Catch-up TV guide: from Sense8 to The Detectives

Matrix creators Andy and Lana Wachowski’s new sci-fi series is on Netflix while the unflinching police three-part doc The Detectives is over on the iPlayer

TV: Sense8

A series of vignettes – some innocuous, some momentous – are taking place around the world. But what initially appear to be random occurrences gradually start to feel anything but – could these people be somehow emotionally and sensorially connected? The first episode of this new drama takes a riskily long time to begin to reveal its mysteries but it’s never less than intriguing and, given that it’s the handiwork of Matrix creators Andy and Lana Wachowski, fans of mysterious, portentous sci-fi drama will feel inclined to trust that persistence will be rewarded.

Netflix

TV: Frankie Boyle’s Election Autopsy

“The next five years are going to be like The Hunger Games without the games.” Yeah, we know Frankie. But sometimes, all you can do is laugh. There’s been much talk of the Labour party’s need for self-examination since 7 May. But no one escapes with their foibles unexplored here. Whether it’s the gobby tweets of 20-year-old SNP MP Mhairi Black, the vanishing Lib Dems or Ukip’s branded hi-vis jackets (“In case you’re worried that people won’t know you’re a c*nt in the dark”), everyone is in line for a righteous Boyle tongue-lashing.

TV: Louie

“We’re the future. You don’t belong in it.” This, Louis CK is cruelly but honestly informed, is why he’s uncomfortable around young people. It’s a typical exchange: this fifth series of CK’s innovative comedy may have initially felt more straightforward than its predecessor but it remains as funny, acute and occasionally troubling as ever. It’s now available on Sky On Demand, so bingeing on another person’s mid-life crisis has never been easier.

Sky On Demand

TV: Empire

The trashily addictive hip-hop Dallas has been renewed for a second season. You can catch up with the recent dynasty-building, double-crossing, flamboyant exploits of Lucious, Cookie and Jamal here. This one’s going to run and run.

TV: The Detectives

Harrowing but pretty essential viewing (despite the superfluous background music), this three-part fly-on-the-wall doc follows the police officers of the Greater Manchester public protection division, which specialises in sex offences. The investigation into historic abuse by Savile cohort Ray Teret is the main focus, but other cases show the range and complexity of the crimes committed – at times it even resembles a real-life True Detective. All three episodes are available on the iPlayer.