What’s on TV: Sharp Objects finale, Jack Ryan, Ozark and more

TV IS often more about character building in moderately priced environments. This new action series goes all out, spanning the globe and making things go kaboom.

WOW. What a week we’ve had.

With all eyes glued to the circus in Canberra, most of us have been neglecting the real commitment in our lives. No, not our families — piffle. I’m talking about the warm embrace and glow of our TVs.

And this week, for the sake of our mental health, let’s leave all the political intrigue behind and get into some stories where the only thing being spilt is red hot blood.

OZARK S2

(Netflix — Friday, August 31 from 5pm AEST)

The Netflix crime drama started off very slow but found enough momentum for a second season and four Emmy nominations, including two for star Jason Bateman in both acting and directing categories.

A love-child of sorts between Breaking Bad and Bloodline, Ozark follows the Byrde family, Chicago suburbanites forced into laundering money for a drug cartel in the backwoods of Missouri.

Patriarch Marty is an average guy now saddled with a problem of his own making, trying to stay alive, juggling the threats of a trigger-happy cartel boss, the local crime gangs and the FBI. Plus, his marriage is an unhappy one and his teen kids are far from copacetic about their abrupt move.

The first season saw Marty barely digging himself out of all kinds of shenanigans but an explosive season finale blew up all of his planning, triggering new kinds of peril, which could include a cartel-linked lawyer to be played by British thespian Janet McTeer (Jessica Jones, Damages).

I’ve made a huge mistake

JACK RYAN

(Amazon Prime Video — Friday, August 31)

Tom Clancy’s super CIA spy Jack Ryan has appeared on screen in many forms before. He’s been played by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and, most recently, Chris Pine. Now, because everything old is new again, it’s getting the TV reboot treatment with The Office’s John Krasinski in the title role.

Amazon has invested big money in the 10-episode series, giving it the most blockbuster-iest slant it can to a small-screen venture, which means lots of things go kaboom (Michael Bay is a producer). An origin story for the Jack Ryan character, the show follows the erstwhile desk-bound CIA analyst as he chases a terrorist he compares with bin Laden.

Jack Ryan is going against the grain of antiheroes, with a globetrotting adventure that is all about old-fashioned heroism. Make no mistake — this is BIG television.

No jelly-encased staplers in sight

THE PACIFIC WITH SAM NEILL

(History on Foxtel — Monday, August 27 at 7.30pm)

If anyone is going to take you on a journey tracing Captain James Cook’s adventures around the Pacific, let it be the perpetually charming Sam Neill. Leaving behind his droll Twitter profile for a spell, the Kiwi actor is following in Cook’s footsteps and sailing routes 250 years after the explorer circled these shores.

Neill will meet the people and cultures who were touched by Cook’s exploration across the immense Pacific Ocean, as he asks why Cook is both so revered and so hated and why he is still relevant centuries later.

We’ll follow Sam Neill anywhere

SHARP OBJECTS

(Showcase on Foxtel — Monday, August 27 at 8.30pm)

This is it, the end. After seven weeks of barely restrained tension, mind-twisting revelations and copious red-herrings, today is the day we find out who has been killing young girls in the steamy, repressive town of Wind Gap.

The absorbing Amy Adams drama has been teasing us with the mystery of the killer with a penchant for pulling teeth and theatrically posing corpses for seven weeks and your will jaw drop upon its thrilling conclusion.

Unless, of course, you read Gillian Flynn’s book years ago, then you already know. Or, like me, you didn’t have the discipline to hold out and skimmed the Wikipedia article for Flynn’s book, looking for answers. I only have myself to blame.

The killer will be unmasked

THE INNOCENTS

(Netflix — now)

What is it about supernatural creatures that meld so well with teen fiction? Is it that adolescence and puberty represent a time of emotional and physical upheaval, with teenagers seeming to lose total control over themselves, much like mystical creatures are intrinsically tied to otherworldly forces.

Teen lovebirds June and Harry decide to run away from their oppressive parents in order to live out their love story, but things go awry when June unwillingly shapeshifts into a man.

It’s hard not to get behind an adorable couple who just want to be together, having to contend with all the challenges life throws at you, which in their case includes a Guy Pearce-shaped dodgy doctor and a mysterious family legacy.

Young love

GREAT NEWS

(Netflix — now)

Even though its American TV network NBC pulled the plug after two seasons, this little workplace sitcom, totalling 23 episodes, is exactly the kind of fun, easy watching that makes you crack a smile.

Produced by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock and created by 30 Rock writer Tracey Wigfield, Great News is set in a New Jersey TV newsroom and follows the mad personalities of a cable news show.

The central character is Katie (Briga Heelan), an ambitious news producer who has to wrangle an older, hard-nosed TV anchor (John Michael Higgins), his younger, more lifestyle-focused co-host (Nicole Richie) and her boss and potential love interest (Adam Campbell).

Then there’s the matter of the new intern, who also happens to be her mother (Andrea Martin). What could possibly go wrong in the high stakes world of live TV?

When the new intern gives you sass

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