TV review this episode: Youth (HBO Max, 8 episodes)The HBO Original comedy series Youth follows a 50-year-old divorcee’s search for sex and love whilst juggling caring for her ailing parents and parenting her should-be grown up son. The cast includes Sharon Horgan (Alex), Rupert Friend (Patrick), Sharlene Whyte (Sam), Aran Murphy (Ruari), and Robbie Gee (Frank). Horgan plays a London publisher and there are some wonderful cameos from writers they represent including Damien Lewis, Harriet Walter, Anne Reid, and Douglas Hodge. Watch out also for a performance from Cillian Murphy’s son Aran. American Hostage (Stan, 8 episodes)Based on the first season of the scripted podcast of the same name, American Hostage is a psychological thriller set in the 1970s inspired by the true story of Fred Heckman, a beloved Indianapolis news radio host who is thrust into the middle of a life-or-death crisis when hostage-taker Tony Kiritsis demands to be interviewed on his popular radio news program. Starring in the lead roles are John Hamm as the radio host and Giovanni Ribisi is the hostage taker Tony Kritsis. Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story (Netflix, 8 episodes)Buckle up! It’s another season of Ryan Murphy’s Monster series. This time the focus is on America’s first celebrity murder suspect – Lizzie Borden. The young New England woman, played brilliantly by Ella Beatty, became the subject of the trial of the century when she was charged with the brutal axe murder of her father and stepmother in 1892. Did Lizzie commit murder? No one knows, although evidence here points to yes. The series depicts Lizzie as put-upon and abused by her strict parents, father Andrew (Charlie Hunnam) and stepmother Abby (Rebecca Hall). She finds a new lease on life when the family employs a new housemaid, Bridget “Maggie” Sullivan (Vicky Krieps), who ultimately inspires her to commit (and assists her with) the crime that will define the rest of her life. Unabomber (Netflix, movie)Netflix’s Unabomber explores Unabomber Ted Kaczynski’s life before and during the events that led to his capture. Jacob Tremblay plays the younger Kaczynski, while Russell Crowe portrays Harvard professor Henry Murray, Shailene Woodley plays FBI agent Joanne Miller and Annabelle Wallis portrays Christiana Morgan, Murray’s academic collaborator. Born in Chicago in 1942, Kaczynski demonstrated exceptional mathematical ability from an early age. He entered Harvard at 16 before continuing his studies at the University of Michigan, where he earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in mathematics. At 25, he became a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. But he left the university in 1969 and eventually moved to a remote cabin near Lincoln, Mont., where he lived without electricity or running water. In 1978, Kaczynski began the bombing campaign that would eventually span nearly two decades. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
