Netflix celebrates the arrival of darker nights with a historical drama about the black stuff, or rather the complicated beefs within the famous Guinness family. House Of Guinness goes behind the scenes of St James’ Gate Brewery, starting with the death in 1868 of Ireland’s wealthiest man, Sir Benjamin Guinness whose last will and testament triggers power grabs from his four kids. Cue secret babies, sham marriages and blackmail plots: it’s like Dynasty soundtracked by Kneecap. Writer Steven Knight, creator of Peaky Blinders, explores Dublin’s underbelly as he did with Birmingham, so expect more thuggery, this time with plenty paddywhackery. You can almost hear Irish viewers giving out to their screens as stereotypes flow like poitín at a wake (at one point a wise crone, widowed by the potato famine, diagnoses illnesses just by looking at someone), but juicy skullduggery and elegant production make this a slick, entertaining knees-up. 

Meanwhile in London, a wealthy mummy’s boy (Laurie Davidson) brings home his new girlfriend, kicking off a tense dynamic between the two VIP women in his life. Based on Michelle Frances’ novel, The Girlfriend (Prime Video) is a psychological thriller flipping between two perspectives. Both mother and girlfriend think the vibes are off, and we must guess who the real psycho is. Saucer-eyed Cherry Laine (Olivia Cooke) has working-class roots but high-spec aspirations while chic, neurotic Laura Sanderson (Robin Wright) still kisses her son on the mouth and micro-manages him to a suffocating degree. There are glamorous interludes at the family’s Spanish villa and yacht, plus several preposterous plot twists. Overall, it’s fun and moreish, touching on serious oedipal issues while skeletons tumble out of closets.

Based on a true story, The Savant (Apple TV+) zooms in on an online agent assisting the FBI by infiltrating terrorist chat rooms. Jessica Chastain is the stay-at-home mom who waits until the kids are in bed then roleplays as a hate-filled patriot. Watching the investigator steer her own son away from misogynist games with the neighbours’ kids while tracking teen gamers embroiled in hate-crime plots, it’s gripping and unnerving, a taut, disturbing exploration of the manosphere, and a scaled-up American counterpart to Adolescence.

In the light of all that torrid drama, documentary miniseries Sneaker Wars: Adidas Vs Puma on Disney+ is a palate-cleansing and fascinating deep dive into the famous rivalry between brothers Adi and Rudi Dassler. Disney’s team got two years’ access to the sporting brands, plus interviews with David Beckham and Usain Bolt. Using early celeb endorsement as they gifted shoes to Jesse Owens at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the Dasslers’ story is enjoyable not just from a sports-fan perspective, but from fashion, trivia and business angles too.

Meanwhile, set in the Highlands, ITV’s oddball serial-killer romp Coldwater follows John (Andrew Lincoln), a family man toiling to stay afloat in his own life while being called a ‘bloody cuck’ by the neighbour (a gloriously cloying Eve Myles). In a strong cast, Ewen Bremner is great as the henpecked psychopath but some farcical moments, plus the casting of comedy actors Greg Hemphill, Sanjeev Kohli and Jonathan Watson, steer the show away from inky darkness towards a more tongue-in-cheek caper.

Trump’s arrival in the UK last month prompted inspired programming from Channel 4, who devoted an evening to ‘the longest uninterrupted reel of untruths, falsehoods and distortions ever broadcast on television’. Trump Vs The Truth is 100 lies from the Tangerine Toddler, fact checked for your amusement slash horror. Over two chaotic hours with the logic-dodging Cheeto, we hear blood-chillingly sinister fake news, brazenly dumb brags and snort-out-loud daft fibs ($50m spent on condoms for Hamas is pure comedy gold). While giving flashbacks to every primary-school bullshitter, you’ll probably laugh, cry and despair in equal measure.