TV PICKS OF THE WEEK By Lisa Jewell

Our top three picks for your telly watching this week.

Drama – The Good Fight

Thursday 30 March, 9pm, More 4

Fans of The Good Wife TV series will already be looking forward to this spin off but it will work just as well for those uninitiated in the ways of Florrick, Lockhart and Gardner (we’re still grieving for poor Will Gardner).

The legal drama continues on the story, this time focusing on ace lawyer Diane Lockhart (played by the amazing Christine Baranski). Diane is looking forward to retirement but discovers that a ponzi scheme has taken most of her pension assets and she needs to keep practising the law.

It’s essentially a start over story, like Alicia Flockhart’s at the beginning of The Good Wife. Some returning characters and new characters keep the drama spicy and the fact that it airs exclusively on CBS Online in the States gives the creators much more scope for strong language. This first episode, ‘Inauguration’ had to be rewritten when real life essentially ‘trumped’ the storyline and expected winner Clinton lost the race. Another kick in the face for Clinton supporter Diane Lockhart.

Film – Doubt

Saturday 1 April, 9pm, Be3

Absorbing dramatic film that was adapted from a stage play and retains that intimate theatrical feel on the big screen. The big hitters from the acting world all take their parts – Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis to name but a few.

Streep stars as Sister Beauvier, the headmistress of a Catholic school in 1960s New York. When she’s alerted to the allegation that popular priest Father Flynn is paying undue attention to a child, we see how far she will go to find the truth…and what the consequences will be.

Film – Chef

Sunday 2 April, 9pm, Film 4

Funny and touching film about Carl, a top chef at a LA restaurant who quits his job after a fall out concerning a negative review. He heads back to his hometown of Miami and re-evaluates why he became a chef in the first place. The idea to set up a food truck and get back to his love of cooking soon become reality and through it, he discovers himself again and bonds with his son.