Five shows to watch this week
Cate Blanchett is a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown in Alfonso Cuaron’s mysterious Disclaimer, plus a series about the romance that inspired Leonard Cohen’s greatest love songs.
Television
I’ve met real spies: Slow Horses gets them just right
The MI5 drama Slow Horses brilliantly captures the truth about the British Security Service – it’s full of ordinary, flawed people doing extraordinary things.
This thriller, starring Cate Blanchett, is the greatest TV show of the year
It has a climactic twist so powerful, that is such an audacious rug-pull, you’ll need to return to the start and rewatch completely (I did) before fully comprehending the totality of this tale.
Succession star moved to stand up for desk jockeys’ mental health
He’s stepped off the Succession set and got behind the desk to deliver a ‘scary’ message to workers.
‘Those are the best days of writing’: Michael Connelly is still on the beat
Harry Bosch creator Michael Connelly talks family, podcasts and handing on the baton to a new generation of fictional cops.
Five shows to watch this week
HBO’s The Penguin delivers a gritty Gotham tale, sans the DC nonsense, while NFL star Travis Kelce makes his acting debut in Ryan Murphy’s new gorefest.
Breakfast TV ‘wasn’t scaring me in the right way anymore’
Broadcaster Tony Armstrong, 34, on why he left ABC News Breakfast, playing AFL and the biggest myth about hard work.
Wyatt Earp rides again in this gritty docudrama
Wyatt Earp and the Cowboy War offers a mashup of fact and fiction to tell the story of the legendary lawman of the American old west.
It’s his ABC: niche in, mainstream out at Williams’ Aunty
ABC chair Kim Williams says the national broadcaster may need to trade off a mainstream audience in some areas as he flags structural changes at the national broadcaster.
What’s the one sentence that makes Kevin McCloud shudder?
The longtime Grand Designs presenter says his heart sinks whenever he visits the owners of a promising new site and hears these fateful words.
How Last Days of the Space Age brought the ‘70s to life
In July 1979, Perth was host to a truly unusual spectacle: the Miss Universe pageant, where poised and glamorous contestants, draped in sequins and silk, vied for attention with an unexpected contender – a hulking slab of space junk.
Grey’s Anatomy: sex, disasters and more than 140 tumours
Writers of the hit TV drama weave a stream of medical cases into the complicated, sexy and often tragic lives of its characters. The latest season begins in Australia at the weekend.
Erik Menendez attacks Ryan Murphy over portrayal of parent murders
Convicted killer says Netflix series Monsters twists reality and ignores the abuse suffered by him and his brother Lyle at the hands of their father.
Christian White’s latest novel has a plot twist so good, you’ll think it’s a printing error
The Nowhere Child catapulted Christian White to literary stardom in 2018, followed by The Wife and the Widow and Wild Place. All are nailbiters, but his latest offering should come with a mandatory neck brace.
‘I was completely and utterly overwhelmed’: Comedian Brian Nankervis on meeting Bob Dylan
Writer, TV/radio host and comedian BRIAN NANKERVIS on fate, meeting Bob Dylan and what keeps him sane.
Oldman’s rancid spy horses around on TV
The Slow Horses star on the cult-hit spy series, his Emmy nomination and never looking back.
High-stakes style: An insider’s look into world of haute couture
French language series La Maison offers an insight into the rarefied world of luxury fashion, and counts the cost – and opportunity – of a scandal.
Shogun makes history, Debicki claims crown at The Emmys
FX’s sweeping adaptation of James Clavell’s novel, set in 17th-century feudal Japan, has set a single-year record of 18 Emmy wins.
Play it again, Sam: The Twelve to continue its love affair with WA
A third season of acclaimed courtroom drama The Twelve has been commissioned, and actor Sam Neill is set to reprise his lead role in the series.
The Perfect Couple is best described as a beach-read come to life
Nicole Kidman and Liev Schrieber play the wealthy parents of a groom whose wedding celebrations are crashed by a cadaver in this Netflix series based on the Elin Hilderbrand novel.
Author who came in from the cold
Mick Herron, the author of the Slow Horses series, is the unlikeliest star in publishing. Even he couldn’t have made this up.
Linda Evangelista regrets $10,000 quip that defined the supermodels era
The former supermodel says she continues to regret the notorious 90s quote in which she said she wouldn’t ‘get out of bed for less than $10,000’ – ‘I don’t want to be known for that’.
Return of the Ring
The second instalment of The Rings of Power sees Sauron bend Middle-earth, and us, to his will.
What is Rachel Khoo cooking?
The Bake Off host, fresh from a break over the Swedish summer, returns with a new season of the hit TV show, and spills on the secrets of its success.
Markella Kavenagh: ‘I’ve had to grow up very quickly’
For many young Australians, living in the UK is a rite of passage. But for The Rings of Power star Markella Kavenagh, her journey was less about self-discovery and more about saving Middle Earth.
Wise guys and wonderment
The Sopranos is arguably the greatest TV series ever made, but it came close to never existing in the first place.
Nobody wants ‘nice’ reality TV stars
Made in Bondi’s obsession with presenting its young, hot, and affluent stars as likeable makes this tepid Eastern Suburbs riff on Made in Chelsea an utter failure.
The Paris Murders is a perfect binge: 10 seasons of sleuthing
The Paris Murders is fresh and well, French, in that indefinable way that combines balanced coolness with charm.
Five shows to watch this weekend
Chimp Crazy, HBO’s documentary series about the private ownership of chimpanzees, is directed by Tiger King’s Eric Goode. So yes, it’s bonkers and full of kooks. Plus, epic slow-burn historical drama, and bloody look at Ancient Rome.
The moment Celia Pacquola knew she was funny
Celia Pacquola on being a professional pretender and the unusual gift an ex can give.
Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/television/page/5