Gangster aristocracy
10 shows to watch
NATIONAL TELEVISION REVIEWER JAMES WIGNEY SHARES HIS PICKS FOR THE WEEK AHEAD
AUSTRALIA’S SLEEP REVOLUTION WITH DR MICHAEL MOSLEY
Wednesday, 7.30pm, SBS
If you’re in the 40 per cent of Australians who aren’t getting enough sleep, this fascinating and sometimes alarming three-part documentary is worth checking out. The stakes are high, too – lack of sleep affects the health of just about every organ in the body and leads to problems such as anxiety, depression, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and much more. Science presenter and journalist Mosley, who has been a chronic insomniac since his 40s, joins everyday Aussies at their wits’ end for a trailblazing trial from the Flinders University Sleep Institute.
SYDNEY V MELBOURNE
Thursday, 7.30pm, Fox Footy, Channel 7
This week’s inaugural Opening Round has been billed as a chance to showcase AFL away from its Melbourne heartland and while the southern fans might not be happy they can’t see any matches live, it’s a winner for TV viewers. Melbourne went out in straight sets in last year’s finals and Sydney didn’t survive the first week, so both teams will be desperate to show they can be contenders again this year. Footy fans can also rejoice at the return of AFL 360 (now at 6.30pm Monday to Wednesday), with On the Couch shifting to 7.30pm Monday.
STANLEY TUCCI: SEARCHING FOR ITALY
Thursday, 8.40pm, SBS
Hunger Games star Stanley Tucci proved to be a wry and witty tour guide and food aficionado in the first season of his Emmy-winning travel documentary. This second season of his quest to travel Italy’s 20 regions to uncover culinary secrets starts in Venice, with the Italian-speaking actor finding the best local dishes. Whether he’s washing down bitesized breakfast cicchetti with wine, sourcing sea critters at the 100-yearold Rialto fish markets, or freezing at dawn in a blind while hunting the crucial ingredient for duck ragu, it’s mouth-watering viewing.
READY STEADY COOK
Friday, 7.30pm, Channel 10
It’s hard not to get swept up in Spanish chef Miguel Maestre’s energy in this reboot of the much loved cooking show. The format pits two celebrity chefs and two home cooks – in the opening episode it’s Brit Mike “The Laughing Chef” Reid v Hayden “The Surfing Cook” Quinn, alongside neighbours and friends Marcelle and Kimberly – to create three dishes with five ingredients in 20-minutes. Maestre provides the secret sauce as he buzzes between the kitchens, teasing out cooking tips and stories for viewers.
LIFE AFTER LIFE
Saturday, 7.30pm, ABC
This adaptation of Kate Atkinson’s best-selling novel is a little bit like Downton Abbey meets Groundhog Day. Set in a grand country house in England, it tells the story of Ursula, who is destined to die over and over – from disease, accident, misadventure and more – but is reborn with an innate instinct to avoid the manner of her previous demise. Each life takes her on different paths as she lives through world wars, finds love and suffers heartbreak and tragedy. It’s sedate, cerebral sci-fi that asks some big questions about the choices we make, while tugging at heartstrings.
JAMES BROWN: SAY IT LOUD
Saturday, 7.30pm, Fox Docos and On Demand
“Without James Brown, the whole trajectory of culture goes somewhere else,” says veteran rapper LL Cool J at the start of this outstanding four-part documentary on the Godfather of Soul. Using old footage and voiceovers from Brown and interviews with the likes of Mick Jagger, Questlove, Chuck D and Al Sharpton, it traces his career from the dirt poor son of an abusive father to chart-topping funk pioneer who left an indelible mark on black culture and the civil rights movement.
THE OSCARS
Monday, Channel 7, from 10am
The ever-reliable Jimmy Kimmel is returning for his fourth stint as host, which should make for a slick and smooth ceremony (provided no one slaps anyone or reads the wrong name out). The Aussie hopes are pretty thin – with Margot Robbie a very long shot for Best Picture with Barbie after being snubbed in the Best Actress category – and all signs point to the other component of the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon dominating the night by taking out the top prize as well as Best Actor for Cillian Murphy, Best Director (finally!) for Christopher Nolan and Best Supporting actor for Robert Downey Jr. 7Bravo will also broadcast the E!Live from the Red Carpet Broadcast, starting at 8am and there’s an encore screening of the ceremony after Australian Idol.
FIZZY AND SUDS
Monday, ABC, 8.10am
A new kids’ program is always a welcome sight for parents sick of watching the same episodes. The title characters are two (highly) animated bubbles who giggle and gawp their way around the world, wanting to know more about what they see. In the 26 11-minute episodes now available on iview, the pair learn about space, trucks, planes, alpacas and much more by asking questions that prompt easy to understand answers in a way that also celebrates curiosity, diversity and inclusivity.
THE ROAST OF JOHN CLEESE
Tuesday, 7.30pm, Channel 7
Though he’s best known these days for being a grumpy old man railing against wokeness and beefing with former Monty Python colleagues, there’s no denying John Cleese’s spot in the comedy pantheon. It’s slightly odd then that Aussie comics including Steve Vizard, Lawrence Mooney, Alex Lee and Joel Creasey spend more time roasting each other (Tom Gleeson cops a caning) than they do the creator of Fawlty Towers, A Fish Called Wanda and the Ministry of Silly Walks. But Cleese is a good sport as the zingers fly, mostly about his age and divorce settlements.