Poker Face ups the ante for its star-studded second season

Poker Face
Thursday, 9pm, Sky Max
Natasha Lyonne’s cool crime caper was one of 2023’s most entertaining shows, following Vegas casino worker Charlie (Lyonne) whose ability to detect when people are lying gets her in big trouble with bad people and sets her on the run. As season two starts, she is still being chased across the US – but stopping to use her skill to solve a different “howcatchem” in every star-studded episode. Cynthia Erivo is a hoot as she plays quintuplets (or is that sextuplets?) after their wealthy mother dies and leaves everything to only one child. This week’s triple-bill opener also features Katie Holmes and Giancarlo Esposito as funeral directors, with Charlie all the while dodging bullets. Hollie Richardson

Germanwings: What Happened on Flight 9525?
Wednesday, 9pm, Sky Documentaries
It has been 10 years since the Germanwings Flight 9525 crash in the French Alps, in which all 150 passengers and crew were killed. The French public prosecutor’s office determined that the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, deliberately crashed the plane after being treated for severe depression. But this is still questioned. In this documentary, experts and journalists piece together what happened. HR

Octopus!
From Thursday, Prime Video
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s post-Fleabag career has been somewhat eccentric, and this two-part documentary, which she narrates and executive produces, is another left turn. It’s essentially an oddball love letter to the octopus – with its powers of transformation, bizarre mating habits and general air of underwater alien strangeness. But the series soon transcends its ostensible subject matter and becomes an exploration of some of the people who have devoted their lives to the celebration, study and preservation of these charismatic creatures. These include environmentalists, scientists … and 30 Rock star Tracy Morgan, who is charmingly and volubly obsessed with them. Phil Harrison

Marie Antoinette
From Thursday, BBC iPlayer
Her gloomy ending is something of a spoiler alert in waiting, but as we rejoin the soon-to-be last queen of France in this lavish series, she has produced a male heir and ruled for a decade. However, clouds are gathering – signs of poverty abound on the streets and, while Marie has yet to alight upon her unpopular cake-based solution, she definitely inhabits a different world. Meanwhile, Louis is struggling to hide the dire state of the country’s finances. A nicely realised period drama that establishes a distinctively dreamy if sinister tone. PH

Long Way Home
From Friday, Apple TV+
Bikes revving and dad-rock blaring, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman embrace their inner Partridge as they return for another grand tour. This time, they’re exploring northern Europe – once the torturous and overlong process of selecting and equipping their bikes has taken place. It’s a slightly gauche middle-aged male fantasy, albeit given extra poignancy by the serious accident in which Boorman was involved in 2016, and the care with which McGregor helps him along on his first major expedition since. While the travel element is basic, the show is a cheerful portrait of male friendship. PH

For local listings and availability, visit justwatch.com.