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Daily Record
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Record
Ex-gangland lawyer calls for cocaine to be legal in bid to halt trade in Scotland
A former gangland lawyer says that decriminalising cocaine could deter crime gangs from getting involved in the multi million pound trade, A former gangland lawyer says decriminalising cocaine is the only way to make the multi billion trade in Scotland less attractive to crime gangs. James McIntyre believes such a move would free up scare police resources to tackle what he sees as more serious offences such as cyber crime and high value online fraud scams, often targeted against the elderly and other vulnerable groups. In an exclusive interview with Criminal Record - our new weekly podcast - the 68 year old said:"That's far more serious than people actually wanting to buy a bit of cocaine. "If there is a war against drugs then the authorities have lost it very badly. "If you think you are golng to solve the drug problem in the way that America tried with the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920's and 30's then you are sadly mistaken. "You need to decriminalise it.. "At the moment all you are doing is depriving the public of something they actually want." During a 30 year career McIntyre was lawyer and trusted confidant to some of Scotland's most high profile underworld figures. He has been described as the real-life Tom Hagen, the fictional "consigliere" or adviser to the Corleone mafia family in The Godfather book and movies. His previous clients include the McGovern family - six brothers known as the McGovernment because of the control they allegedly had over the Springburn area of Glasgow. McIntyre has also represented former underworld enforcer-turned-author Paul Ferris. He added "If I want to have a glass of wine then I am not going to stop because the government says I can't. "We are denying a fact that people want recreational drugs. "I have nothing against the gangs because all they are dolng is meeting a demand from the public "I don't blame them for stepping into the gap." The former criminal lawyer continued:"There is a lot of talk just now about drugs which I find to be hypocritical. " Cocaine is rife in the film, music and entertainment industry but no one ever seems to be prosecuted. "However the person who supplies them can end up in prison. "That does not seem to be fair. "Cocaine is so wide spread, it is not going to get any better. You need to decriminalise it. "Whether you like it or not the so called so called organised crime groups are only meeting a demand from the public for drugs" Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. In 1995 McIntyre represented Thomas McGovern, then 28, who was accused of shooting dead a man outside the Ashfield Bar in Springburn. He walked free from the High Court when a key witness said he was not the man she saw do the shooting. McIntyre also represented youngest brother Paul, then 16, who was convicted in 1990 of murdering a school janitor in Springburn and sentenced to life. A third brother Tony McGovern, was shot dead outside the New Morven bar in Balornock, Glasgow, in 2000 and James attended his funeral. In November 1997 McIntyre received a three-year sentence at the High Court in Glasgow for a firearms find at his home in Linlithgow, West Lothian which marked the end of his legal career. The lawyer had claimed they were being held for a client who wanted them given to a police gun amnesty. Four years earlier McIntyre was also the target of a failed underworld hit in his offices close to the High Court in Glasgow when he was stabbed several times. Though he knew the identity of his assailant he has has never given the name to police. Since his release from prison in 1999 the grandfather has used his real-life experiences to become a successful writer for TV shows like EastEnders, New City Law and Taggart. He has also written more than 80 episodes of River City, including for Frank Gallagher, who plays gangster Lenny Murdoch. In 2023 McIntyre brought out a book on his life Jimmy Two Guns, the Life and Crimes of a Gangland Lawyer. However the man who led the fight against drugs and organised crime in Scotland for three years is against decriminalisation and he does not believe it will reduce crime. Graeme Pearson was Director General of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency between 2004 and 2007 and is a former Labour MSP and justice spokesman. He said:"The problem with drugs is the impact it has on the individuals health. "If you allow people to access drugs or encourage people to access drugs you are going to end up with more upset in the community and more violence because of the drugs impact on the individual. You will also have the mental health issues that come along with it. " Decriminalisation doesn't deal with the underlying issue of drug abuse." Mr Pearson added:"We have legal alcohol but still have bootleg booze flooding into the country because it is cheaper. "That's what criminals would do with drugs. "We have enough problems in Scottish communities with alcohol and tobacco. Who would want to legalise or decriminalise drugs?. "It's the last thing you want to introduce into your family environment."
Daily Record
18-06-2025
- Daily Record
Man convicted of 1994 Orkney restaurant murder is innocent, claims top lawyer
Leading criminal lawyer Aamer Anwar believes the case of a former soldier convicted of the murder 31 years ago of a restaurant waiter is a miscarriage of justice Sheku Bayoh lawyer Aamer Anwar has called for the man convicted of the racially motivated murder of an Asian restaurant waiter to be set free. The human rights campaigner believes that former Black Watch sergeant Michael Ross is the victim of a miscarriage of justice and wants his case referred back to the appeal courts and conviction and life sentence overturned. Anwar says there is no evidence to show that he carried out a racially motivated killing. Michael Ross was found guilty in 2008 of shooting Bangladeshi waiter Shamsuddin Mahmood in the Mumutaz Indian Restaurant in Kirkwall, Orkney, in 1994. At the time of the murder Ross was only 15. After a trial at the High Court in Glasgow Ross was told he must serve 25 years before he can be considered for parole. Suspicion first fell on the teenager after his policeman father, a firearms specialist, told senior officers that he possessed the same ammunition as was used in the killing. Ross, who was an army cadet at the time, was identified as a man seen wearing a balaclava in woods around two weeks before the murder. Twelve years later new evidence came from local man William Grant who told police he had seen Ross on the evening of the murder wearing a balaclava and handling a gun in toilets near the crime scene. Mr Grant also claimed he witnessed the youth shouting racial abuse outside the restaurant weeks before the murder. A campaign - Justice for Michael Ross - has been launched on Orkney which Anwar's Glasgow firm is backing. In an exclusive interview with Criminal Record - our new weekly podcast - the lawyer said: "We have represented Michael for a few years now and need new evidence to get the keys to open the cell door and for a miscarriage of justice application. "It strikes me as incredible that a 15 year old boy could walk into a restaurant with a balaclava on, walk directly up to an individual, shoot them at point blank range and then walk out and leave nothing of themselves." Anwar says there are also concerns that 15-year old Ross was interviewed in 1994 about the murder by police without a lawyer present. He also described the evidence of Mr Grant as "fanciful". The lawyer is appealing to anyone with information on the 31 year old murder to come forward. He added: "There must be people on the island who know much more than they knew at the time and with the passage of time will feel guilt or have a conscience and will one day give that information which means we have a miscarriage of justice application. "There were always questions over whether it was someone outside the island or a gangland execution." Anwar hopes to present any new evidence to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission who have the power to refer convictions back to the appeal courts. The lawyer added: "There was evidence of people having turned up at the restaurant in the days before shouting abuse at Shamsuddin. "There is nothing to show that Michael Ross carried out a racially motivated murder." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Following the murder of Shamsuddin Ross enlisted in the army and saw active combat in Iraq, becoming the sergeant of a sniper platoon. Aamer Anwar is one of the country's most prominent criminal lawyers and has represented Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi, the Libyan convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, Surjit Singh Chhokar, the Lanarkshire waiter who was murdered in a racially motivated attack, and Sheku Bayoh, from Kirkcaldy, who died after being restrained by police officers in 2015. He features in a new three part series of The Firm - about the workings of his legal practice - which began last night (Tuesday) on BBC Scotland. The first episode shows him with Margaret Caldwell, the mother of murdered Glasgow sex worker, Emma Caldwell, as they successfully secure a public inquiry into police handling of her daughter's murder. In 2024, Iain Packer was jailed for life with a minimum of 36 years for the murder of Emma in 2005. It emerged that Packer has been ignored as a suspect despite admitting to police that he was a client of Emma's and had previously taken her to the remote wooded spot where her body was found. Anwar originally represented one of four Turkish men charged with Emma's murder and realised at that time they were not guilty. He added: "We need to know what went horribly wrong with the Emma Caldwell investigation. "There are still lessons to be learned. " Margaret Caldwell hopes to get to the truth but also wants a real and lasting legacy." You can hear more from Aamer Anwar in our Criminal Record podcast where he talks about death threats, online abuse, and his most memorable campaigns and cases.
Daily Record
12-06-2025
- Daily Record
Former police chief makes plea over youth violence and knife crime
The former head of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency says a Scottish Government summit on youth violence can stop teenagers becoming involved in organised crime A FORMER police chief has called for a new crackdown on knives to prevent youngsters becoming the organised crime kingpins of tomorrow. First Minister John Swinney will today host a summit to look at ways of tackling the epidemic of youth violence. The move follows the deaths of 16-year-old Kayden Moy on Irvine beach, Ayrshire, last month and Amen Teklay, 15, in Glasgow in March. In an exclusive interview with Criminal Record - our new weekly podcast - Graeme Pearson, former Director General of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA), said young people using knives are easy prey for gangsters. He recognises keeping young men on the right side of the law can be difficult when they see the money being earned from the "wealth pie" of organised crime. In the last three months an organised crime explosion across Scotland has seen a series of firebombings and attacks on Daniel family members and their associates. Some of the 42 people arrested are in their late teens and early 20s. Graeme Pearson added: "You are talking hundreds of millions of pounds from the drugs trade. There will always be someone willing to accept money to commit these attacks. "The lifestyle that comes with the wealth is something they would not have experienced in their previous life. "Suddenly young people who come from working class-type backgrounds are getting access to high-value cars and houses and world travel." Pearson said it's important young people realise the downside is a seven day-a-week risk of being shot or police arrest. "Paranoia then sets in. Suddenly the lifestyle is not as glamorous." The ex-cop wants the youth violence summit to lead to more jobs and better educational opportunities for teenagers and more attractive options than a life of crime. He cotinued: "It's important we don't lecture young people about criminality - they know what's going on. "They need to know there is a job for them. If we are talking about youth clubs then we need to invest in them." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Pearson believes the latest increase in drugs deaths is a legacy of 20 years of failure and false promises.. The country has the highest drugs death rate in Europe and new Scottish Government figures show drug deaths in Scotland rose by a third to 308 in the first three months of this year. Pearson added: "We have had a growing demand for drugs which is generated by crime. "We have been told over the years that measures being taken would reduce the numbers of drugs deaths but that hasn't happened. "We still have needles in public places. "More than 25 per cent assets of our prisoners are on methadone. "We need new methods of intervention and treatment and at the same time invest in the enforcement that reduces the numbers of drugs coming into the country to be abused." Pearson, a former Labour MSP and justice spokesman, also wants tougher proceeds of crime laws to make it harder for gangs to hide their assets. The SCDEA was formed in 2001 to target organised crime. Pearson led it between 2004 and 2007 when a number of major criminals were brought to justice. It was disbanded in 2013 after the formation of Police Scotland. He said steps must be taken by politicians and police to protect children and our way of life from organised crime. The former police chief wants greater powers for the police and courts to both freeze and seize criminal assets. Pearson added: "We need new proceeds of crime legislation as a matter of urgency. I spent a lot of time in the early 2000s promoting the original legislation. I was told what I was recommending was draconian. "The last 20 years have shown what happens when one is relaxed about how you address the seizure of assets from organised crime. "We do not seize enough and draw the wealth that comes from it. That is the key to tackling organised crime - you reduce the profit then you seize the profit." He added: " Organised crime is a cancer. It's killing communities and holding back legitimate businesses through intimidation." "Pearson said tougher proceeds of crime laws means money recovered could be reinvested in the communities and estates where the profits were plundered. He believes one way of tackling organised crime between groups like the Lyons and Daniel clans s is more cops disrupting gang members' day-to-day activities. He said: "What the public need is more police officers on the beat. It might be traditional but it works." This week the Record delivers a three-part video series documenting 25 years of warfare between the Lyons and Daniel crime clans. Visit our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok to see the latest For the latest news, views and opinions on Scotland's crime scene, check out Criminal Record - a new weekly podcast brought to you by the Record team . Each week, crime writer Norman Silvester discusses the latest in the gangland turf war and all the other big crime news of the week. Tune in on the Record's YouTube channel or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Daily Record
04-06-2025
- General
- Daily Record
Brutal gangland executions in Spain discussed by Daily Record crime team
Crime Reporter Norman Silvester speaks at length about the Spain shootings in a new crime podcast launched by the Record this week. Criminal Record: The Lyons and Daniels gangland feud explained after hoods shot dead in Spanish bar The team at Criminal Record met today to discuss the brutal gangland killings after Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr were gunned down in Spain. The two senior Lyons clan members were executed by a gunman at Monaghan's Bar in the Costa Del Sol on Saturday night. The key lieutenants were assassinated outside Monaghan's bar in Fuengirola amid a violent turf war raging across Scotland since March. In a brand new podcast, which has been launched by the Record this week, crime reporter Norman Silvester spoke about the killings that shocked the country. Silvester spoke in detail about what happened on the night as we discussed chilling CCTV footage which showed the gunman inside Monaghan's bar as the pair were assassinated. The crime specialist then discussed at length the history of the Lyons gang and their bloody feud with the Daniels clan - which dates back more than 20 years. As Silvester explains, it is claimed the feud between the two crime families first began over control of drugs turf. In 2001 a large stash of Daniels' cocaine was stolen from a house in the Milton area of Glasgow and sold on to the Lyons. The rivalry between the two crime family networks has seen shootings, stabbings, hit and runs, firebomb attacks, police corruption and drug trafficking busts. We also discussed the possibility that the shootings could be linked to Scotland's ongoing gangland war which broke out earlier this year. Silvester spoke about how the underworld feud first erupted after Edinburgh kingpin Mark Richardson's cronies stole a £500,000 stash of cocaine from a Dubai-based "Mr Big" known as Ross McGill, using fake cash. The Lyons gang were thought to be supporting Dubai-based McGill who waged a war on Mark Richardson - and associates the Daniels family. Finally, we discussed the likelihood of the notorious Lyons crime seeking a bloody revenge - and what this might involve. To watch the podcast, head over to our YouTube channel by clicking here. You can also subscribe to listen to this podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts by searching for 'Criminal Record' .
The Independent
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
From Severance to Silo – the 24 best Apple TV+ shows to binge
Over the past decade, the TV landscape has been revolutionised by streaming. Where once everyone was limited to a handful of channels and had to put up with endless repeats of Last of the Summer Wine, viewers are now faced with a glut of potential streaming services – making it harder than ever to know what to switch on. Throughout most of the 2010s, Netflix was all but synonymous with the idea of original streaming content. But the past few years have given rise to a number of compelling alternatives, including Disney+, Prime Video, and Apple TV+. Since its launch in 2019, Apple TV+ has established itself as one of the most reliable emergent streaming services, when it comes to original content. From dramas such as For All Mankind and Pachinko to lighter comic fare like Ted Lasso and Mythic Quest, the streamer has proved that it can more than hold its own against the competition. In 2019, Apple TV+ even became the first streaming service to produce an Oscar Best Picture winner, in the sentimental drama Coda. And with its television output, Apple has worked with a number of esteemed creatives such as Pablo Larrain and Clio Barnard, as well as some of Hollywood's biggest stars, including Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Anne Hathaway and Harrison Ford. With dozens of past and ongoing TV series in its catalogue, and many more in the pipeline, Apple TV+ 's range of options may still be intimidating for new subscribers. To help you out, The Independent has assembled a list of the very best shows Apple TV+ has to offer – and you can watch them for free this weekend. Here are 17 of our favourite TV series to watch now on Apple TV+... Severance This chilling corporate satire about work/life balance sees staff at a mysterious company, Lumon, get 'severed' – slicing their work selves apart from their home selves so that one part of their consciousness never leaves the office and the other part never goes in. Starring Adam Scott and Patricia Arquette, it's surreal, blackly comic, beautiful and profound. And the season finale was a nailbiting masterpiece. The first series made it onto our list of the best shows of 2022, which you can read in full here. Ellie Harrison Criminal Record Don't let the plodding title put you off: Criminal Record is anything but your average police drama by numbers. When detective duo Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo face off in this thriller, it's hard not to hold your breath. In another, cosier police procedural, this pairing might have ended up as an 'odd couple' pair, with Jumbo's young, principled sergeant teaching Capaldi's gruff chief inspector a thing or two about the modern world, and him imparting a few nuggets of old-school wisdom in return. But this eight-parter, created by Indian Summers writer Paul Rutman, is definitely not that show: it's much nastier and, therefore, much more realistic. Katie Rosseinsky Ted Lasso Jason Sudeikis's Yank-out-of-water comedy about a belligerently good-natured NFL manager who tries his hand at Premier League football is probably Apple TV+'s most talked about original series. The increasingly indulgent second and third seasons have proved divisive – as have the show's constant Americanisms and spurious butchering of the beautiful game – but its first season in particular remains a charming, light-hearted endeavour. Louis Chilton An ambitious historical epic detailing the lives of four generations of Korean immigrants, Pachinko launched on Apple TV+ in 2021 to universal acclaim. There's some real talent both behind and in front of the camera: The Terror 's Soo Hugh served as showrunner, while Columbus and After Yang filmmaker Kogonada split directing duties with Justin Chon (Blue Bayou). A second season, currently in development, is likely to be a source of feverish anticipation among fans. LC Bad Sisters Where Sharon Horgan goes, razor-sharp comedy can usually be found. She was already pretty universally adored for her writing on Catastrophe and Motherland, and then the Garvey girls tore onto the scene in Bad Sisters. It follows four Dublin sisters who are conspiring to murder the horrible husband of the remaining, fifth, sister. Horgan, who also stars in it, is terrific, and Eve Hewson is a revelation as plucky youngest sibling Becka. EH For All Mankind Everyone knows the USA was the first country to send people to the moon. What this series presupposes is… what if it wasn't? For All Mankind takes the Space Race as a jumping-off point for a whole alternative history timeline, as a Soviet PR victory causes a butterfly effect that ripples throughout the rest of the century. Solid writing and strong performances from a cast that includes Joel Kinnaman, Jodi Balfour and Wrenn Schmidt make For All Mankind arresting and unusual television. LC Slow Horses This adaptation of Mick Herron's Jackson Lamb spy books stars Gary Oldman as the gloriously grumpy intelligence officer. He's part of the dysfunctional team of British agents who serve in a dumping ground department of MI5 known as Slough House. The show, from Veep and The Thick of It writer Will Smith, is cerebral and full of pitch-black comedy. EH Mythic Quest This half-hour series, set in the offices of a World of Warcraft -esque video game studio, is a robustly enjoyable sitcom created by It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia alumni Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Megan Ganz. While it never really comes close to matching Always Sunny 's lightning-in-a-bottle comic brilliance, Mythic Quest shines thanks to Charlotte Nicdao's turn as the talented but flawed Poppy, whose bristly relationship with the egomaniacal Ian (McElhenney) forms the show's narrative core. LC The Morning Show One of the starriest shows on the platform – and that's saying something – is this comedy drama that pulls back the curtain on early morning US TV. Massively in its favour are the fizzing performances from Jennifer Aniston, Reece Witherspoon, Steve Carrell and Billy Crudup. The first season was fantastic. The second slightly descended into chaos (plus, it introduced Covid into the storyline, which is always painful). And the third was fully deranged. But it was still compulsively watchable. EH Dickinson One of Apple TV+'s earliest series is also one of their best: a revisionist comedy-drama about the reclusive poet Emily Dickinson, starring pop musician and True Grit star Hailee Steinfeld. There are plenty of liberties taken with historical fact – here, the young artist is shown to be in love with Sue Gilbert (Ella Hunt), her best friend, who is also engaged to marry Emily's brother. But Dickinson is an intelligent, imaginative series that seeks to capture its subject in spirit rather than likeness. LC Trying In this lovely British sitcom, Esther Smith's Nikki and Rafe Spall's Jason are 'trying' to adopt a child. They've attempted to conceive for years, including through IVF, and it hasn't worked out. While infertility struggles might not exactly sound like ripe territory for comedy, writer Andy Wolton is masterful at unearthing the absurdities within. Worth your time. EH The Problem with Jon Stewart Ex- Daily Show comedian Stewart more than proves his chops as a formidable political interviewer in this topical non-fiction series. Every so often, a clip from The Problem will go viral, featuring Stewart holding a politican to account on issues like gun reform, but episodes are worth watching in their entirety: Stewart is a likeable and articulate host, attacking his subjects with a good balance of accessibility and rigour. LC Shrinking In Apple's sunny dramedy Shrinking, Jason Segel plays a therapist whose – to borrow an expression from the writer Georgia Pritchett – mess is a bit of a life. The series co-stars a growling Harrison Ford and a mesmerising Jessica Williams, and it arrived on the platform just weeks before Segel's best mate Chris O'Dowd's own midlife crisis show (see next pick) came along, so it certainly seems as though there's something in the water. EH The Big Door Prize Chris O'Dowd is as leggy and affable as ever in this show adapted from the novel by MO Walsh. It's set in a small town that turns upside down after a strange 'Morpho' machine appears in the local store. For the same price as a cup of coffee, the glowing blue object promises to tell people their 'true life potential'. Of course, it pretty instantly sends everyone, including O'Dowd's Dusty, into an existential spiral. EH There's not really anything else on television quite like Schmigadoon!. A musical tribute to 1940s and 1950s Hollywood musicals (and a direct parody of Brigadoon), this effervescent show sees Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key stumble upon a town where everyone is all-singin' and all dancin'... but won't let them leave. Barry Sonnenfeld, erstwhile Coen brothers cinematographer and director of 1993's Addams Family Values, directs the entirety of season one. LC Shining Girls Based on Lauren Beukes's 2013 novel, this dark mystery sees Mad Men favourite Elisabeth Moss play Kirby, a newspaper researcher who, six years before the series kicks off, survives a viscious attack by a man who was never captured. Determined to find the culprit, she discovers a murder that has a striking resemblance to her own attack, and begins her investigation. As our writer Amanda Whiting put it: 'There's hardly a scene in Shining Girls that doesn't feature Elisabeth Moss doing something stunning.' EH Hijack This real-time show, starring Idris Elba as a man trying to stop hijackers on a plane from Dubai to London, was the stealth hit of last summer. It has all the hallmarks of true event TV: a slow-burn mystery waiting to be solved, a ticking-clock scenario, a hero you'd trust with your life, and an agonising week-long wait for new episodes. Elba does some of the finest eye-acting seen on TV: his pupils darting around the cabin, communicating to viewers, if not his fellow passengers, where his interests lie. And there's something almost erotic about the calm confidence with which he goes toe-to-toe with Neil Maskell's Stone Island hijacker (Maskell, too, is superb, projecting an eerie competence as an East End villain). Nick Hilton Silo Based on the books by Hugh Howey, this series has an irresistible setting: a subterranean city with 144 floors whose residents unquestioningly lock themselves away from the outside world. Why? Because they believe they will die within minutes if they leave. Naturally, some characters believe a conspiracy may be afoot, and secretly attempt to learning the truth behind their existence in the the silo. It stars David Oyelowo, Rashida Jones, Rebecca Ferguson and Harriet Walter, to name a few. And it's brilliant. Jacob Stolworthy High Desert Patricia Arquette anchors this witty, dynamic series about Peggy, a chaotic ex-felon who becomes a private eye. As Peggy gets sucked into an eccentric mystery involving a stolen Picasso painting and a number of skeevy figures from her past, she struggles to keep her own demons at bay. Arquette is undisputedly the star here, but High Desert is enlivened by a number of quirky, charismatic supporting performers, including Rupert Friend, Matt Dillon, and Bernadette Peters. LC Before He's better known for comedy but Billy Crystal plays convincingly against type in this earnest drama in which he stars as child psychologist Eli, already reeling from the suicide of his wife and suddenly confronted with a mute, traumatised child. The child, Noah appears in his life as both a challenge and a curse. He has bloodied hands, an implacable stare and no capacity to explain the roots of his disturbing appearance and behaviour. It's heavily indebted to The Sixth Sense but remains both creepy and unpredictable throughout. Phil Harrison Prime Target Everyone's favourite White Lotus breakout star Leo Woodall plays a mathematical genius in this enjoyably bonkers thriller, which starts off at a Cambridge college and ends up hopping around the globe as a strange conspiracy unravels. Edward (Woodall, dressed in a lot of brown) is a postgrad who is trying to find a pattern in prime numbers, which might just allow him access to every computer in the world. Naturally, there are shadowy forces attempting to thwart his research. Yes, the plot stretches credulity, but it's perfect popcorn escapism. KR Dope Thief Ray and Manny are a couple of small-time Philadelphia crooks who specialise in peacefully ripping off stash houses by masquerading as DEA officers. But they get in over their heads when an acquaintance of Manny's tips them off about a possible big score out of town. Dope Thief works as an amiable buddy drama thanks to the natural chemistry between leads Brian Tyree Henry and Wagner Moura. But it has a hard centre too - both men have tragic backstories and big dreams and are easy to root for as two underdogs, out of their depth. PH The Studio A TV show about a film studio with a storied past that's struggling to stay afloat in the streaming age, debuting on a streaming platform? Let's just say that things get pretty meta in Seth Rogen's comedy The Studio. He plays Matt, an exec who has just been promoted to head of (fictional) Continental Studios. It should be his dream gig, but it soon becomes clear that he won't exactly be making great cinema: instead, the higher-ups want him to help them churn out blockbusters based on 'legacy brands'. A whole load of famous faces, from Martin Scorsese to Ron Howard to Charlize Theron, make cameos as themselves, too. KR Your Friends & Neighbours Jon Hamm manifests his usual blend of self-assurance and self-loathing in this drama about a hedge fund manager who suddenly loses everything. After watching his job, his family and his fortune crumble, he has a dangerously seductive idea. He's surrounded by awful, rich neighbours - so why not start emptying their houses of the trinkets of conspicuous wealth they so complacently take for granted. It's a midlife crisis and a wry satire on the crumbling American dream all rolled into one. PH
