Cancer conwoman Belle Gibson gets the Netflix treatment
As a sociopathic grifter with a talent for self-promotion, Kaitlyn Dever’s Belle Gibson is loathsome on screen - but her Aussie accent is top-notch.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Netflix from February 6
You remember Belle Gibson, don’t you? The raw-milk-chugging, vaccine-dubious Australian wellness influencer who made a motza claiming to have cured her terminal brain cancer with positive thinking and chia seeds — only for it to turn out that she never had cancer in the first place. Well, Netflix has turned her rise and spectacular crash into a glossy, poppy series, based on Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano’s book, The Woman Who Fooled the World. American actor Kaitlyn Dever (Booksmart, Dopesick) plays Belle, a sociopathic grifter with a talent for self-promotion. She’s loathsome, but Dever — giving the best Australian accent this side of Dev Patel in Lion — is good enough to make her if not sympathetic, at least recognisably human. There’s also Milla Blake (Alycia Debnam-Carey), Belle’s friend, adversary, and an inconvenient reminder of what an actual cancer victim looks like. Aisha Dee plays Chanelle, Milla’s bestie turned Belle’s manager — until she realises the whole thing’s a con and helps bring the house down.
Prime Target
Apple TV+
Suspension of disbelief? This show doesn’t even bother asking. Instead, Apple TV+’s new mathematics thriller — from Doctor Who and Sherlock writer Steve Thompson — hilariously roped in a “maths adviser” to lend credibility to its bonkers premise. Like we were crying out for more accurate calculus in our popcorn thrillers. Leo Woodall (The White Lotus) stars as Ed, an unfriendly maths genius on the verge of cracking a world-altering equation that would render every computer defenceless. His number-crunching antics attract the attention of a covert team of assassins dedicated to keeping an eye on — and if necessary, hunting down — dangerous mathematicians (just go with it). Quintessa Swindell’s Taylah, a loose cannon among the algebra assassins, switches sides and teams up with Ed. This show is patently absurd, but it’s well-acted, snappily paced fun.
Yellowjackets
Paramount+ from February 14
Nothing says romance quite like teen cannibalism. After a two-year absence, Yellowjackets will finally return on Valentine’s Day. The show follows a New Jersey high school girls’ soccer team who, in 1996, crash-land in the Canadian wilderness en route to a tournament in Seattle. Stranded for 19 months, they descend into chaos, cults, and, yep, cannibalism. In the present day, the survivors — now in their 40s and estranged — receive ominous postcards threatening to reveal the unspeakable things they did to stay alive. The teen cast is fabulous, particularly Sophie Thatcher and Ella Purnell, who’ve since parlayed their talent into fascinating projects like Hereditary and Fallout. But the real joy lies in watching the doyennes of 90s cinema — Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci and Juliette Lewis (pure rock star) — chew up the screen.
SAS Rogue Heroes
SBS on Demand
Episodes air weekly on SBS starting Wednesday February 26 at 9.30pm
A few editions ago, I grumbled about the lack of an Australian release date for SAS Rogue Heroes season two. Well, SBS has the good word: pencil in February 26. So, what’s in store this time? When we last saw our band of lunatic soldiers, their leader David Stirling (Connor Swindells, Sex Education), had been captured, leaving Paddy Mayne (Jack O’Connell) in charge. This time they’re storming through Sicily, blowing things up, barking orders, and blurring the line between heroism and bloodlust. The rowdy Rogue Heroes is a Best in Show for all the top young British actors, and it’s awesome seeing O’Connell take centre stage. Here he totally disappears into Mayne, a man who quotes William Blake one minute and beats military police to a pulp the next. This is a Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders) show — so it’s war as rock ’n’ roll, with needle drops from the likes of AC/DC, The Fall, and The Clash.
Playing Nice
SBS on Demand
Speaking of great British actors: put James Norton (Happy Valley) in it, and I’ll hoover up any slop, including every episode of Playing Nice, which aims to be both a high-stakes psychological thriller and an ethical quandary for the ages — but lands on neither. The plot hinges on a mix-up in a neonatal ward: stay-at-home dad Pete (Norton) and restaurateur Maddie (Niamh Algar) learn that their three-year-old son, Theo, is not theirs, and another, filthy rich couple — played by Jessica Brown Findlay and James McArdle — has been raising their real child. What follows is a cavalcade of baffling decisions, uncharacteristically dodgy performances, and gorgeous interiors doing most of the heavy lifting. The upside? It’s a quick four episodes, so by the time you realise it’s not very good, you’re resigned to seeing it through. Also, Cornwall looks lush.