Created by Debra Cahn (Homeland), The Diplomat has a touch of Veep’s cynicism but – the odd world leader aside – the players are smart and dedicated. Its take on diplomacy is committed and feels plausible. “They’ll appreciate it’s non-nothingness,” Kate says of a public statement, but her formidable skills are no match for a Vogue photo shoot that does her head in.

With high-speed horse-trading to the fore, there are multiple agendas at work here, not the least of which is Kate being promoted by her husband and fellow diplomat, Hal (Rufus Sewell), whose help she has learnt comes at a risky cost. Kate’s displeasure is eventually primal, and of all the angles here the most salient is that this impressive show is about the cost every career woman has to pay when balancing her work and relationship.

The Last Thing He Told Me
Apple TV+

Already great value in the Party Down revival, Jennifer Garner’s committed and emotionally complicated lead performance is the best thing in this workmanlike mystery where her character’s foundations get metaphorically dynamited. Garner’s Hannah Michaels has to figure just who her beloved husband, Owen (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), really is after he goes missing with the authorities in hot pursuit. Her only help is her suspicious teenage step-daughter, Bailey (Angourie Rice). The storytelling is too clean, the relationships carefully mapped out, the plot revelations neatly segmented. Nothing leaps off the screen.

Lizzy Hoo: Hoo Cares!?
Amazon Prime

Starting with a portrayal of COVID as a sketchy hook-up artist – “he’s in your DMs” – this stand-up special from the late blooming Sydney comic Lizzy Hoo has a timely, easy-going rhythm where personal updates slide into punchlines that have a sarcastic snap. Hoo has a knack for making life’s painful transitions, such as parents ageing into uncertain health, into a shared observation. Still perfecting her craft, Hoo is an endearingly imperfect comedian as she occasionally giggles at her own lines and sharply segues from one topic to the next. There’s no distance between her and the audience.

The Proposal
Shelter

Architecture is the vehicle for this fascinating documentary, which examines tender obsession, artistic legacy, and the implacable will of women in telling the story of how American artist and filmmaker Jill Majid sought access to the archive of renowned Mexican architect Luis Barragan, which for the last 30 years have been zealously possessed by Italian art historian Federica Zanco – who received them as a gift from her then fiancé. Told with a dreamy tone that contrasts with the underlying power dynamic of ownership and responsibility, the feature works on multiple levels.

The Mandalorian
Disney+

What has happened to this show? The original Lone Wolf & Cub meets Star Wars concept has been supplanted by the need for Din Djarin and Grogu to be the connective tissue for half a dozen different storylines, whether it’s upcoming series like Ahsoka, or movies that have already been made such as The Force Awakens. The unpredictability from episode to episode – sometimes scene to scene – is amusing, but the shortcuts in the storytelling are wildly noticeable. Also: it appears that in large numbers Mandalorians are both brave and stupid.

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