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Guardian’s weekly pick showcases seven standout series available to stream from 21 April to 24 April 2026, ranging from gritty dramas on BBC iPlayer to a nature documentary on Disney+.Half Man – Richard Gadd’s first television drama since Baby Reindeer lands on BBC iPlayer on Friday 24 April. The two‑timeline story follows brothers Ruben (Jamie Bell) and Niall (Gadd) as they navigate a volatile, tender relationship in a hostile school environment. Young Niall is portrayed by Mitchell Robertson, while Stuart Campbell plays an aggressive Ruben, delivering a raw look at adolescent trauma.Unchosen – Netflix releases this unsettling thriller on Tuesday 21 April. Molly Windsor stars as Rosie, a woman trapped in a cult‑like household run by Christopher Eccleston’s domineering Mr Phillips. When the enigmatic Sam (Fra Fee) arrives, Rosie’s instincts clash with the patriarchal control, while her husband Adam (Asa Butterfield) adds further tension.Ramy Youssef: In Love – The third HBO Max special drops on Saturday 18 April. Youssef blends sharp cultural commentary with humor, tackling topics from Saudi‑Arabia comedy festivals to AI‑generated porn and modern masculinity, all while maintaining his signature wit.Criminal Record – Returning to Apple TV on Wednesday 22 April, the thriller reunites detectives June Lenker (Cush Jumbo) and Daniel Hegarty (Peter Capaldi). The duo confronts a far‑right threat at an Islamist rally, with Lenker’s investigation colliding with internal police resistance.Orangutan – Disney+ streams this Borneo‑and‑Sumatra documentary on Wednesday 22 April. Narrated by Josh Gad, the film follows young primate Indah through dense jungle hazards, offering intimate wildlife footage that challenges the high bar set by David Attenborough.Running Point – (Details omitted due to truncation) continues the week’s eclectic mix of streaming options, rounding out a diverse slate that caters to drama lovers, comedy fans, and nature enthusiasts alike.

The most iconic sequence in wildlife filmmaking history has been revisited in a new documentary, 'A Gorilla Story: Told By David Attenborough'. The film, directed by Oscar-winning James Reed and produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, follows up on Attenborough's 1970s encounter with a family of gorillas in Rwanda. During the filming of 'Life on Earth,' Attenborough had a playful and profound encounter with the gorillas, which he described as having 'more meaning and mutual understanding in exchanging a glance with a gorilla than with any other animal I know.' The documentary reveals that while conservation efforts have led to a significant recovery of Rwanda's gorilla population, the specific family Attenborough met has undergone significant changes. The dominant silverback, Gicurasi, is aging, and a new challenger, Ubwuzu, is asserting his dominance, leading to power struggles and violence within the family. The film beautifully captures the personalities and social dynamics of the gorillas, but its short runtime of just over an hour leaves some storylines underdeveloped. Despite this, the documentary shines when Attenborough reflects on his past experiences and the gorillas he has come to know. As Attenborough approaches his 100th birthday, his appearance in the documentary adds an emotional and elegiac tone. His reflections on Pablo, a gorilla who protected his family to the end, are particularly poignant, showcasing Attenborough's ability to articulate moments with 'exactly the right weight.' 'A Gorilla Story: Told By David Attenborough' is now available on Netflix, offering a unique blend of natural history and personal reflection.

The latest weekly wildlife roundup from The Guardian showcases three standout stories that capture the season’s most intriguing animal moments. First, birdwatchers were delighted by a puffin bromance – a same‑sex pair forming a close bond on a coastal cliff, a behavior that challenges traditional notions of seabird mating rituals and highlights the fluidity of avian social structures. Meanwhile, in freshwater habitats, a group of terracotta‑hued terrapins turned heads as their shells displayed an unusually vivid, almost blushing, coloration. Scientists suggest the hue may be linked to diet or environmental stressors, offering a visual cue for further ecological study. Finally, wetlands across several regions reported a boom in gosling numbers, with nests hatching earlier and in greater quantities than usual. This surge could signal favorable breeding conditions, but also raises questions about future food availability and predator‑prey dynamics. Collectively, these observations remind readers that wildlife continues to surprise and adapt, providing fresh material for both enthusiasts and researchers alike.

In the heart of Belfast's urban landscape, a cherished meadow in Lower Botanic Gardens, affectionately known as 'our field', is facing a significant threat. This community garden, which has been rewilded and recultivated for a new age, has a rich history of adapting to the needs of the times. During World War II, it grew vegetables, and post-war, it provided housing in prefabricated homes.Today, the field continues to serve the local community in subtle yet transformative ways. It has been restored as a floodplain meadow, acting like a sponge to absorb rainfall and release it slowly, thereby providing a natural flood defence. The meadow is home to a variety of wildlife, including lady's-smock flowers and birds like the coal tit.The field is also a site for university research into improving carbon sequestration in crops and soil. However, despite its ecological and community value, Belfast City Council (BCC) has been debating converting it into a sports pitch, a move that has sparked concern among local residents.The potential conversion has been described as a land grab, with many feeling that it would undermine the field's ecological and community benefits. As one resident noted, the field's value extends beyond just being a green space; it provides a social and skills network for the community.With rising sea levels and increased rainfall due to climate change, the importance of preserving such green spaces cannot be overstated. The field's transformation into a sports pitch would not only destroy a unique ecosystem but also undermine efforts to enhance the city's resilience to climate change.

Gray whales have historically been a rare sight in the San Francisco Bay. They migrate over 10,000 miles from Mexico's Baja California to the Arctic region, seldom stopping in the busy shipping corridor for prolonged periods. However, in recent years, this has changed in a dire way.A new study published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science has found that gray whales in the bay have been dying at alarming rates, largely due to collisions with vessels. Eastern North Pacific (ENP) gray whales began to appear more frequently in the well-trafficked maritime corridor around 2018.According to researchers, at least 18% of gray whales that entered the bay from 2018 to 2025 have died. They determined that for more than 40% of the whale carcasses, the cause of death was blunt force trauma consistent with vessel strikes, prompting calls for renewed efforts to help avoid more fatal collisions.“It was historically very unusual for them to enter the bay, especially for longer amounts of time or consistently year after year,” said Josie Slaathaug, lead author of the study. There are whale subgroups known to hunt for food south of the Arctic, but a majority of the recently spotted whales feeding in the bay were not a part of these foraging clusters.A wave of new whale presence had not been observed in the waters since the late 1990s. Researchers have theorized that Arctic warming is disrupting food availability for the whales, driving them to hunt in new places such as the bay, although it remains unclear what exactly they may be eating there.Their potential new feeding corner, though, is a major shipping route. The true mortality rate for whales in the bay may be higher, hovering somewhere from 40% to 50%, Slaathaug said.In recent years, there have been several reports of dead whales that wash up on Bay Area beaches. The ENP gray whale population has been in decline due to malnutrition and starvation from climate-driven prey shifts in the Arctic. The Southwest Fisheries Science Center estimated a population total of about 13,000 whales, its lowest count since 1970.“It’s not unique to their migratory corridor that a lot of whales are dying,” Slaathaug said. “What is unique about San Francisco Bay and this study was that there was such a clear emerging cause of death.”Some local efforts are under way to reduce vessel collisions. The Marine Mammal Center has developed a program called Whale Smart, to educate vessel operators in the San Francisco Bay on how to interpret whale behavior to avoid close encounters.In Alaska, where vessels also pose a threat to the whale population, one fleet company partnered with WhaleSpotter, a company that uses AI and thermal imaging to detect the presence of whales, so they can change course well in advance.Last year, the Center for Biological Diversity, a conservation group, sued the US Coast Guard, which regulates vessel traffic off the California coast, for failing to analyze how vessel routes may harm whales and sea turtles.“This most recent study about the gray whales reaffirms that we have way underestimated the problem and we are not managing human activities well enough to avoid the whales,” said Catherine Kilduff, senior attorney at the center.Federal action is needed to reduce the fatal collisions, Kilduff said. According to the Endangered Species Act, the coast guard should be consulting with the National Marine Fisheries Service when setting shipping lanes to assess impact to marine wildlife.Kilduff also suggested mandatory speed limits for vessels. “There are voluntary speed reductions on the west coast, but there is evidence that those aren’t effective. The compliance rate isn’t high enough,” she said.A 2022 study co-authored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that the average speeds of large vessels had decreased from 2010 to 2019 in voluntary speed reduction zones. But, researchers determined that the cooperation rate of roughly 50% was lower than the amount needed to reduce vessel strike-related mortality to a level that maintains a sustainable whale population.“These whales are using the oceans in such a sophisticated way. We can learn so much from them, and if we can figure out ways to avoid killing them, I know that they’ll come back to healthy population levels,” Kilduff said.

A Chinese national has been sentenced to one year in prison and fined by a Nairobi court for attempting to smuggle thousands of ants out of Kenya, a lucrative trade in east Africa that was exposed last year.The insects are mostly destined for China, the US, and Europe, where they become pets and can be worth about $100 each.Ant smuggling made headlines last year when two Belgian teenagers were arrested in possession of nearly 5,000 ants, mostly stored in small test tubes. They were fined about $7,700.Zhang Kequn, who evaded capture until his arrest on 10 March, had been linked to another case involving two people, one Vietnamese and one Kenyan.More than 2,200 ants – including 1,948 prized Messor cephalotes – were found in test tubes in Zhang’s luggage at Nairobi’s international airport that was destined for China.He was initially charged with wildlife trafficking without a permit and conspiracy, which carries a seven-year sentence, his lawyer said. He pleaded guilty after latter charge was dismissed.At the court in Nairobi, the judge, Irene Gichobi, described Zhang as lacking in remorse and “not an entirely honest person”.She said he would be fined 1m Kenya shillings ($7,700) and handed down a one-year jail sentence, after a 14-day appeal. She said he would then be “referred to his home country”.“There is need for a stiff deterrent sentence,” she said, noting the “rising cases of dealing in large quantities of garden ants and the negative ecological side-effects”.

Colombia's Environment Minister, Irene Velez, announced on Monday that the country will cull up to 80 hippos that have been roaming freely in a region near the Magdalena River basin. The decision comes after previous attempts to control the population, including sterilization and capturing the animals, proved too expensive or ineffective.The hippos were introduced to Colombia by infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar in the 1980s, when he brought four to his private zoo. After Escobar's death, the hippo population swelled to an estimated 170, with the animals now spotted up to 60 miles from Escobar's former ranch, Hacienda Napoles.Authorities say the hippos pose a threat to villagers who encounter them and compete with native wildlife, such as manatees, for food. Despite local concerns, the hippos have become a tourist attraction, with visitors flocking to the Napoles ranch to spot the animals and buy hippo-themed souvenirs.Animal welfare activists have opposed the culling, citing concerns about the country's history of conflict and the potential for the cull to set a poor example. However, Velez emphasized that the action is necessary to preserve Colombia's ecosystems. The hippos cannot be returned to their natural habitat due to their limited gene pool, which could lead to the spread of diseases.

Up early on a remarkable day, the moon still visible in the morning sky, evoking a sense of wonder with the knowledge of four humans having traveled further from Earth than anyone in history. The author seeks Easter tranquility by the sea in the Ventnor Undercliff, Isle of Wight, where on a clear day, France seems within sight.Sitting on the terrace, taking in the view, the author notices a fast, lithe, slender movement. A wall lizard, camouflaged against the olive tree bark, is basking in the warmest day of the year. Its coloring features olive, muted grey, brown, and yellow flank stripes.The origin of the well-established wall lizard population in the area is disputed, with theories including shipwreck survivors, wild animals at the northernmost end of their range, or introduced by collectors in the late 19th century. A genetic study suggests their origins are in Italy, in the middle of their European range.The Undercliff's microclimate suits the lizards' lifestyle, with south-facing terraces, scrubby plants, and handy crevices. The lizard's bold behavior leads it to dash straight towards the author, stopping inches away, seemingly unafraid and possibly indignant. After a moment, it scampers past without acknowledgment, and both the lizard and the author continue their day.

“The world is grown so bad that wrens make prey where eagles dare not perch,” wrote Shakespeare in *Richard III*. The line now echoes a hopeful development: the iconic golden eagle could once again soar over England after more than a century and a half of absence. The golden eagle, a bird with a wingspan of roughly 2 metres, was a common sight in Shakespeare’s England, yet it has been effectively extinct in the country since the death of the last native individual in 2015. Centuries of persecution by gamekeepers and farmers, who feared predation on lambs and game birds, drove the species to the brink. A feasibility study commissioned by Forestry England and released on Sunday pinpoints eight potential “recovery zones”—predominantly in northern England—where the habitat could sustain a viable eagle population. The report cautions that establishing breeding pairs may take **more than a decade**. In response, Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds announced an additional £1 million in species‑recovery funding. The money will underwrite a programme that could see juvenile eagles, aged six to eight weeks, released into the wild as early as next year. Reynolds said, “This government is committed to protecting and restoring our most threatened native wildlife – and that includes bringing back iconic species like the golden eagle. Backed by £1 million of government funding, we will work alongside partners and communities to make the golden eagle a feature of English landscapes once again.” Across the border, golden eagle numbers in southern Scotland have surged to record levels thanks to a major restoration project. Satellite tracking shows that some translocated Scottish birds are already venturing into northern England, offering a natural source of future colonisers. The new funding will support these cross‑border movements and enable targeted reintroductions. While experts anticipate that golden eagles could be regularly observed across northern England within 10 years, establishing a self‑sustaining breeding population will require a longer horizon. Mike Seddon, chief executive of Forestry England, explained, “The detailed findings of our feasibility study will guide us, with our partners at Restoring Upland Nature, to take the next steps toward recovering golden eagles in northern England. This DEFRA funding means we can build on the good work we have begun, engaging local communities, landowners and conservation organisations.” The £1 million allocation forms part of a broader £60 million species‑recovery fund announced by DEFRA. It aligns with the UK’s legally binding commitment to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 and to reduce extinction risk by 2042 relative to 2022 levels.