What to watch this week: Rich rewards from The White Lotus; parenting show you shouldn’t miss
There’s more rich people behaving badly in the return of The White Lotus and a genre-bending new series is a must-see for the parents of teens and tweens.
We’ve sifted through the latest offerings from TV and streaming platforms to find the best shows you should be watching this week.
THE WHITE LOTUS
MONDAY, BINGE
After spotlighting the shenanigans of very rich people behaving very badly on holidays in Hawaii and Sicily, Mike White’s excellent comedy-drama anthology shifts to Thailand for its third outing. Once again, we’re greeted with a boatload of minted tourists – mostly oblivious to their wealth and privilege – arriving at an upscale resort expecting to have their every whim catered to, and once again a dead body is revealed to have shattered the idyllic serenity. Among the guests this time is the Ratliff family – headed by Jason Isaacs’ shady businessman Timothy and also including Patrick Schwarzenegger his obnoxious and oversexed oldest son Saxton. There’s the three longtime friends (Michelle Monaghan, Carrie Coon and Leslie Bibb) reconnecting on girls’ trip you just know is going to go terribly wrong. And there’s Walton Goggins oozing mystery and menace as Rick, on holiday with his much younger girlfriend Chelsea (Sex Education’s Aimee Lou Wood). But who is going to end up in the body bag? With White’s smart and savage writing and characters, it never really matters – it’s about the guilty pleasure journey as much as the destination.
LUCAN
WEDNESDAY, 7.35PM, SBS
Filmed for last year’s 50th anniversary of the disappearance of Lord Lucan – who vanished in 1974 after being suspected of killing his children’s nanny Sandra Rivett and attempting to murder his wife – this documentary encapsulates why the mystery has held the public attention for half a century. Just like Elvis sightings, ever since that fateful night people the world over have been claiming to have spotted the aristocrat and gambler who many thought fled the crime and jumped off a France-bound ferry – and was finally issued with a death certificate in 2016. But Sandra’s son Neil still questions that version of events and through interviews with Lucan’s friends, law enforcement offices and other key figures in the case, the bizarre case is re-evaluated and re-examined.
BREATHTAKING
WEDNESDAY, 9.45PM, CHANNEL 7, 7+
It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly five years since Covid-19 pandemic plunged the world into lockdown, but this riveting three-part British drama will take you straight back to those crazy early days and the heroics of the frontline health professionals who confronted the problem head-on. Set in a UK city hospital, spliced with archival news footage and based on the real experiences of National Health Staff and patients during the pandemic it compellingly conveys the confusion and chaos – mostly through the eyes of Joanne Froggatt’s medical consultant Dr Abbey Henderson – as the virus took hold, with the experiences of the health workers often at odds with the government directives. As one overseas colleague advises and they find out at sometimes great personal cost: “It doesn’t matter how much you plan, the virus is always going to be ahead. You can never be prepared enough.”
INVISIBLE BOYS
THURSDAY, STAN
Based on the book by Holden Sheppard and set in remote Geraldton against the backdrop of the 2017 same-sex marriage plebiscite, this 10-episode homegrown drama is as compelling as at can be confronting. Created by Logie-winner Nicholas Verso, who also included his own experiences of growing up queer, it follows the challenges and confusion of marginalised gay youths, who feel they have to conceal their sexuality for a variety of cultural, religious (Pia Miranda is a real piece of work as a conservative Italian mother) and societal reasons. But when wannabe rock star Charlie, who dreams of escaping and following in the footsteps of his My Chemical Romance rock heroes, pre-emptively outs himself after a hook-up with a married man goes wrong, a tight-knit group of friends emerges as they deal with the prejudice and homophobia together.
SUE PERKINS’ BIG ADVENTURE: PARIS TO ISTANBUL
THURSDAY, 8.30PM, ABC
From Agatha Christie’s classic whodunit to countless travel shows, the route of the luxury Orient Express train from Paris to Istanbul via Strasbourg, Munich, Salzberg, Vienna, Budapest and Bucharest feels like a very well-worn travel route. But UK comedian Sue Perkins is taking a fresh approach, tracing the same journey using just about every other means of transport available, from tuktuk to hot air balloon. The opening episode in Paris reflects that out-of-the box thinking, steering away from the more obvious tourist landmarks to find a night-time rollerblading tour, the largest rooftop farm in the world, a restaurant that specialises in an insect-based menu, the home of absinthe and meeting the real people behind the impossibly glamourous models at Paris Fashion Week.
ALL STARS: INDIGENOUS V MAORI
SATURDAY, FROM 5.30PM, FOX LEAGUE, KAYO, CHANNEL 9
It’s less than a month until the new NRL season kicks off with reigning premiers the Penrith Panthers taking on the Cronulla Sharks in Las Vegas, but in the meantime footy fans can get their fix as the Indigenous All Stars take on the might of the Maori All Stars. Played at CommBank stadium in Sydney – on the land of the Burramattagal people – with the women’s match at 5.30pm, followed by the men at 7.30pm, the teams were named on the weekend and will include superstars of the game including top try scorer Alofiana Khan-Pereira and 2023 Dally M winner Kalyn Ponga. And after losing both games last year, expect the Maori to come out hard and fast.
CELEBRITY BEAR HUNT
NETFLIX
If you put Survivor, I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here, The Amazing Race and Big Brother into a blender and then dropped that reality TV mash-up into the Costa Rican jungle, you’d get a pretty good idea of what to expect from this slightly bonkers but highly entertaining new series fronted by former SAS soldier and survival expert Bear Grylls. While most of the celebrities are UK focused – Aussie audiences will recognise Spice Girl Mel B and former Wimbledon winner turned jailbird Boris Becker – they make for an entertaining bunch as they are set a series of challenges in the stifling heat, surrounded by monkeys and snakes. Those who fail are thrown into the dreaded “Bear Pit” where they are stalked by Grylls and anyone tagged risks being eliminated.
AN EVENING WITH DUA LIPA
SUNDAY, 9PM, CHANNEL 7
Dua Lipa fans looking forward to the British singer’s sold-out arena in March – or those who missed out on tickets – can get a taste of what’s to come thanks to this one-off concert special recorded at London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall in December. Looking stunning in a red gown as she sashays down an S-shaped catwalk, and backed by a 53-piece orchestra, she showcases her most recent album Radical Optimism – including a stunning, Spanish-flavoured version of Maria – as well as putting a fresh spin on her pop gold hits such as Levitating, Don’t Start Now and New Rules. There’s also interviews and archival footage with Dua, a sweet reunion with the music teacher who believed in her talent from a young age and, of course, a team-up with Elton John for their certified banger, Cold Heart.
SURVIVOR: BRAINS V BRAWN II
MONDAY, 7.30PM, CHANNEL 10
The first Brains V Brawn series four years ago in the burning Queensland Outback was a blast, and dominated by the thinkers when the resourceful and resilient Hayley Leake held off the scheming and cunning “King” George Mladenov. This rematch once again pits strategic and social skills against buffness and brute strength, but if past seasons are anything to go by the sole survivor after 47 days will need a combination of all of the above. On the brains side, there’s an Olympic athlete, a rapper and a footy player up against a super salesman, a financial analyst and a doctor. It’s always fascinating to see the tribes coalesce in the early episodes – some players burst out of the blocks with big moves, with others playing a longer and more low-key game, alliances form and outliers emerge, and the elusive but potentially game-changing idols can give you an advantage – or put a big target on your back.
More Coverage
THE ROLE OF A LIFETIME
TUESDAY, 8.30PM, ABC
Amanda Keller hosts what might be the most important and valuable show that parents of teens and tweens will watch this year. Kate Ritchie and Nazeem Hussein play the fictional parents to a 15-year-old daughter and a ten-year-old son, role-playing family situations that raise familiar questions big (when should my child get a smart phone?) and small (why does my kid always seem to have worms?) The pair then step outside of their roles to discuss the issues in a lighthearted but informative way, enlisting the help of experts such as common sense guru Maggie Dent, social media commentator Tom Ford and an array of medical professionals. This week’s first episode centres on the dangers of allowing children online access too early and the doors that can open to bullying and developmental issues.
Originally published as What to watch this week: Rich rewards from The White Lotus; parenting show you shouldn’t miss
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