This Week’s Top Choices to Watch, Read and Listen to

Tune in each week as Marhaba delves into the wonderful world of popular culture to find the best new TV series, movies, books, and music.

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The Afterparty
Apple TV+, 28 January

The Afterparty is a glorious murder mystery played out across eight episodes, each told by a different character in their own unique way. The half-hour comedy is a lighthearted take on a perennial TV favourite, the whodunnit, created by Christopher Miller (21 Jump Street, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs). Pop star Xavier (Dave Franco) turns up dead following a high school reunion. Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish) knows the culprit is one of the old classmates – well, they did all hate him – and settles down with a bag of popcorn while taking their statements. As she explains, ‘We’re all stars of our own movie. The same thing could happen, but you see it in a different way.’ The comedy runs along at a brisk pace, with excellent writing, outstanding directing and exceptional performances by a talented cast. This clever murder mystery is already being called the best of 2022’s new shows. The first three episodes debut on Friday 28 January, with new episodes dropping weekly thereafter.

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Munich: The Edge of War
Netflix, 21 January

The Netflix Original movie Munich: The Edge of War is based on Robert Harris’ bestselling spy novel of the same name (not to be confused with Munich, the 2015 Steven Spielberg film). This is the true story of Hugh Legat (George Mackay, 1917) and Paul Von Hartmann (Jannis Niewöhner, Berlin Station), two former university friends who reunite at the 1938 Munich Conference. However, they are now working for opposing governments: Hugh as press secretary to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (Jeremy Irons), and Paul as foreign press secretary to Adolf Hitler. The story follows the terrifying build-up to World War II, with the tense events of the conference set to determine the fate of the world following Germany’s Third Reich illegally expanding their territory. It is up to Chamberlain to try and avert war – and his success may all depend on the retrieval of a document. This is a thrilling war drama with political subterfuge and danger at every turn, and which shows how Chamberlain thought he had achieved success by declaring the now-famous statement ‘Peace in Our Time’.

Related: See our Cinema Listings for all the latest releases you can watch in Qatar!

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Pandora
Susan Stokes-Chapman

Also for fans of historical fiction, the atmospheric and gripping Pandora merges the Greek myth of Pandora and Georgian-era London. In 1799, Dora Blake is an aspiring jewellery artist living with her uncle in her parents’ famous shop of antiquities. One day a mysterious Greek vase is delivered – intrigued by her uncle’s suspicious behaviour, Dora seeks the help of Edward Lawrence, a young antiquarian scholar. While Edward sees the ancient vase as the key to furthering his academic future, Dora sees it as a chance to restore the shop to its former glory and to escape her evil uncle. However, Edward’s discovery about the vase makes Dora question everything she has believed about her life, her family, and the world she lives in. As secrets and deception are uncovered, Dora realises that some mysteries are buried for a reason.