Top TV shows to watch this week: The Penguin, Great Australia Bake Off

From the return of one of Australia’s most beloved baking shows to a crime drama with an unrecognisable Colin Farrell, there’s something for everyone on the small screen this week.

We’ve sifted through the latest offerings from TV and streaming platforms to find the best shows you should be watching this week.

Colin Farrell is transformed into the Penguin. Picture: Binge

THE PENGUIN

FIRST EPISODE FRIDAY, NEW EPISODES MONDAYS, BINGE

This mighty new eight-part crime drama might be a spin-off/sequel to Matt Reeves’ 2022 epic, The Batman, but viewers don’t really need to be versed in that movie’s world and events to be seduced by its dark, gritty charm and rogues gallery of fascinating characters. Indeed Robert Pattinson’s Caped Crusader is nowhere to be seen despite the action picking up pretty much right after he saved the crime-ridden Gotham City. Rather, the action is centred on the title character – mesmerisingly played by Colin Farrell, transformed by layers of prosthetics and unlike any of the jokier, hammier versions that have come before. Farrell’s Penguin – aka Oz Cobb – is a loyal foot soldier in an organised crime syndicate who senses an opportunity to step up and fill the power vacuum left by the death of its leader Carmine Falcone. Deformed, disfigured and racked with self-loathing and mummy issues – but with a steely determination, rat-like cunning and capacity for violence – he’s often underestimated by his fellow crooks and rivals, including Falcone’s volatile daughter Sofia (Cristin Milioti) who is fresh out of Arkham Asylum. Quality stuff.

Cal Wilson and Natalie Tran in the Great Australian Bake Off. Picture: Binge

GREAT AUSTRALIAN BAKE OFF

WEDNESDAY, 8.30PM, FOXTEL AND BINGE

It’s bittersweet seeing comedian Cal Wilson back on screen for this eighth season of the much loved reality cooking show after she passed away following a short illness midway through shooting it. Her sunny personality, endless supply of zingers and easy charm and banter with judges Rachel Khoo, Darren Purchese, fellow host Natalie Tran – and of course the amateur bakers – will be sorely missed. As usual it’s a varied array of contestants vying for baking glory, from 70-year-old retiree Jill, to Yorta Yorta man Jaden (with his penchant for indigenous ingredients) and 16-year-old student Molly, who already looks in command in the kitchen at an age where most of us would be struggling to knock out an edible batch of chocolate crackles. And then there’s the culinary creations, which look like works of art in addition to being off the deliciousness scale, and can make you feel like you’ve stacked on a couple of kilos just from watching.

Fans of the extreme reality show Alone will love Outlast. Picture: Netflix

OUTLAST

NETFLIX

Fans of the extreme reality show Alone will love this even more brutal offering, which adds a competitive element to make life even more difficult for the 16 crazy-brave souls dropped into the Alaskan wilderness. Initially divided into teams of four, they must remain part of a team to be eligible to win a share of the million-dollar surprise – if they can survive the freezing temperatures, relentless rain, threat of starvation and wild animals including wolves and bears. Each of the contestants must not only prove that their skills are worthy of a place on a team, but also be wary of the Survival-style back-stabbing, double-dealing and shady tactics that can threaten their place in the game.

This UK documentary examines the effectiveness of air fryers. Picture: SBS

AIR FRYERS: ARE THEY WORTH IT?

FRIDAY, 8.30PM, SBS FOOD

If you’re like me and a fast rising percentage of Australians, you may well have an air fryer you don’t quite know what to do with, stuck in a cupboard between the breadmaker and the crepe machine and mostly used for chips and chicken nuggets. This UK doco does what the title suggests, by consulting boffins, cooks and everyday families to investigate the oft-made claims that food cooked using one of the buzzy machines is cheaper, faster and better for you. There are also some mouth-watering recipes from social media chefs – from haloumi fries to chocolate egg croissant balls – and useful practical information that might convince the sceptics to get on board with the biggest kitchen revolution since the microwave.

It’s been 22 years since the Wallabies won one of the most coveted prizes in world rugby. Picture: Getty Images

BLEDISLOE CUP: WALLABIES V ALL BLACKS

SATURDAY, 3.45PM, CHANNEL 9

It’s been 22 years since the Wallabies won one of the most coveted prizes in world rugby and it’s been suggested that it’s become the Harold Holt of sporting trophies – we hope to see it again someday, but it grows less likely every year. That said, with their opponents slightly off the boil this year and the Wallabies managing a famous away win in Argentina in the build-up, a home win in Sydney in the first match of the two-game series is not out of the question. Fingers crossed that new coach, Kiwi Joe Schmidt, has some inside intel that can help engineer the downfall of his homeland and restore some green and gold pride.

This documentary follows Liam Gallagher as he revisits one Oasis’ greatest triumphs. Picture: Roberta Parkin./Redferns

LIAM GALLAGHER – KNEBWORTH 22

SATURDAY, 10.25PM, SBS VICELAND AND SBS ON DEMAND

For those of us who missed out on Oasis tickets, this documentary can help fill that Wonderwall-shaped void by following the younger Gallagher brother as he revisits one of his former band’s greatest triumphs. In 1996 – at the height of their Britpop fame and on the back of their 22 million selling, career-defining album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? – the Mancunian rockers played to 170,000 fans over two sold-out nights at Knebworth Park in Hertfordshire. Twenty six years later the mouthy vocalist returned to play as a solo act and reflected on the famous past gigs, with new interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and stories from collaborators and fans from around the world.

Sylvester Stallone as Dwight "The General" Manfredi in Tulsa King. Picture: Paramount+

TULSA KING

NEW EPISODES SUNDAYS, PARAMOUNT+

The finale of the first season of Taylor “Yellowstone” Sheridan’s mob drama saw Sylvester Stallone’s old-school mafia boss – his best new character in years and possibly decades – headed for the clink on charges of trying to bribe a federal agent. But the wily, smooth and tough-as-nails Dwight “The General” Manfredi finds opportunity in adversity, picking up an idea for an energy scam from a fellow inmate in return for advice on how to survive life behind bars. Like countless crooks before him, Manfredi is hoping that after being banished from New York for the backwater of the Oklahoma capital, he and his new crew can go “straightish” and add windfarm subsidies to his growing weed empire. But threats loom everywhere, from his old cronies in the Big Apple to rival Midwest gangsters who don’t take kindly to the new competition.

Rebecca Maddern and Hamish McLachlan will host the 2024 Brownlow. Picture: Channel 7

2024 CHARLES BROWNLOW MEDAL COUNT

MONDAY, 7.30PM, CHANNEL 7, 7MATE

For some, it has all the intrigue and suspense of an Agatha Christie thriller (although it’s a whowonit rather than a whodunit). For others, it’s a couple of well-dressed people calling out numbers for several hours in front of a crowd of equally well-dressed and somewhat refreshed athletes. Yes, it’s Brownlow time again, with young gun Nick Daicos, the criminally overlooked Marcus Bontempelli, 2022 winner Patrick Cripps and two-time winner Lachie Neale are the front runners for this year’s top AFL prize. First up, Abbey Gelmi, Abbey Holmes and Dale Thomas will take viewers through the frocks and shocks of the red carpet, before Rebecca Maddern and Hamish McLachlan steer the actual count.

Comedy game show Taskmaster is back for a third season. Picture: Channel 10

TASKMASTER

TUESDAY, 7.30PM, CHANNEL 10

Aaron Chen, Concetta Caristo, Mel Buttle, and Rhys Nicholson are the latest comedians to try their luck on the absurdist game show, in which competitors are set ridiculous chores that they are then free to milk for maximum laughs. In this third season, they are once again vying for the dubious honour of winning a gold model of host Tom Gleeson’s head at season’s end and the Logie-winner is his usual acerbic self as he oversees tasks that are “testing intelligence, hand-eye coordination and not being a dipshit”, with help from offsider, “Lesser” Tom Cashman, who is arguably the show’s MVP. Among this week’s hilarious highlights are some very poor Frisbee throwing, Helliar being sold out by a celebrity pal and Mel “MC Melicious” Buttle busting out some surprisingly adept rhymes.

Aaron Chen is Shaun Micallef’s first guest in his new documentary. Picture: SBS

SHAUN MICALLEF’S ORIGIN ODYSSEY

TUESDAY, 8.30PM, SBS

It’s a double dose of Aaron Chen this week – triple dose if you count his sterling sidekick work on the excellent Guy Montgomery’s Guy Mont Spelling Bee – showing why he’s one of the country’s most celebrated comedians right now. He’s also the first guest on this new documentary, which has veteran funny man Micallef taking comedians back to the countries of their ethnic origin. Chen’s father left China after the country’s Cultural Revolution, and the comedian heads to the Asian powerhouse to relive some of the backbreaking physical labour his dad was subjected to during the decade long upheaval, including pig farming and rice planting, which proves to be a sobering and emotional experience. Future guests in the series include Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfi, Lizzie Hoo, Nina Oyama, Dilruk Jayasinha and Arj Barker.

Originally published as Top TV shows to watch this week: The Penguin, Great Australia Bake Off