51 TV shows getting us through COVID
Aussies have spent most of 2020 glued to the television due to the global health crisis. So we’ve pulled out the top 51 shows that have kept us going through this crisis and still have the legs to go the distance. WHAT TO WATCH
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Australians have spent much of 2020 glued to the television.
With the global health crisis ensuring most of us have had to spend at least part of the past six months locked up in our homes, it’s lucky we find ourselves in a golden age of television.
We are watching everything across the spectrum. On Foxtel, gritty prison drama Wentworth is the most watched on-demand show while new sci-fi thriller Raised By Wolves the next on the list.
And in a sign people are also using this time to go back and finally catch up on big-budget shows they’ve missed, Game Of Thrones comes in at number three.
Netflix reports a 40 per cent jump in Aussies watching reality TV, with raunchy
dating show Too Hot To Handle right up there in the most watched shows.
Other big favourites with viewers in the year of COVID have been the fascinating Michael Jordan doco The Last Dance and the raw and darkly funny I May Destroy you.
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With cinemas, restaurants, spectator sports and pubs all having spent a large part of 2020 with a closed sign hanging in the window, television has become the great escape for many.
Our new problem isn’t finding the time, it’s finding the show, with some nights spent scrolling endlessly through menus trying to choose from the enormous number of shows on offer.
TV recommendations have become the virtual water cooler topic, with “what are you watching?” asked with almost a sense of desperation.
Wentworth star Kate Jenkinson, who plays Allie Novak in the hit show,
has narrowed her recommendations down to three. Of course the first is an obvious one.
“I got to film the series which helped me get through most of 2020,” she says. “I think season eight is our best season yet.”
Her other two hot tips are a dark Australian comedy about a family-oriented hit man and the critically acclaimed dramatisation of another moment in history that is remembered for all the
wrong reasons.
“Mr Inbetween has catapulted to my top five all-time favourite shows,” she says. “It’s so brilliant and so perfectly done.
“Chernobyl was difficult to watch but it was so brilliantly done that I couldn’t look away — it was like watching a haunting horror film, but of course we know it was real life.”
In the spirit of sharing favourites in this time of hardship, we’ve pulled out the top 51 shows that have kept us going through this crisis and still have the legs to go the distance.
FANTASY
HIS DARK MATERIALS
Foxtel and Binge
A spectacular eight-part adaptation of Philip Pullman’s fantasy drama series which thankfully, sticks pretty faithfully to the original story. Nicole Kidman’s big-screen attempt, The Golden Compass (2007), didn’t, and went down like an airship with a puncture. A second series is scheduled to drop in November.
UMBRELLA ACADEMY
Netflix
Season two of this superhero show cranked up both the action and the laughs. In fact it was way better than the first season, good as that was. This dysfunctional bunch of family/heroes has to save the world. Again. After they destroyed it. Again. Best of all, season three is set to start shooting in October.
WESTWORLD
Foxtel
The third season saw Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) and the others move beyond the setting of the park and into the wider world. That gave it a whole new dimension beyond the endless nudity and deaths (although you should never knock those of course) and season four promises even more surprises.
THE WITCHER
Netflix
Henry Cavill takes the monster-hunting hero Geralt of Rivia from the books of Andrzej Sapkowski onto the small screen. The multiple timelines make the first couple of episodes a little confusing but then you catch up and it takes off. And season two promises even more shots of Cavill in the bath next year.
WATCHMEN
Foxtel
It won four Emmys and should probably have snagged more. This sequel to the groundbreaking comic book (don’t watch the 2009 film, it changed the plot and will confuse you) is stunning. Racist armies, rogue cops, time jumps, twists, turns and showers of alien squid. It has it all
SCI-FI
RAISED BY WOLVES
Foxtel and Binge
Ridley Scott directed the first two eps of this eight-part sci-fi epic about two androids assigned the role of Mother and Father to a colony of human children who have survived a religious war on earth. When a rival group crash their ark on the same planet, Mother is revealed to have skills that make The Terminator look tame. A second season has been confirmed.
SUPER HEROES
DOOM PATROL
Foxtel
This series based on the DC Comics is so out there that you have to keep picking your jaw up from the floor. It’s brilliantly bonkers. Watching Brendan Fraser (Robotman) rip the legs off a Nazi clone to use as a weapon against an army of them is just one of the bizarre delights. Plus season three will be out next year.
STARGIRL
Foxtel
Sure, the plot is fairly standard. Young girl with a mysterious past finds an amazing artefact that turns her from your regular teen into Stargirl. But the effects are brilliant and it’s taken up to a new level by Luke Wilson as her stepfather/sidekick Stripesy. Expect season two next year.
COMEDY
AFTER LIFE
Netflix
Love him or hate him, it’s hard to go past Ricky Gervais’s riff on grief. Season two of the black comedy sees small town journo Tony still grappling to come to terms with the loss of his beloved wife _ and still being saved from himself by the most loveable dog in recent television memory.
DEAD TO ME
Netflix
There are so many twists and turns in this dark comedy about the relationship between two women — one who ran over and killed the other’s husband while he was out jogging — and their crazy lives. The first season was good, the second only better.
WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS
Foxtel and Binge
A hidden gem, this mockumentary follows the lives of three vampires who are living together on Staten Island and struggling to mix their traditional lives with modern society. Based on Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s 2014 Kiwi film.
FRIENDS
Foxtel and Binge
Obviously needs no introduction, this classic series has been a go-to for many during lockdown. All 10 seasons of this evergreen comedy series that made its stars some of the best known actors in Hollywood (and richest) are there for you to watch whenever you need a bit of a pick-me-up.
THE GOOD PLACE
Netflix
One of those shows that knows it’s better to bow out on top, this comedy is about Eleanor, a self-obsessed, horrible woman who finds herself in The Good Place (rather than The Bad Place) when she dies. She then sets about trying to learn to be a better person and earn her place in the favoured afterlife destination.
SCHITT’S CREEK
Netflix
This little show picked up what seemed like every Emmy on offer the other day and has a very loud and appreciative fanbase the world over. It’s riches-to-rags story that is both hilarious and relevant and peaked in its final season. Worth a binge.
DOCUMENTARIES
THE LAST DANCE
(Netflix)
OK, so it wasn’t the FULL story of the last NBA title won by the Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan. But it was still a fascinating insight into both the minds of these elite athletes and worth it for the fashion flashbacks alone.
MCMILLION$
(Foxtel and Binge)
A fascinating documentary that explores the fraud and corruption around the McDonald’s Monopoly game scam in the US between 1989 and 2001. It’s a story you have to see to believe.
TIGER KING: MURDER, MAYHEM AND MADNESS
(Netflix)
One of Netflix’s best raters this year, Tiger King would be hilarious if it wasn’t so sad and bizarre. It focuses on the toxic relationship between Joe Exotic, the eccentric owner of an Oklahoma big cat park and conservationist Carole Baskin. As it’s subtitle suggests, this story has murder and mayhem and a whole lot of madness.
CHEER
Netflix
Come along for the ride as these cheerleaders from a regional Texas college set their sights on the nation championships. Cheer is an emotional and enlightening look into both this hugely competitive sport and the lives of those obsessed with it.
LIFESTYLE
ESCAPE TO THE CHATEAU: DIY
(Foxtel)
The spin-off to the Escape To The Chateau, which followed the wonderfully engaging Dick and Angel as they pulled a crumbling 18th-century chateau back from the brink. But this time they are helping others fulfil their own chateau renovating dreams. It’s about as far from The Block as you can get, but perfect escape for travel-starved home decorators.
MUSICAL
HAMILTON
(Disney +)
Creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda said he made his masterpiece available to streaming audiences because he wanted to put an end to years of bragging by hipsters and rich people who had seen the original cast on Broadway. And while a small screen can never capture the sheer spectacle of a live stage, this gets viewers so close to the artists you can see the sweat on their brows and the spit when they sing.
DRAMA
WENTWORTH
Foxtel and Binge
It’s the show that just keeps on getting better. Back for season eight, there’s a new top dog in town and it isn’t long before peace in the prison is tested, just months after the dramatic siege that ended season 7.
MR INBETWEEN
Foxtel and Binge
With a third season commissioned during the height of the pandemic, it was perfect timing to catch up on the first two of this black crime comedy based on the 2005 film The Magician. What’s not to like about a hitman who struggles to maintain a good work-life balance?
MRS AMERICA
Foxtel and Binge
Nominated for four Emmys (with Uzo Aduba taking out the Supporting Actress gong), Mrs America, which also stars Aussie Cate Blanchett, explores the women’s movement of the 70s as they work to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. It was called 2020’s “best show to date” by TIME magazine.
CHERNOBYL
Foxtel and Binge
A fascinating dramatisation of the events leading up to and the aftermath of the devastating 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Shines a light on the corruption and cover-up that led to many unnecessary deaths and is a stark reminder that questionable leadership isn’t a modern phenomenon.
I MAY DESTROY YOU
Foxtel and Binge
The critically acclaimed story of a woman grappling with sexual assault that is told in a unique way that delicately weaves humour and drama without taking away from the central message.
YELLOWSTONE
Stan
An ageless Kevin Costner headlines this drama about a family and their massive ranch that is constantly under attack from those who want a part of it. As one fan described it: “Yellowstone is Dalla crossed with True Grit crossed with 90210”.
THE GOOD FIGHT
SBS On Demand
A show that doesn’t pretend there isn’t something wrong in America at the moment, but also doesn’t shy away from which way it leans. The Good Fight, the spin-off from The Good Wife that is now in its fourth season, continues to tell great legal stories despite its pivot into a bit of a political mouthpiece.
THE OUTSIDER
Foxtel and Binge
Terrifyingly good thriller that has you on the edge of your seat from start to finish with stellar performances from Aussie Ben Mendelsohn and Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo. Many lights will have been left on after watching this.
EUPHORIA
Foxtel and Binge
Controversial teen drama following the lives of a group of teens as they struggle with drug addiction, sexuality and violence in America. At 24, Zendaya’s became the youngest best lead actress Emmy winner for her brilliant portrayal of Rue.
OZARK
Netflix
With more than 30 Emmy nominations since it first premiered in 2017, this dark crime thriller is a solid choice for weekend in front of the TV. Jason Bateman and Laura Linney are exceptional in the first two seasons of this good-guys-find-themselves-in-a-bad-situation story, but the third takes it to another level. It’s this season that sets this show apart, but start from the beginning if you’re joining late.
LOVECRAFT COUNTRY
Foxtel and Netflix
From Jordan Peele and JJ Abrams, this is a horror story on multiple levels. It follows Atticus Freeman as he sets off on a road trip across 1950s USA with his uncle and a friend. As if coming up against the racist monsters of that era wasn’t enough, there are also real monsters for the trio to deal with.
THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA
Foxtel and Binge
Don’t keep scrolling when you see this on the Foxtel menu — it’s not another conspiracy theory documentary. It’s a drama told through the eyes of a Jewish New Jersey family after famed aviator — and suspected Nazi sympathiser — Charles Lindbergh is elected president and keeps the US out of World War II allowing the Nazis to dominate Europe. Based on Philip Roth’s best-selling novel.
I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE
Foxtel and Binge
Mark Ruffalo deservedly picked up the Emmy for his harrowing portrayal of twins Dominick and Thomas Birdsey in this six episode series. It’s explores the depths of Thomas’ mental illness and what seems like a never-ending list of trauma and despair that continue to torment them. Not light watching.
PERRY MASON
Foxtel and Binge
A new take on the 1950s classic that is less courtroom drama, like the original, and more whodunit, with this Perry Mason starting out his career as a heavy-drinking veteran who is making very few dollars as a private investigator. It is beautifully shot and Matthew Rhys (The Americans) is in his element.
DEVS
Foxtel and Binge
With Nick Offerman starring and a name like ‘Devs’ it would be easy to think this series falls into a category that might also include The IT Crowd. It doesn’t. A computer engineer at Amaya, a company run by Offerman’s character, believes the firm maybe involved in the death of her boyfriend.
HOLLYWOOD
Netflix
It’s Tinseltown but not as you know it, a seven-episode drama which takes considerable artistic licence in re-imaging the Golden Age Of Hollywood and the careers of some of its biggest stars. Jim Parsons steals the show as the Machiavellian agent Henry Wilson, for which he scored an Emmy nomination — and rightly so.
KILLING EVE
ABC iView
Multi award-winning thriller that is often as funny as it is suspenseful. Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer play an intelligence officer and an assassin whose unwanted mutual respect for each other makes for an interesting cat and mouse chase.
UPLOAD
Amazon Prime Video
An interesting concept that imagines what the afterlife would be like if you were able to upload your conscience into the cloud where you could live in a user-pays world of your choice. Throw in a murder mystery of one customer and a romance between employee and conscience for good measure.
KIDS
BLUEY
ABC iView
Is there a better kids’ television show out there at the moment than Bluey? The stories of this six-year-old Blue Heeler and her sister and parents are as enjoyable for parents to watch as they are for kids. Who would have thought a cartoon about a pup would be so relatable?
THE BABYSITTER’S CLUB
Netflix
We all know the story and while there’s every opportunity to ruin this classic, this is a winner and a warm, fun option for the kids.
DC SUPER HERO GIRLS
Foxtel, Binge
Six teens meet up at Metropolis High and form a team called Super Hero Girl — there are a few familiar names: Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Supergirl, Zatanna, Green Lantern and Bumblebee.
GO JETTERS
Foxtel, Binge, ABC
With 140 episodes in the bag, this is a good one to park your 4-6-year-olds in front of if you need to take a breather. Follow Xuli, Kyan, Lars and Foz on their adventures around the world.
REALITY
TOO HOT TO HANDLE
Netflix
Possibly the first, and probably last, dating show inspired by an episode of Seinfeld. It’s that episode where Jerry and the gang compete to see how long they can go without pleasuring themselves. It’s a similar premise here except the 10 who arrive on the Mexican island thought there would be much more pleasuring going on only to be told they win if they don’t touch.
TRUE CRIME
I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK
Foxtel and Binge
Michelle McNamara was a citizen detective who was doggedly chasing down the Golden State Killer when she died in April 2016. The show explores her obsessive hunt and intertwines it with a horror story that went unsolved for 40 years. McNamara wasn’t here to see justice served. A must-watch.
GOGGLEBOX AUSTRALIA
Foxtel
Years after it first hit our screens, it’s still loads of fun to sit down and watch people sitting down and watching people sitting down … you get it.
VEEP
Foxtel and Binge
If you haven’t seen Veep you are ridiculously lucky to have this whole brilliant series ahead of you. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is faultless as Vice President Selina Myers. Watching it with a fresh eye will probably prove how close the world has come to being a sitcom.
THE SOPRANOS
Foxtel and Binge
One of the shows that kickstarted the golden age of television. Ahead of its time, The Sopranos is a truly addictive mob story that everyone should dedicate solid binge hours to if you haven’t already seen it. If you have, watch it again.
THE WIRE
Foxtel and Binge
A crime drama that, together with The Sopranos, was the catalyst for a new wave of edgy, imaginative television that didn’t just tick the boxes. Set on the rough streets of Baltimore, there are five seasons with the stories from different perspectives including the crims.
KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS
Foxtel and Binge
With Kim announcing recently the Kardashian klan was kalling it kwits on this long-running show, there’s never been a better time to be a fly on the wall in this crazy family’s daily dilemmas.
REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS
(Foxtel and Binge)
Part of one of the great reality franchises, the Beverly Hills chapter is especially juicy. Foxtel viewers have been getting stuck into this series during COVID and when you finish the 10 seasons, you can start on Orange County, New York, Dallas or Melbourne.