Sharon Horgan has returned with a new series focusing on life in one's 50s, and critics say it might be her finest work yet. Lucy Mangan praised Horgan for her ability to "dwell in the truth always," calling her work "bitter funny or compelling." Nigella Lawson has joined the judging panel of The Great British Bake Off, with Lucy Mangan describing the show as "the good ship Bake Off fully seaworthy. Long may she sail with Nigella and crew at the helm." The Split Up, a spin-off of the BBC divorce drama The Split, is set in Manchester and stars Sanjeev Bhaskar. It has been described as "full-on sudsy fun from the start." The Wargame features a fictional exercise where a nuclear strike on the UK by Russia is simulated by a group of real ex-politicians, including Nicola Sturgeon, Harriet Harman, and Michael Gove. Lucy Mangan called the cast "fabulously awful." Furious, a crime drama centered on a female serial killer, is praised for its "television for grownups, television to pay attention to and to entertain you enormously." In film, Her Private Hell is a shapeshifting fantasy directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, moving through time and space, blending doomy reality with dream-like worlds. Peter Bradshaw noted that the film "resists interpretation, like so many of Refn’s recent films, but executes a slow dervish swirl of hypnotic strangeness." Hope, a Korean film directed by Na Hong-jin, combines digital effects with old-school spectacle to create high-quality entertainment. Peter Bradshaw observed that the film "ingeniously reveals that monsters have feelings too, and the local people’s desensitised aggression towards this existential outsider may have caused all the problems in the first place." Remake, directed by Ross McElwee, revisits footage of his late son as a tribute to a tragic loss and the art it inspired. Leslie Felperin described it as "all at once about creativity, shame, love and loss, revelling in the way film can capture a moment of truth and honesty, but tempered by the knowledge that once a subject knows they’re being filmed everything becomes a kind of performance." Sense and Sensibility, a new adaptation of Jane Austen's novel, features Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles as the Dashwood sisters. Peter Bradshaw noted that this version is "a more downbeat, ruminative version, happening in much cloudier weather than 30 years ago and without the sugar-rush final wedding scene." Heart of the Beast stars Brad Pitt and his dog Odin in an adventure that hints at Jack London's style and Marley & Me. Peter Bradshaw called it "an entertaining anthro-canine-mance, with man and dog relating to each other on a deep level." In books, Britain’s Slave Traders by William A Pettigrew is a historical account of the deep connections between British society and slavery. Joe Moran noted that the profits from the slave trade "funded the physical structures, from docks to canals, that helped make the country a global force." Doom by AK Blakemore is a retelling of England’s 1381 Peasants’ Revolt. Sandra Newman called it "a beast and a challenge; in its quirkiness and intensity, it couldn’t be more interesting." Exit Party by Emily St John Mandel explores two possible future USAs, linked through the story of a woman searching for the truth. Nina Allan noted that the book raises the question, "Is the price of stability necessarily the loss of freedom?" The Recovery House by Derek Owusu is a journey through an emotional crisis and the path to recovery. Emma Loffhagen described it as "a uniquely honest and affecting meditation on art, religion and mental health, told with a preternatural tenderness." The American Way of Killing by Malcolm Gladwell attempts to explain US gun culture. Gary Younge stated that Gladwell "fails to engage with who gets murdered by guns and why" by avoiding systemic inequalities. The Disappearers by Marlon James, shortlisted for the Booker Prize, explores gay life and murderous homophobia in Aids-era Kingston. Yagnishsing Dawoor praised the book for its "bitter and hilarious, lyrical, bawdy, pugnacious and scorchingly, ravishingly queer" prose. In music, Pugnello by Gilla Band is a 42-minute album of intense noise, described by Alexis Petridis as "the dictionary definition of 'not for everyone', although, like a lot of extreme music, it feels fitting in the context of 2026." Audacity by Jae Stephens is a maximalist R&B and pop album, with Shaad D’Souza calling it "the sound of an artist finally getting her shot, and refusing to squander it." The Gem by Julia Jacklin blends mystery and intimacy with luscious pop-rock. Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen noted that it "offers a window into the contradictions and confusions of Jacklin’s smart, sensitive mind." Debut by 15-year-old Japanese violinist Himari features works by Wieniawski, Chopin, Godowsky, and Sibelius. Clive Paget observed that her playing is "technical and secure, combined with an easy lyricism across the instrument’s full range." The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is celebrating its 80th anniversary with a performance of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, with Clive Paget noting that the performance was "strong in its sense of vision and musical cohesion."