John Oliver.
John Oliver.
Image: Getty Images / Neilson Barnard / FilmMagic

1. LAST WEEK TONIGHT: YouTube

The king of post-Letterman American late night – John Oliver returns after a break to give his Emmy and Peabody Award winning take on the craziness that is America. Others have tried but few equal Oliver’s particular brand of piercing political commentary and satirical impishness.

WATCH | Last Week Tonight trailer:

2. THE MAGICIANS season four: Showmax

Critics and serious sci-fi/fantasy fans’ favourite adult show about magic returns for a fourth season in which, the writers, having run out of the source material provided by cult author Lev Grossman, embark on new, unchartered and glibly funny adventures.

WATCH | The Magicians season four trailer:

3. LARRY CHARLES’ DANGEROUS WORLD OF COMEDY: Netflix  

Serious comedy fans will know that Larry Charles has been the man behind everything from Seinfeld to Curb Your Enthusiasm, Borat and Bruno. Here he steps out from behind the writing desk and camera to take a tour of some of the world’s most unlikely places for comedy – Iraq, Syria, Liberia, Nigeria – to find out how funny bones keep being tickled even in the most abject of circumstances.

WATCH | Larry Charles' Dangerous World of Comedy trailer:

4. UMBRELLA ACADEMY: Netflix

Based on the Dark Horse comic series by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá – this is a kind of X-Men-style series centred on 43 children born with superpowers to 43 different mothers on the same night. When the man who adopted them dies, the graduates of the Umbrella Academy have to pool together and learn how to look after not only themselves but also the rest of the world.

WATCH | Umbrella Academy trailer:

5. THE BREAKER UPPERERS: Netflix

This very funny New Zealand female buddy pic is about two women who run a service for those too cowardly to do their own relationship ending. Directed by, and starring, its leads Jackie Van Bleek and Madeline Sami – it’s kooky, hilarious and a welcome antidote to the sentimentalism of greeting cards and Valentine’s Day.

WATCH | The Breaker Upperers trailer:

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