What’s on TV this week: The Good Fight, Safe Harbour, Jessica Jones and more

IT DOESN’T have a huge audience but this is one show worth subscribing to Amazon for.

IT MIGHT seem like we’re in the throes of Oscar fever today but everyone has short memories and most of those movies aren’t out on digital download yet.

And now that the awards season has officially ended, the stream of brilliant movies will slow to a trickle. Which makes it the perfect time to start hibernating at home with your trusty remote. And this is what you should be turning on.

THE GOOD FIGHT S2

(SBS — Wednesday, March 7 at 9.40pm)

There are few TV shows that embody the Trump era better than The Good Fight, which is not to say that it’s nasty or paranoid. What The Good Fight does so well is incorporate the ideas and themes of resistance to its storylines and characters in a way that feels natural and relevant. A spin-off from The Good Wife, The Good Fight returns for its second season this week, picking up from the jaw-dropping cliffhanger of last year.

The first episode adroitly circles back to our core characters as the spectre of death and doom hangs in the air. Maia is six days out from her trial after her ponzi-scheming dad fled while the firm faces a new threat from a former alliance. Meanwhile, someone in Chicago wants to “kill all the lawyers”. The writing is so sharp and it is damn watchable.

Legal eagles.

SAFE HARBOUR

(SBS — Wednesday, March 7 at 8.35pm)

Ewen Leslie leads an ensemble cast of Aussie actors including Jacqueline McKenzie, Leeanna Walsman and Nicole Chamoun in this bold new Australian prestige drama, exactly the kind of smart, captivating TV we should be producing. When a group of friends on a sailing trip to Indonesia run into an asylum seeker boat with a dead engine, their lives are irrevocably changed.

They agree to tow the boat to Australian waters but in the night, the asylum seeker boat disappears. The friends think the refugees must’ve cut themselves loose but years later, in Brisbane, one of the asylum seekers who survived the ordeal says their boat was deliberately cut loose by one of the Australians. Expertly crafted, Safe Harbour has the suspense, twisty morality and great storytelling you’re looking for.

Ewen Leslie’s presence alone makes this worth watching. Picture: SBS-TV

JESSICA JONES S2

(Netflix — Thursday, March 7 from 7pm AEDT)

Over two years have passed since the surly and complex Jessica Jones kicked and drank her way onto our screens as one of Marvel’s street-level heroes on Netflix. Since the excellent first season, which received high marks for its thoughtful and fresh perspectives on superheroes and trauma, we’ve seen the character in the crossover series, The Defenders — which only reminded us that we need more Jessica in our lives. So here she is, with 13 new episodes.

With a renewed focus on her past and the shady organisation that gave her those mysterious powers 17 years ago, Jessica and her friends Trish and Malcolm go digging for secrets that others would rather stay buried. Meanwhile, a hostile new landlord wants her out and Jeri Hogarth faces her biggest personal challenge.

She’s back ... finally.

SNEAKY PETE S2

(Amazon Prime Video — Friday, March 9 from 8pm AEDT)

Created by Bryan Cranston and starring Giovanni Ribisi and Margo Martindale, Sneaky Pete has been flying under the radar by virtue of its platform: Amazon. But it’s worth subscribing to the streaming service just to catch this quirky crime series.

Hiding out from a gangster, “Pete” is actually Marius, who assumes the identity of his cellmate when he’s released from prison. Knocking on the doors of Pete’s estranged grandparents, he passes himself off as their long-lost kin, only to find even more trouble, the kind of trouble that makes for fun television.

Sneaking around under the radar.

UGLY DELICIOUS

(Netflix — now)

Join renowned chef David Chang, he of Momofuku fame, on a delectable food safari as he tastes his way around the world. Across eight episodes, the series is structured on one delicious morsel per chapter — it opens with pizza and ends with dumplings, with fried chicken, tacos and the rest in between — as Chang talks to the best in the biz, joined by friends and food writers including Jimmy Kimmel, Aziz Ansari, Steven Yeun and Peter Meehan.

From Italy to Copenhagen, and Tokyo to Toronto, following the Ugly Delicious trail doesn’t just make you salivate and reach for the delivery app, it also gives you insights into the history of the dish, and debates over whether “authenticity” really matters.

David Chang knows about food. Learn from him. Picture: Rachel Murray/Getty Images for Netflix

MANU’S AMERICAN ROAD TRIP

(Seven — Wednesday, March 7 at 9pm)

In the battle of the food trail, Manu Feildel (also known as the less smug one from My Kitchen Rules) hits the road in Seven’s latest attempt to capitalise on the French chef’s popularity. Through the American deep south, he’ll sample all the good food he never gets to eat judging a cooking competition with drama queens.

Expect mouth-watering Cajun food in Louisiana, smoky Texan barbecued meats and what appears to be the biggest, most artery-clogging burger you’ve ever seen. He’s no Anthony Bourdain but there’s still a diverting time to be had as you follow Manu around the traps, navigating the land of cowboys and alligator hunters.

Mmmm ... burger.

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