Five shows to watch this week

A silly, sexy, salacious romp called Rivals is based on Jilly Cooper’s famous book, plus South Korea’s dying breed of haenyeo – women divers.

David Tennant in fine form as TV executive Tony Baddingham in Rivals.

Rivals
Disney+, from October 18

Finally! A show that isn’t afraid to be fun. What a silly, sexy, salacious romp this is. Here we have an adaptation of Dame Jilly Cooper’s Rutshire Chronicles series. For those who didn’t go through the teenage rite of passage of secretly tearing through her Cotswold-set steamer: it’s a bit like Bridgerton (big mansions, bigger hair, lots of bonking), except replace the bodices with jewel-toned slinky shirts unbuttoned to their limit and a lashing of turbo 80s synth tracks. At the heart of the drama is a bitter, long-standing feud between two men fighting for ultimate control over the airwaves of 1980s British television: Alex Hassell’s gorgeous gobshite Rupert Campbell-Black, a former Olympic showjumper turned Tory politician, and David Tennant’s pugnacious TV executive Tony Baddingham. Rounding off the excellent cast are Katherine Parkinson, Danny Dyer, Emily Atack, and Aidan Turner.

Being Human
SBS on Demand

Aidan Turner’s performance in Rivals brings to mind a spooky gem from the noughties that’s worth revisiting if you’re looking to embrace the spirit of the season. In Being Human, Turner, along with Russell Tovey and Lenora Crichlow, respectively play a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost who share a manky house in Bristol, England. All they want is to lead normal lives, but their supernatural afflictions make that a tall order. Essentially, it’s a flatshare comedy about 20-somethings, but with a whole lot of blood. Think Charmed, but more gruesome and infused with British gallows humour. With a wicked script, three charismatic leads, genuine frights, and awesomely corny visual effects from when CGI was still in its embryonic stage, it’s worth considering as your next binge-watch.

The Office Australia
Prime Video, from October 18

There are Office UK fans and Office US fans, and never the twain shall meet. If you fall into the former camp and relish the cruelty of Ricky Gervais’ finest creation, there will be little for you in the new local spin-off. Those who prefer the wholesome cringe comedy of the American version may be won over. As Felicity Ward, the first female lead in the franchise’s 13 iterations, told us: “I felt like I was walking on the set of The Office. It immediately felt like the TV show The Office.” You will feel the same way. Everything about this feels uncannily similar to its prestigious American counterpart — granted, there are more jokes about the Melbourne Cup. This is essentially a sitcom about the WFH era: set at a Western Sydney packaging company, things kick off with a tense meeting between Ward’s Hannah Howard and a woman from head office, who tells her they will be shutting down the branch and moving to remote work to cut costs. Desperate to save her “work family”, Hannah negotiates mandatory attendance. To be generous: it’s much better than the trailer suggests. It’s competently made, mostly well-acted, and some of the gags land. Beyond that, well …

Thou Shalt Not Steal
Stan, from October 17

The first thing that must be said about Thou Shalt Not Steal is that it is beautifully photographed. In a TV era where everything looks so grey, anaemic, and serious, one can’t overstate the pleasure of being plunged into the rich red hostility of the Outback. It isn’t at all surprising that the show looks superb; it’s directed by Dylan River — son of filmmaker Warwick Thornton and director of Mystery Road and the undersung and excellent Robbie Hood. His new series, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, is his kookiest and liveliest outing to date. This swift-moving series, part coming-of-age story, part crime caper, is set in Alice Springs in the early 1980s. It follows Robyn (Sherry-Lee Watson), a runaway from juvenile detention on a mission to fulfil the dying wish of her grandfather: to return a sporting trophy to her father, who she has never

met. Along the way, she crosses paths with a range of oddballs, including Maxine (Miranda Otto), a “shady” sex trafficker, and Robert (a moustachioed Noah Taylor), a louche preacher with dubious morals. It’s a wild ride.

The Last of the Sea Women
Apple TV+

The Last of the Sea Women, an A24 documentary by Sue Kim, captures the quiet majesty of a fading tradition with a loveliness that’s hard to resist. It tells the story of the haenyeo – female divers of South Korea’s Jeju Island who, for centuries, have plunged to the ocean floor (sometimes as deep as 100m) to harvest seafood, all without the aid of oxygen tanks. Some of these women can stay underwater for up to two minutes on a single breath. What’s remarkable is that they are not young. Most haenyeo are in their 60s, with some well into their 80s. It’s a marvellous art form, and one at risk of dying out. In the 1960s, there were around 30,000 haenyeo; today, fewer than 4000 remain, with younger generations showing little interest. “I feel like the haenyeo culture is melting away,” one woman laments. The film also touches on Japan’s release of treated radioactive wastewater from Fukushima, which they believe is a looming threat to their waters. Though the documentary could – forgive me – dive deeper, an hour and a half in the company of these wisened women is time well spent.