlayer, the four-part docudrama Titanic Sinks Tonight offers an intense, immersive experience of the disaster. For documentary streaming, Sky explores the complex legacy of comedian Chevy Chase in I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not, while True Story hosts the captivating film A French Youth about bullfighters in southern France. In books, Arundhati Roy's first memoir, Mother Mary Comes to Me, provides absorbing background to her iconic novel The God of Small Things.
