Favourite Aussie housemates lead top TV line-up not to be missed

From Australia’s favourite housemates to crime thrillers, documentaries on well-known Hollywood celebrities to a recent hit movie, Lisa Woolford presents 10 TV shows you shouldn’t miss.

FIVE BEDROOMS

Sunday, Paramount+

It’s season four of this brilliant dramedy. There’s still five bedrooms – but our original quintet is now a sextet – and, yep, that’s as exciting and uncomfortable as it sounds. Creators Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett – of Offspring fame – prove (once again) that they are absolute masters of their craft, deftly weaving the tales of the talented ensemble, which includes Kat Stewart, Doris Younane, Steve Peacocke, Katie Robertson, Roy Joseph and Johnny Carr. In the first three episodes that drop this week, Ben (Peacocke) is kinda dating Mel (the hilarious Kate Jenkinson) – although she’s still technically married to Lachlan (Hugh Sheridan). The whole house is shook. Ainsley, in particular, is worried. “I mean swing a cat and you’ll hit a reason,” she says, when Simmo asks her why. That’s the light, the shade is Roy’s problematic mother Manju (the fabulous Kumud Merani), whose health crisis puts further strain on their relationship.

NORTH SHORE

Wednesday, 8.40pm, Ten

Crime thriller North Shore stars Joanne Froggatt, Kristy Sturgess and John Bradley. Picture: Ten

Kudos to Ten for continuing to develop new scripted dramas each year. In this six-part crime thriller, when the 19-year-old daughter of a UK politician is found dead in Sydney Harbour, cultures clash as a British and an Australian detective team up to solve a complex murder mystery. The plot thickens as the two detectives begin to uncover a conspiracy with political consequences. It’s a superb cast with Game of Thrones’ John Bradley and Downton Abbey’s Joanne Froggatt joining a host of local talent, including Kirsty Sturgess in her first major role, Dan Spielman, Rob Carlton, Matt Passmore, and Rhys Muldoon.

SAFE HOME

Thursday, 8.30pm, SBS

Safe Home is a four-part drama on SBS. Picture: Supplied

It’s an age-old question of people who are fleeing situations of family violence – why didn’t she just leave? And it’s one that the gripping drama series Safe Home answers right from the start. “They know what the safest thing to do is,” lawyer Jenny (Mabel Li), tells Phoebe (the Bold Type’s Aisha Dee), the newly hired communications officer. “Sometimes staying is the best option. You know where he is, you can read the temperature, help regulate their mood swings.” This four-part drama unfolds through the shifting outlook of young lawyer Phoebe.

CITY ON FIRE

Friday, AppleTV+

City On Fire is an eight-part mystery thriller from the team behind Gossip Girl and The O.C., so it comes with great credentials. It’s the Fourth of July in 2003, and NYU student Samantha (the very busy Chase Sui Wonders) leaves a gig at her favourite downtown club, vowing to make a swift return. Instead, she is shot dead. As investigators delve further, she is revealed to be the connection between a series of mysterious citywide fires, the downtown music scene, and a wealthy uptown real estate family.

THE GREAT

Saturday, Stan

Elle Fanning in The Great.

Huzzah! It’s the third season of The Great (May 13), Australian Tony McNamara’s clever, and hilarious, “almost Entirely Untrue Story” of how a young German princess, Catherine (Elle Fanning), ultimately thrives after being shipped to 18th century Russia to marry the rather awful, but handsome, Emperor Peter III (Nicholas Hoult). The first two seasons were cracking – this one is the darkest, but still with all the absurdity such as Peter embracing his stay-at-home dad role, complete with toting their son Paul around in the historical version of a fur-lined Baby Bjorn.

ANNA NICOLE SMITH: YOU DON’T KNOW ME

Tuesday, Netflix

Anna Nicole Smith. Picture: Mike Simons/Getty Images

She was the blonde bombshell of the'90s, probably better known for her marriage to octogenarian billionaire James Howard than her career. It will track her rise from Playboy model in 1992 through to her death in 2007, with never-before-seen footage, home movies, and interviews with key figures who have never spoken out before. It’s tipped to be an unflinching and humanising examination of the life, death and secrets of the woman named Vickie Lynn Hogan”

STILL

Friday, APPLE TV

Michael J. Fox reveals his Parkinson's battle is getting harder every day in Still.

This is a heartfelt look at the actor who rose to stardom as a kid and then was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s disease at just 29. Legendary Davis Guggenheim – whose impressive resume includes An Inconvenient Truth and He Named Me Malala – is at the helm. It’s an intimate look filled with poignant moments, and Fox’s typical humour. “The sad sack story is that Michael J Fox gets this debilitating disease and it crushes him,” Guggenheim says. Fox replies: “Yeah, that’s boring.” This film has unprecedented access to Fox and his world.

AIR

Friday, Amazon Prime Video

Ben Affleck in Air.

Already reaping the big bucks in theatres, here’s your chance to sit in the comfort of your own home and watch Ben Affleck direct the story of how one of history’s most iconic sneakers, the Nike Air Jordan, came to be. There’s a plethora of big names including Affleck as Nike co-founder Phil Knight, Viola Davis and Julius Tennon as Jordan’s parents, while newcomer Damian Delano Young is the man himself. Affleck’s friend and frequent collaborator Matt Damon is maverick Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro, with Ozark’s Jason Bateman as Rob Strasser. Let the games begin.

TEN POUND POMS

Sunday, Stan

Ten Pound Poms is a new drama on Stan.

Set in the 1950s, the drama charts the journey of the Roberts family, arriving in Australia for a new life as “ten-pound Poms”. My mum’s family were one of these and she often recounts arriving in South Australia on a searingly hot day, saying “no one can live in these temperatures, surely”. It’s certainly not quite as idyllic as they were promised in this fictional world either. The cast includes Rob Collins, Michelle Keegan, Warren Brown, Faye Marsay and Michelle Keegan.

DR TEETH AND THE ELECTRIC MAYHEM

Streaming, Disney

Dr. Teeth. Picture: Disney

The band from The Muppet Show – Dr Teeth, Floyd, Janice, Lips, Zoot, and my favourite drummer ever (apologies to Dave Grohl, Ringo and Phil Collins), Animal – first debuted in the pilot of the show in 1975. Fast forward almost 50 years and all they are missing in their storied career is a studio album. Cue optimistic record company exec (YouTube star Lilly Singh). There’s plenty of music and cameos from famous musicians.

Originally published as Favourite Aussie housemates lead top TV line-up not to be missed