From a saucy Bridgerton spin-off to teary Ed Sheeran, these are the 10 shows not to miss this week
Queen Charlotte has all the spice and sumptuousness that the Bridgerton fans will love, and a candid Ed Sheeran gets teary in some of this week’s top shows.
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Thursday, Netflix
Thursday, Netflix
This prequel series tells the story of a young Queen Charlotte (India Amarteifio) whose marriage to King George of England (Corey Mylchreest) transforms high society, sparking an epic love story and the ’Ton. There’s a host of familiar faces including Bridgerton’s Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel), Adjoa Andoh as Lady Danbury and Ruth Gemmell as Lady Violet Bridgerton. “There are worse fates,” the future Queen Charlotte is assured by her brother, “than marrying the King of England.” While many TV spin-offs fail to live up to their origin, with uber TV producer Shonda Rhimes at the helm of this latest chapter in the Bridgerton-verse, fans of the Regency drama knew they were in safe hands. And it is truly magnificent – the sumptuous sets and costuming returns, along with engaging storylines, laced with comedy and, of course, the raunch for which the series has become renowned. But it’s more than superficially beautiful – there’s important themes of mental health and race. “In the Bridgerton world, we’re always talking about how Queen Charlotte and King George sort of made this new England possible,” Rhimes explains.
THE SUM OF IT ALL
Wednesday, Disney+
It’s a rather emotional four-part doco that goes beyond just merely following superstar Ed Sheeran in the studio and writing music. We see him crying as he recalls the moment he found out about his wife Cherry Seaborn’s tumour. Seaborn also speaks at length for the first time about her cancer battle, which was discovered while she was pregnant with their second child. All of this coincided with the release of his latest album, Subtract. There’s also lighter moments and intimate performances in cinematic locations, in this must-see for Sheeran fans.
TED LASSO
Wednesdays, AppleTV+
This third season has divided fans of the Jason Sudeikis feel-good comedy – or is that just in my family group chat. One sister is adamant it’s as good as the other two, my brother is on the other side, and I was on the fence until last week. Episode 6 made me laugh, and cry and restored my faith in the writers. This week, Ted (Sudeikis) fights the urge to spiral when Michelle and Dr Jacob go on a romantic trip, and an online leak has massive implications for Keeley.
SLIP
Thursday, Binge
All right, this potentially is the craziest idea for a show ever. Every time 30-something Mae (Zoe Lister-Jones), ah, well, reaches her peak of pleasure in the bedroom, she is transported to another dimension. Mae is restless in her 13-year marriage that totally works with Elijah (Whitmer Thomas), and has a “slip” where she winds up in bed with Eric (Amar Chadha-Patel). The seven eps follow Mae through a fantastical journey of parallel universes, as she enters new relationships, trying to find her way back to her partner.
JURY DUTY
Streaming, Amazon Prime
It’s a rather unusual mockumentary where Hollywood star James Marsden plays himself in this series that places a real person – Ronald – in the middle of a made-up trial. All the others are actors – including a grumpy judge, a difficult defendant, a bumbling lawyer, a bailiff at the end of her rope, and a boxful of interesting jurors. There’s a long list of ridiculous antics, and Ronald laughs after one, saying “this literally feels like reality TV”. It’s a lot of fun, with a couple of cringy scenes.
BUPKIS
Thursday, Binge
We all want a peek into ladies man Pete Davidson’s life, right? And here’s our chance. Well, kinda. This is a semi-autobiographical comedy series by, and starring, Davidson as a heightened version of himself, alongside Oscar-winner Joe Pesci as his fictional grandfather and Emmy-winner Edie Falco as his mum. Plus there’s a super long list of guest stars – think Ray Romano, Machine Gun Kelly, Sebastian Stan, JJ Abrams, Davidson’s current girlfriend Chase Sui Wonders, and Al Gore.
TOMMY LITTLE: PRETTY FLY FOR A DICKHEAD
Friday, Amazon Prime Video
It was a whole lot of fun when I saw this live at the Adelaide Fringe. It’s not quite the same sitting in your lounge room – but at least you can watch it in your PJs. Filmed on his 2022 Australia tour, Little, the self-proclaimed dickhead of the title, has done something that nobody thought was a good idea – he became a pilot (the fly of the title). While most were busy baking in the lockdowns, Little aimed for the heavens. Love that Prime has made stand-up specials a key part of their programming these past few years.
CONJURING KESHA
Friday, 9.30pm, Foxtel
No, no – this is not another music doco, but rather the iconic pop musician Kesha messing with ghosts. Alongside her brother, a handful of celebrity friends including comedian Whitney Cummings and rapper Big Freedia, and some actual paranormal experts, the Tik Tok singer takes us on a “spiritual, funny, deranged” journey (they’re her words). She visits haunted locations such as Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary, a haunted opera hall and the Trans- Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in her home state of Tennessee.
THE CORONATION
Friday-Sunday, from 4pm Sky News
I’m gearing up to bake my coronation quiche and settle in with my monarchist Mum to inhale all the pomp and ceremony. Sky is also making a weekend of the historic event with two specials airing on Friday night with The Royal Report: Coronation Special at 8pm, followed by a new doco, Born To Be King. Then from 4pm on Saturday, join Peter Stefanovic live at Westminster Abbey as distinguished guests arrive. At 5pm Kay Burley, Anna Botting and Alastair Bruce will cover the main event. On Sunday – there’s a wrap-up in a special edition of The Royal Report with Caroline Di Russo.
UNSTABLE
Streaming, Netflix
There have been mixed reviews of this comedy with Rob Lowe and his real-life son John Owen Lowe, but it hit all the right notes for me. The quirky comedy focuses on Ellis Dragon (Rob Lowe), a universally admired, eccentric, narcissist-adjacent biotech entrepreneur who likes to do things a little differently, but all in the noble cause of wanting to make the world a better place. Lowe Jr is his son Jackson, who’s called back from his flute teaching in New York to save the company and his emotionally freefalling father. Also stars Fleabag’s Sian Clifford.
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