A not-so-fond family farewell leads this week’s top TV viewing
From saying goodbye to our favourite toxic family to a new cult thriller, these are 10 shows you need to watch this week.
SUCCESSION
Monday, Binge
It’s all come down to this. After Logan’s sudden – but, let’s face it, not really unexpected – demise (and aren’t we all still processing and marvelling at that 30-minute unbroken take of absolute television brilliance) we will learn just who will assume the mantle of the empire. (It’s not you Connor – sorry). Kendall (Jeremy Strong) appears to have risen to the challenge, following the twists and turns of the funeral, while Roman found his emotions. My vote goes to Shiv (our very own Sarah Snook) – she’s got the knack and intelligence to run her late father’s business. Plus, she is possibly the most redeemable character. It’s a jumbo-sized farewell clocking in at around 90 minutes – just how many F-bombs can the Roys and their friends and foes drop in that time? And while we also have been told this is the end of the Emmy-winning, almost Shakespearean drama, there’s a glimmer of hope for those not ready to farewell our favourite toxic family forever. Show creator Jesse Armstrong has said while this Succession story is complete, he has a “feeling there could be something else in an allied world, or allied characters”. “Even some of the same characters – that’s also strong in me,” he said. “I have caveated the end of the show … like maybe there’s another part of this world we could come back to, if there was an appetite? Maybe there’s something else … that harnesses what’s been good about the way we’ve worked on this.”
THE CLEARING
Wednesdays, Disney+
The first two episodes in this confronting series – Disney’s first Australian original production – drop today. And while it’s not an easy watch by any means, it’s magnificently shot, with a tight and compelling script blurring the lines between reality and nightmares, and past and present. It’s based on J.P. Pomare’s crime thriller In The Clearing, and follows a woman (Teresa Palmer producing her best work to date) who’s forced to face demons from her past in order to stop the kidnapping and coercion of innocent children in the future. It’s a veritable feast of talent with Miranda Otto as Adrienne, the chilling cult leader, Guy Pearce, Kate Mulvaney, and Julia Savage leads the talented crop of young actors who play the blond-haired children.
IN LIMBO
Streaming, ABC Iview
This is a gorgeous new series that will make you laugh and cry. And, perhaps, both at the same time. It’s a show about friendship, love and grief, with Ryan Corr and Bob Morley as best mates who must face how hard it is to let go of loved ones – especially if they’re taken too soon. When Nate (Morley) dies, Charlie (Corr) must deal with his grief in a rather unexpected manner – especially because his mate is back in ghost form and ready to offer advice on everything from Charlie’s outfit to the content of his eulogy. Be prepared, while the six-episode series has the outward appearance of a comedy, it packs an emotional punch.
PLATONIC
Wednesdays, Apple TV+
Apple’s comedy offerings have largely been fabulous and this new 10-episode offering is ready to join the stellar ranks alongside Ted Lasso, Bad Sisters and Shrinking. Look, it had the foundations with the trio of Rose Byrne, Seth Rogen and writer/director Nick Stoller from the Bad Neighbours movies reuniting for this eight-part, half-hour comedy series about old friends who reconnect in their forties and become inseparable. But will they remain the platonic of the title? Probs not.
FUBAR
Thursday, Netflix
When a father and daughter duo, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in his TV debut and Monica Barbaro, accidentally discover they’re both CIA spies, a covert mission turns into a rather amusing, completely chaotic family escapade. It – slightly conveniently – comes just a few weeks before Netflix drops a three-part doco Arnold, which explores the life of the “Austrian Oak”, but it is indeed a fun jab at the spy genre and will keep you laughing and on the edge of your seat. Oh, and if – like me – you don’t know what Fubar means, google it.
THE MARVELLOUS MRS MAISEL
Friday, Amazon Prime Video
When not one, not two … but four of my favourite shows are coming to the end, it’s a bittersweet week of viewing ahead. It’s also time to say goodbye to Midge Maisel and her gorgeous costumes, witty one-liners and the colourful and complex world that Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino so brilliantly brought to life over the past five seasons. There’s still so many loose ends to tie up, like what happened to the seemingly rock-solid partnership of Midge and Susie Myerson (Alex Borstein), but Midge’s alter-ego Rachel Brosnahan says not to worry. “Amy wrote the last episode, so I had no doubt whatsoever that she would nail it and land the plane exactly the way the show deserves.
FBOY ISLAND
Monday, Binge
Look, there’s definitely no roses being handed out on this island. This new reality dating show, based off the hugely successful US format and hosted by Abbie Chatfield, sees three smart, strong women – occupational therapist Molly O’Halloran, 26, professional DJ Sophie Blackley, 26, and model Ziara Rae, 21- – move to a tropical paradise. They’re trying to find a potential partner among 24 men – half of whom are self-proclaimed “nice guys” and the others, “f--- boys” who are there to compete for cold-hard cash. The women have to separate the “F boys” of the title, from the ones who are genuinely there to find love. Kinda like real life really.
LOVE TO LOVE YOU, DONNA
Streaming, Foxtel On Demand
It opens with the Queen of Disco crooning the hit used for the title, and this doco is way more than a skimming of the surface. It’s a deeply personal delve, co-directed by her daughter Brooklyn Sudano, with extensive access to home movies and interviews with her other children and exes. Sudano notes that she’s “trying to figure out the many pieces of who mom was.” There’s no sugar-coating her life’s thornier aspects – from her not-so great taste in men to her embracing evangelical Christianity later in life and adopting somewhat derisive views of the gay community who had been her biggest supporters.
HAVE YOU BEEN PAYING ATTENTION
Monday, 8.40pm, Ten
It’s one of my favourite nights of the week, which brings with it the chance to sit on the sofa and test out my recall of the week against a cast of comedians headed up by Ed Kavalee and Sam Pang, while Quizmaster Tom Gleisner tries – and usually fails – to keep them all in line.
This week’s guests include Alex Ward, whose witty punch lines usually make for interesting news commentary, while Kitty Flanagan takes aim at fellow panel members and Lloyd Langford will take aim at himself.
AMERICAN BORN CHINESE
Streaming, Disney+
This is basically an Everything Everywhere All at Once reunion. It stars Oscar winners Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan, as well as nominee Stephanie Hsu in a guest role, alongside a host of other familiar faces including Yeo Yann Yann and Ronny Chieng, in this action comedy based on the 2006 graphic novel of the same name. It follows Jin Wang (Ben Wang), a high-schooler struggling with his school and home life. When he meets Wei-Chen (Jin Liu), the new Taiwanese exchange student at his school, worlds collide as Jin is unwittingly entangled in a battle of Chinese mythological gods.
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Originally published as A not-so-fond family farewell leads this week’s top TV viewing
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