From the year’s most bonkers doco to the return of Emily: here’s what to watch on TV this week
From a mad monkey documentary created by the man behind Tiger King to a return to Paris with the effervescent Emily, there’s plenty to enjoy on the small screen this week.
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We’ve sifted through the latest offerings from TV and streaming platforms to find the best shows you should be watching this week.
CHIMP CRAZY
NEW EPISODES MONDAYS, BINGE
Director Eric Goode blew our minds four years ago with the stranger-than-fiction, true-crime documentary Tiger King and returns to the wacky world of exotic animals with this equally astonishing four-part documentary. In fact, Tiger King caused such a stir in the tight-knit community that he had to use a proxy director – appropriately enough a former circus clown – to worm his way into a business that specialises in breeding chimpanzees to sell as pets as well as for use in movies. This week’s first episode introduced audiences to animal broker Tonia Haddix – aka “the Dolly Parton of the chimps or crazy monkey lady” – and her ongoing battle with animal rights group PETA to decide the future of a group of the great apes housed at a self-styled primate sanctuary in Missouri. With the help of actor Alan Cumming, the case continues in next week’s episode, which also recounts the life-threatening dangers of domesticated chimps as they grow up, saving the most jaw-dropping moment (there are many) for last.
GREAT AUSTRALIAN WALKS
THURSDAY, 7.30PM, SBS
After uncovering some hidden Australian gems that can be explored on foot in last year’s first season, presenter Julia Zemiro has enlisted help for the follow-up in the form of Alone Australia winner Gina Chick and actor Susie Youssef. For this week’s first episode, Zemiro steps out on a section of Western Australia’s stunning Cape to Cape track, which runs for 125kn from Cape Leeuwin to Cape Naturaliste. It’s a fascinating blend of nature, science, culture and history as she checks in with US-born, ARIA-winning musician John Butler, who has made the area his home, traditional custodians of the land and an ecologist uncovering climate change secrets by studying the rings of majestic Karri trees.
EMILY IN PARIS
NETFLIX
By now, you’re probably either all-in or all-out on the spectacular scenery and soapy stories of aspiring marketing exec Emily Cooper (Lily Collins) and her adventures in the City of Light. Nothing that happens in the first part of this fourth and possibly final season (the second part arrives September 12 and creator Darren Star has neither ruled further episodes in or out) is likely to change that – it’s still light as a souffle but with the sugar hit of a chocolate eclair. After the cliffhanger of last season’s wedding gone wrong, the Emily-Gabriel-Alfie love triangle is still playing out, complicated by a surprise pregnancy. More interesting is Emily’s endless professional travails, thanks in no small part to Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu’s icily immaculate agency boss, Sylvie.
BODY NEXT DOOR
SATURDAY, STAN
It’s quite the week for mind-bogglingly odd true crime documentaries, but as the one of the policeman in this Wales set three-part series observes, this one is less of a whodunit than it is a whoisit. The titular body – a decaying corpse wrapped in more than 40 layers of plastic – was dumped outside a block of flats in the tiny village of Beddau and, after a few false starts and detours, suspicion fell on one of the residents, a flamboyant but fondly-remembered fantasist named Leigh Ann Sabine. The problem was, she had recently died of brain cancer. The resulting police investigation into Sabine reaches as far as New Zealand, where her bizarre and dark past is uncovered, accompanied by the heartbreaking recollections of the children she had abandoned more than half a century ago.
BOARDERS
FRIDAY, STAN
The premise behind one of the funniest shows of the year so far could have been lifted from the headlines here – a prestigious private school is desperate to rehabilitate its public image after some of its pupils are caught on camera monstering a homeless man, expecting that their privilege and wealth will protect them from consequence. To make amends, the stately St Gilbert’s boarding school offers scholarships to five talented, underprivileged black students from south London. Predictably they are greeted with stereotyping and racism as they often hilariously chafe against not just the tradition, extreme wealth and upper-class twits of their new environment, but also the half-baked overenthusiasm of the diversity, equity and inclusion team.
JACKPOT!
PRIME VIDEO
Wrestler-turned-actor John Cena continues to flex his comedy muscles in this fun but dopey effort from Bridesmaids director Paul Feig. Set in a dystopian near future where sport and reality TV have been taken to the nth degree with a lottery that promises billions to the winning ticket holders – as long as they can evade the pursuing hordes trying to take the prize by (legally) murdering them before sundown. Awkwafina plays an aspiring actor who accidentally activates the winning ticket and Cena is the burly but kind-hearted protector who offers his services to see her to safety. The well-staged fights and one-liners come fast and furious – with over-the-top contributions from Simu Liu and Machine Gun Kelly – even if it’s all rather preposterous.
TITANIC IN COLOUR
SUNDAY, 7.30PM, SBS
Does the world really need another Titanic documentary? Arguably not, but even 112 years after the she slid beneath the icy waters of the Atlantic after an unfortunate encounter with an iceberg, there seems to be a morbid fascination with the luxury liner that has come to stand for human hubris. The point of difference here is that the story has always been told in black and white, but now pictures and footage of passengers, interiors and the ship herself have been colourised for the first time, giving viewers a deeper insight into the labour behind and luxury of that ill-fated maiden voyage, as well as the lives of some of those on board. It also goes to show just how painstakingly accurate James Cameron’s blockbuster was when it came to recreating the sumptuous interiors, period customs and upstairs-downstairs divisions between the travelling classes.
CURTIS MCGRATH UNSTOPPABLE
MONDAY, 8.45PM, CHANNEL 9
This inspirational documentary is a perfect warm-up for the Paris Paralympic Games, which kick off this time next week promising more heroics from the Aussie contingent. Indeed, sporting stories don’t come much more uplifting and impressive than that of soldier-turned-champion kayaker Curtis McGrath, who lost both of his legs while bravely clearing improvised explosive devices for his army comrades in Afghanistan. From the moment his life changed forever in the tragedy, McGrath was joking about competing at the Paralympics and the steely drive, focus and talent that have already made him a multiple world-champion are showcased through interviews by the friends, family and colleagues who know him best, interspersed with his challenges on the road to Paris and new fatherhood.
US OPEN
1AM, TUESDAY, 9GO!HD, STAN
There’s a little extra spice coming to this year’s final grand slam event in the wake of the recent Olympic Games at which defending US Open champ Novak Djokovic added the last prize missing from his groaning trophy cabinet by winning the gold medal and bolstering his claim to be the GOAT. His opponent in that match, bookies favourite Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, will be looking for revenge and also hoping to rebound from his racquet-destroying tantrum at the Cincinnati Open on the weekend. Leading the charge for the Aussies will be World No. 10 Alex de Minaur, aiming to reach his third straight gram slam quarterfinal.
BACK ROADS
8PM, TUESDAY, ABC
Bay Of Fires was one of the best home grown dramas of last year (season two is currently shooting) and star Marta Dusseldorp returns to the west coast of Tasmania where it was shot for the new season of long running travel show. Locals might want to brace for a rush of visitors as she lifts the lid on the natural and cultural wonders of the little-known Tarkine region – 450ha of ancient rainforest, wetlands and rugged beaches. Its rich resources have made it a flashpoint for forestry, mining and environmentalists and Dusseldorp tries to get all sides of the story and their visions for a sustainable future. On the way she hitches a ride with the local posties, meets a couple of fungi enthusiasts and indulges in a honey-tasting experience that will leave sweet-thooths drooling.
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Originally published as From the year’s most bonkers doco to the return of Emily: here’s what to watch on TV this week
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