The TV shows we’ll be watching in 2020
There are old favourites returning with new formats and new judges, long-awaited new seasons and a wacky mash-up of Ninja Warrior and It’s a Knockout. Here’s what we’ll be watching in 2020.
Entertainment
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WESTWORLD SEASON 3
FOXTEL
Despite the sometimes head-scratching narrative of robots in a theme park who become sentient, at its best Westworld is still one of the most satisfyingly mind-bending shows on TV.
But for those who struggled with the twists and turns of last season, creator Jonathan Nolan has promised season three will be “less of a guessing game and more of an experience with the hosts finally getting to meet their makers”.
Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul joins the cast as a love interest for Evan Rachel Wood’s android Delores, who was last seen escaping the park and venturing out into the real word.
MYSTERY ROAD
ABC
Last year’s six-part miniseries — a modern Aussie Western based the 2013 movie of same name — rightly took out this year’s Most Popular Drama Program at the Logies.
Aaron Pedersen’s tenacious, hard-bitten, troubled detective Jay Swan is back to solve another case, with the internationally acclaimed indigenous dream team of Wayne Blair (Top End Wedding) and Warwick Thornton (Sweet Country) taking over directing duties.
This season’s action is filmed in the surrounds of Broome, with Swedish actor Sofia Helin (The Bridge) joining the cast, and is expected to air in the second quarter of the year.
MEGA MINI GOLF
CHANNEL 7
This awesomely ridiculous show comes across as a crazy mash-up of Putt Putt, Ninja Warrior and It’s a Knockout.
Based on Holey Moley, which was a breakout hit in the US this year, contestants have to knock the ball into the hole while negotiating all manner of obstacles — from giant rotating windmill blades to rolling logs.
The US course, on which the Aussie contestants will play, will be even more extreme, but the success might come down to choice of local celebrity commentators.
Surely a job for Roy & HG.
RFDS
CHANNEL 7
Viewers of a certain age will remember The Flying Doctors with a young Rebecca Gibney in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Well, everything old is new again, with Seven revisiting the concept with an action-drama set and shot in and around Broken Hill.
It’s only just started production, so details are thin, but a stellar Aussie cast including The Wrong Girl’s Rob Collins, Stephen Peacocke and Justin Clarke — plus those spectacular landscapes — make it a tantalising prospect.
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MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA
CHANNEL 10
It’s the biggest test in the 10-year history of the much-loved reality cooking show.
The tried and true dish of Gary, Matt and George has been stricken from the menu and replaced by a fresh batch of ingredients.
Scottish chef and restaurateur Jock Zonfrillo, food and travel writer Melissa Leong and season four winner Andy Allen will dish out advice for the 12th season — and they have some big aprons to fill.
Can a souffle rise twice? Time will tell.