Top TV shows to watch this week: Marvel satire The Franchise and transgender doco Will and Harper
From a savage superhero satire to a remake of horror classic and a heartfelt doco from Will Ferrell, there’s something for everyone 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.
THE FRANCHISE
MONDAY, BINGE
There might be a few nervous laughs and awkward shuffling of feet at Marvel Studios when this savage superhero satire hits the airwaves, skewering as it does the behind-the-scenes shenanigans on a hugely budgeted, interconnected film franchise featuring grown men in tight costumes with capes. Himesh Patel (EastEnders, Yesterday) plays the first assistant director on the movie Tecto: Eye of the Storm, about a superpowered being who sports a pair of “sonic blockers” and an invisible jackhammer. His thankless job is to “keep the trains running” on the enormous 117-day shoot, which means placating his handsome but insecure leading man (Billy Magnussen), nursing the ego of the thespian (a hilarious Richard E. Grant) who is slumming it for a big paycheck and thinks he’s too good for the material, and making sure the award-winning European director’s (actual Marvel alumnus Daniel Bruhl) vision is protected from the ruthless money man (Darren Goldstein) sent by the interfering studio. Conceived by Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes and co-written by Veep creator Armando Ianucci, it’s wonderfully close to the bone and frequently laugh-out-loud funny, leaving viewers wondering how many actual insiders might have spilt the beans on the over-the-top ridiculousness of it all.
FOUR YEARS LATER
WEDNESDAY, 9.20PM, SBS
This new eight-part romantic drama, filmed in English and Hindi in Mumbai, Jaipur and Sydney, provides a fascinating insight into Indian culture as well as the trials and tribulations of long-distance love. It starts with an awkward first meeting between Yash (Akshay Ajit Singh) and Sridevi (Shahana Goswami) as an attempt at an arranged marriage doesn’t initially go to plan, but develops into what could be a perfect match. But their bond is tested when aspiring doctor Yash bows to family expectations by accepting a long-term posting in Australia to further his career. When Sri finally joins him there – four years later – both discover that keeping that spark alive won’t be easy as he deals with the unrelenting pressure of work and temptation and she begins to throw off the chains of tradition in her adopted home.
AUSTRALIA’S MOST DANGEROUS PRISONERS
WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY 8.30PM, CHANNEL 7
One for the hard-core true crime enthusiasts, this grim new documentary series spotlights some of the very worst of the 45 thousand men and women currently doing time in Australia. By trawling through old news and police interview footage, as well as talking to law enforcement and prison personnel, and podcasters such as Meshel Laurie, it tracks the shocking deeds that landed them behind bars and how they reacted to the prospect of – thankfully for the rest of us – spending the rest of their lives there. The first episode features Frankston serial killer Paul Denyer, who murdered three young women in 1993 simply because he wanted to; Matthew Johnson, who bashed crime boss Carl Williams to death with a metal bar on his way to becoming one of Barwon Prison’s top dogs; and ruthlessly manipulative Adelaide housewife Michelle Burgess, who arranged for her lover’s wife to be killed.
RPA
THURSDAY, 8.30PM, CHANNEL 9
If spending time in prison with the worst of humanity has left you feeling down, this inspirational and aspirational reality show is the cure. Narrated by Roger Corser, it goes behind the scenes at Sydney’s bustling Royal Prince Alfred Hospital to spotlight the dedicated, skilled, compassionate souls who work there, the brave and sometimes vulnerable patients they treat, as well as the cutting edge science and technology that assist both. This week there’s a rapper who was rushed straight from filming a video to the emergency room with his ankle at a very wonky angle, a scared mother of two facing major surgery for stage four colorectal cancer and – most touchingly – an RPA ICU nurse who has the utmost faith in his colleagues for the life-threatening operation he needs to fix a leaky heart valve.
‘SALEM’S LOT
THURSDAY, BINGE
It’s not up there will the very best of Stephen King movie adaptations such as The Shining, Misery and It, but this much-delayed effort produced by Aussie James Wan is nonetheless a solid take on the horror-meister’s revered 1975 novel. Lewis Pullman – the dorky Bob from Top Gun: Maverick – heads the cast as the author who returns to his small town to discover that it’s been taken over by vampires, and recruits an unlikely group of locals to deal with the undead infestation before it kills them all. It’s helmed by Gary Dauberman, who wrote the scripts for It and It Chapter Two, as well as directing Annabelle Comes Home and he clearly knows his way around the material, with suitably gory bloodsuckers, glowing crosses, sharp stakes and some decent jump scares.
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
SATURDAY, 7PM, CHANNEL 7
Travel shows don’t come much punchier the venerable, reliable Great Outdoors, which returns to our screens for the first time in 12 years and still manages to pack an awful lot into its half-hour format. The latest globetrotting presenters include James Tobin, who hits the road along the famous Route 66 in Texas, stopping for a squiz at Palo Duro Canyon (the country’s second biggest) as well as a crazy-brave attempt to knock off a 2kg steak at the Big Texan Steak Ranch. Kimberley Busteed goes snorkelling, mountain biking and hot-air ballooning on the Sunshine Coast, Human Nature singer Phil Burton hangs off Perth’s Optus Stadium, and Teigan Nash takes on what purports to be the world’s scariest canyon swing in spectacular Swiss village, Grindelwald.
WOMEN’S T20 WORLD CUP
SATURDAY 8PM, PRIME VIDEO
After the great Meg Lanning led the Australian team to three consecutive T20 World Cup titles, it’s now up to new captain Alyssa Healy to continue the run in the United Arab Emirates. The skipper says that while the conditions are a big unknown, with few of the squad having played or trained there, she’s confident the mix of young players and experienced heads will be “well equipped to handle whatever is thrown our way” – and the team is coming off a good win against England at the weekend. The tournament begins on Thursday, but the Aussie campaign kicks off on Saturday night against Bangladesh, followed by clashes against New Zealand (1am, October 9), Pakistan (1am, October 12) and fellow global cricketing powerhouse India (October 14, 1am).
MAKE AMERICA SWIFT AGAIN
SATURDAY, 8.30PM, SBS VICELAND
With “Childless Cat Lady” Taylor Swift having endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris last month – much to the fury of her Republican opponent – this documentary shot earlier this year provides some timely revelations about the pop superstar’s earlier brushes with politics. Having come up through the mostly conservative country music industry – and at one point even revered as an Aryan goddess by the far right – Swift was mostly reluctant to declare her own affiliations until a lawsuit against a DJ she said had groped her led to her speaking out against sexual abuse, and then eventually endorsing Democratic candidates. It also delves into some of the nuttier conspiracy theories, such as Swift being a CIA psy-op and part of a Satanic cult that helped rig the Super Bowl, and claims that 18 per cent of American voters would be willing to follow her recommendation. Time will soon tell how true that might be.
NRL GRAND FINAL
SUNDAY, 7.30PM, CHANNEL 9
It’s been 53 years since a team qualified for five consecutive grand finals, but the Penrith Panthers made it look almost predestined with their 26-6 demolition of the Sharks on the weekend. Trying to prevent them racking up their fourth straight premiership will be the Melbourne Storm, the team that denied them in the 2020 decider and arguably the other truly great team of the recent era. It’s all footy, all-day, with coverage starting from 7am with the Weekend Today Show live from Accor Stadium; there’s the State Championship Grand Final between the Newtown Jets and Norths Devils at 1.20pm AEST; and don’t miss homegrown hip-hop superstar The Kid Laroi as the pre-match entertainment from 6.30pm.
WILL AND HARPER
NETFLIX
We could all use a friend like Will Ferrell. When he learned that one of his oldest pals and most valued colleagues had transitioned to female and was now living as Harper Steele, he suggested they drive together across America and make this touching, heartfelt, and frequently funny documentary about it. Not only did he want to reconnect with the person who had been one of his biggest champions on Saturday Night Live, and movies including Eurovision Song Contest, he also wanted to counter the hatred he’d encountered against trans people – and indeed the pair insisted the doco be released before the coming US election, so people could have “important discussions in their living room”.
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