'Panchayat' Season 4, 'Marianne': Our top picks for the weekend watch
Apple TV+ | 9 episodes | Dark Comedy/Drama
Apple TV+ continues to be that underrated platform — low-key loaded with hidden gems, and Your Friends & Neighbors is the latest proof.
Jon Hamm plays a once-wealthy man who's gone broke — but instead of downsizing or getting a 9-to-5, he turns to stealing from the very people he smiles at every day: his rich, oblivious neighbours. The show blends humour, tension, and sharp class commentary in a slick 9-episode season that's easy to binge but leaves you thinking.
It's funny. It's a little unhinged. And it's got just the right amount of suspense to keep you coming back. Season 2 is already confirmed — so get in now.
For fans of: White Lotus, smart dark comedies
BY HUSAIN RIZVI
2) Panchayat Season 4
Amazon Prime | 4 seasons | Comedy
Season 4 of Panchayat is here, and yes, we've all been waiting like Vikas outside Sachiv Ji's office. After three solid seasons that kept us hooked with unexpected twists and turns, the bar was set pretty high.
But there's something so comforting about slipping back into the sleepy lanes of Phoolera gaon, where time slows down and characters like Pradhan Ji (Raghubir Yadav), Prahlad (Faisal Malik), and our forever-stressed Sachiv Ji (Jitendra Kumar) feel like old friends.
This season brings a few surprises (no spoilers, I promise), and while it may not be my all-time favourite of the lot, it's still the kind of storytelling that gives your brain a break, especially when everything else on screen has been trying to outpace itself!
For fans of: Breezy, stress-busting sitcoms
BY SOMYA MEHTA
3) Marianne
Netflix | 1 Season | Horror
Netflix and chill (your spine) this weekend with this French 2019 horror series that takes a shot at the write-it-and-it'll-come-true genre.
Famous novelist (of terrifying books) Emma has escaped her nightmares — or so she thought. When she goes back to her childhood home, she discovers the cause of her night terrors is in fact real and ready to make her worst thoughts a reality.
There is, be warned, some grossness — with sequences that include blood, teeth, and stringy hair — jump scares, and an evil spirit (Marianne, played rather superbly by Mireille Herbstmeyer), but if you like horror, you are going to want to settle in for the show. But be warned: you may want to leave the light on after.
BY KARISHMA NANDKEOLYAR
4) Ginny and Georgia
Netflix | 3 Seasons | Drama
The mother-daughter duo that's left the internet divided is back, in a new season. And this time, they have a new set of problems to tackle, potentially trauma-inducing. But can they emerge unscathed? And, importantly, will it throw their lives into a tailspin all over again?
Watch this 10-episode season for its moving portrayal of relations between parents and kids, teenage angst and partners who go through rough patches. For a show that bills itself as drama, there's plenty of suspense and intrigue. Another reason to get you to launch the streaming app: A key question that's left unanswered, opening the door ajar for season 4.
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