Following his heart
10 shows to watch
OUR NATIONAL ENTERTAINMENT WRITER LISA WOOLFORD SHARES HER PICKS FOR THE WEEK AHEAD
TED Thursday, Binge
More than a decade after the titular foul-mouthed teddy bear came to life and ran amok on the big-screen, he’s back in this comedy prequel. It’s 1993 and Ted the bear’s (Seth McFarlane) moment of fame has passed. He’s now living back home in Massachusetts with his best friend, 16-year-old John Bennett (Max Burkholder), along with John’s parents Matty and Susan (Scott Grimes and Alanna Ubach) and cousin Blaire (Giorgia Whigham). And this time, negotiating a world without the internet and mobile phones. Creators have drawn on their own teenage human experiences to explore a rich vein of humour in the fraught high-school years.
THE GILDED AGE Sunday, Paramount+
The second instalment of the latest period drama from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes begins on Easter morning 1883, with the news that Bertha Russell’s (Carrie Coon) bid for a box at the Academy of Music has been rejected. Her husband George (Morgan Spector) has his own battle with a growing union at his steel plant in Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, Marian (Louisa Jacobson) starts secretly teaching at a girls school, while, much to everyone’s surprise, Ada (Cynthia Nixon) begins a new courtship. Of course, Agnes (Christine Baranski) approves of none of it. Look, it’s not as perfect as Downton, but it will definitely help fill that hole. And Nixon and Baranski are sublime.
GLADIATORS Monday, 7.30pm, Ten
In a case of everything old is new again – one of the most iconic sports entertainment gameshows is returning. Hosted by Liz Ellis and Beau Ryan (and it almost seems like he’s angling for 10 stablemate Osher Gunsberg’s host-with-the-mostshows mantle), there’s a mix of nostalgia with fan-favourite events from the original series – Hang Tough, Duel, The Wall, Power Ball, Pyramid and The Eliminator – along with brand-new challenges, as contenders go head-to-head with the Gladiators (look out for Jett Kenny) for the chance to join their ranks next year.
ROLE PLAY Friday, Prime Video
Kaley Cuoco and David Oyelowo star in this action-spy-thriller-comedy. Cuoco’s Emma, a woman who seems to have the perfect life alongside her loving husband David (Oyelowo) and two kids in New Jersey. When the couple decides to spice up their love life by doing a little role-playing, things go haywire, when David finds out his wife leads a secret life as an assassin for hire. Bill Nighy and Connie Nielsen also star.
TRUE DETECTIVE: NIGHT COUNTRY Monday, Binge
This fourth instalment may well just match the brilliance of the first series, which starred Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. Jodie Foster is, as usual, fabulous as Liz Danvers – the acerbic police chief in the small town of Ennis, Alaska, north of the Arctic Circle. During a winter period when the sun never rises, and night lasts for weeks, she investigates when eight scientists living at a research centre suddenly vanish, all at once. Champion boxerturned-actor Kali Reis matches her much more experienced co-star as state trooper Evangeline Navarro.
DEATH AND OTHER DETAILS Tuesday, Disney+
Given the success of Only Murders In The Building, and the Knives Out films, it’s no surprise streamers are capitalising on this. This 10-part series features Mandy Patinkin as a genius sleuth called in to solve a tricky death on board a luxury liner. The brilliant and restless Imogene Scott (Violett Beane) finds herself in the wrong place/wrong time (well, actually, it was kinda her fault) and becomes the prime suspect in a locked room murder mystery. The setting? A lavishly restored Mediterranean ocean liner. Suspects? Every pampered guest and every exhausted crew member. The problem? To prove her innocence, she must partner with a man she despises — Rufus Cotesworth (Patinkin).
75TH PRIME TIME EMMY AWARDS Tuesday, Binge
There are a few Aussies with good chances of taking home a gong at the 75th Emmy Awards, which were pushed back from September due to the ongoing Hollywood strikes. We’re all cheering for Sarah Snook, who would have to be favourite after her Golden Globe win. Murray Bartlett is among the slew of noms for the video-game adaptation The Last of Us, which nabbed 24 for its debut season, including Bartlett’s as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. Anna Torv is nominated in the corresponding guest actress category.
BELGRAVIA: THE NEXT CHAPTER Monday, Binge
Can there ever be too much period drama? The team behind Downton Abbey and Gilded Age certainly don’t think so given they’re dropping their continuation of the hit historical drama this week, too. Named for – and set in – the affluent London district synonymous with the upper echelons of London society in the 19th century, this series follows the next generation of Belgravia’s residents. Cast includes Harriet Slater as Clara Trenchard (nee Dunn), Benjamin Wainwright as Frederick Trenchard, Edward Bluemel as Dr. Stephen Ellerby, Claude Perron as The Marquise D’Etagnac, Sophie Winkleman as the Duchess of Rochester, and Elaine Cassidy as Davison. Alice Eve as Susan Trenchard and Richard Goulding as Oliver Trenchard return.
GOOD GRIEF Netflix
In his stunning directorial debut, Dan Levy plays Marc, a London-based illustrator who is devastated when his wealthy, charismatic husband, Oliver (Luke Evans) dies at Christmas. As he works through his grief, Marc discovers a secret that leads him to question how well he knew him. With his two best friends Sophie (Ruth Negga) and Thomas (Himesh Patel) in tow, Marc heads to Paris to look for closure. Kaitlyn Dever and Emma Corrin pop up in fun cameo turns.