New to ThreeNow in December

DI Ray S1-2 (December 14) stars Parminder Nagra (ER, Bend It Like Beckham) as a British-Asian detective who suspects her promotion to homicide may be due to politically-mandated diversity rather than merit.

But the first case she’s assigned, an honour killing, turns out to be anything but a “culturally specific homicide”.

Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones) and Patrick Baladi (The Hack) co-star in a Jed (Line of Duty) Mercurio-produced drama that The Age called  a “depiction of systemic racism lodged inside a murder case” and The Guardian “a police procedural with a fresh perspective”.

But The Telegraph observed: “It was written by Maya Sondhi (Line of Duty’s PC Maneet Bindra), who has drawn from her own experiences. Unfortunately, Sondhi spent so much time working on the issues that she clean forgot about the plot.”

• Here’s the trailer.

Spartacus: House of Ashur (December 6) premieres exclusively on ThreeNow.

The premise of this made-in-NZ sequel is: What if Ashur lived, rewarded with the gladiator school where he once bled? Fueled by vengeance and cunning ambition, he rises from betrayal and bloodshed to seize power by unveiling Achillia, a fierce female gladiator.

Nick Tarabay (Spartacus, The Expanse), Graham McTavish (Outlander, House of the Dragon), and Kiwis Jordi Webber (Choose Love, The Dead Lands) and Lucy Lawless star.

• Here’s the trailer.

Not to be confused with Prime Video’s The Rig, Rig 45 S1-2 (December 3) is a Swedish thriller about an oil company troubleshooter who’s sent to investigate a fatal accident on a North Sea rig.

Faced with silence and a raging storm that cuts off communications, she and the crew soon realise there is a killer on board.

The Guardian called it a “thrilling Scandi murder mystery” and The Killing Times “a watchable, tense and fun series that is perfect for a bit of escapism”.

• Here’s the trailer.

Returning is Married to the Game S2 (December 21, trailer) while from the vault are Rookie Blue S1-6 (December 28, trailer) and from December 7 the Starz trilogy The White Queen (trailer), The White Princess (trailer) and The Spanish Princess (trailer).