A long way to the top
10 shows to watch
Top pick PALM ROYALE WEDNESDAY, APPLE TV+
There aren’t too many likeable characters in this period comedy-drama based on the book Mr and Mrs American Pie but it nevertheless makes for riveting viewing, thanks to a quality cast and an addictive premise. Set in 1969 Florida, it stars Kristen Wiig as a former beauty queen also-ran who has her heart set on what she thinks is her rightful place in the high society set of the ritzy beachside suburb of Palm Beach. The problem is, she’s lacking both the funds and the cachet to join the likes of selfcentred trophy wife Dina (Leslie Bibb) and jaded grand dame Evelyn (a magnificent Alison Janney) in the swanky club that gives the show its name. But with more front than Myer and a potentially vast inheritance tantalisingly close thanks to an aunt in a coma, Maxine will go to gobsmackingly brazen lengths to ensure she gets her way. Ricky Martin and Oscar-winner Laura Dern bring some much needed heart to the greed and socialite shenanigans and the fabulous fashions and exquisite attention to period detail just pop off the screen.
SELLING HOUSES AUSTRALIA WEDNESDAY, 8.30PM, FOXTEL LIFESTYLE
With interest rates and the cost of living being what they are, the real estate nous of Andrew Winter, interior design skills of Wendy Moore and landscape design know-how seem more valuable than ever. In the first episode of the new season, the team head off to the “blink and you’ll miss it” town of Ellalong in the Hunter Valley to perform a miracle on a cluttered and neglected church conversion. Cue all manner of unholy punning as a slightly shocked Wendy goes to work on the inside, where piled up furniture and belongings are standing in for walls, and Dennis takes the lion’s share of the budget for the mother of all paint jobs.
JIMMY CARR’S I LITERALLY JUST TOLD YOU WEDNESDAY, 8.30PM, SBS
It’s not often you see a game show that turns the format on its head in quite the way this one does. The twist is that all the questions are written during the show, about the show. From the moment the UK stand-up comedian calls time-on, everything is fair game and questions can be about other questions, other contestants, the host or even the writers of the questions. It’s basically a memory game – with some educated guessing – which makes it fun to play along at home, with Carr also getting some good laughs at the expense of his four guests, who are gradually eliminated until the final two face off by firing questions at each other.
3 BODY PROBLEM THURSDAY, NETFLIX
After creating a pop culture phenomenon by adapting George R.R. Martin’s long-thought unfilmable Game Of Thrones books, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are attempting the seemingly impossible again. Chinese sci-fi writer Liu Cixin’s 2015 novel, the first in a trilogy, is similarly dense and even more complicated, dealing with humankind’s first contact with an alien civilisation and straddling multiple time periods and different worlds, both real and imagined. There’s plenty of GoT alumni on board for this eight part series that requires concentration and a little patience, but pays off in spades.
ROAD HOUSE THURSDAY, AMAZON PRIME
Ever since the Patrick Swayze original hit cinemas in 1989 there’s been debate as to whether it’s good, bad, or so-bad-it’s-good (spoiler it’s bad and everyone is bad in it). This new remake is bigger and better in every way, with a ridiculously shredded Jake Gyllenhaal as bouncer Dalton, a former UFC fighter so scary that he just has to reveal his face to shock his opponents into submission. When he’s hired to rehabilitate a rowdy Road House in the Florida Keys, goons – including real UFC fighter Conor McGregor in his acting debut – hired by a local crime boss arrive in droves for exhilarating but bonecrunchingly violent fight scenes.
AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX FROM FRIDAY, CHANNEL 10
In a rare season with two Aussies on the grid, in Oscar Piastri for McLaren and Daniel Ricciardo for Red Bull, statistically the chances of a home grown podium finish are better than they have been in ages, particularly with the former’s fourth place in Saudi Arabia. Gunther Steiner, former boss of the Haas team, will bring his insight to the Channel 10 coverage at Albert Park this year, bolstering a team fronted by Tara Rushton and Scott MacKinnon, former world champ Damon Hill and expert Tom Clarkson. Start your engines!
FERRARI SUNDAY, PARAMOUNT+
Petrolheads can make a weekend of it with the arrival of Michael Mann’s excellent biopic to stream the same day as the Australian Grand Prix. Adam Driver is mesmerising in the title role as the driven racing genius who made the prancing horse the ultimate symbol of prestige and technical excellence. The action zeros in on the summer of 1957, with the company in serious trouble (as was its owner’s marriage) and in need of a big win in the gruelling Mille Miglia race to get things back on track. There’s drama aplenty, topnotch racing – and it’s also a sobering reminder of just how dangerous the sport was to drivers and spectators.
RAMY YOUSSEF: MORE FEELINGS SUNDAY, BINGE
The multi-talented, Golden Globewinning Muslim comedian (star of the sitcom Ramy, which is now steaming on Stan) returns with a very timely follow-up to his acclaimed 2019 stand-up special, Feelings. In the wake of the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas and the ongoing conflict in Gaza, the laid-back funnyman – born in New Jersey to Egyptian parents – has plenty to say about the fractured state of modern America in an election year. Whether he’s riffing Joe Biden’s “crazy substitute teacher energy” after his people tried to get him on board for the 2020 presidential campaign or the lure of Turkey for hair transplants, it’s a thoughtful, on-point and very funny set.
I’M A CELEBRITY … GET ME OUT OF HERE SUNDAY, 7.30PM, CHANNEL 10
As is customary, the speculation is swirling about who exactly are the celebrities (and, let’s be honest, whether they actually qualify) on this year’s gruelling stint in the African jungle. Rumoured names to surface have been Fifi Box as the Radio Queen, Khanh Ong as the Celebrity Chef and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Melissa Joan Hart, as the Hollywood Child Star. The irrepressible Julia Morris and new co-host Robert Irwin will reveal all with flourish – and then delight in making them eat things that would make a billygoat puke.
AUSTRALIAN IDOL GRAND FINALE SUNDAY, 7PM, MONDAY, 7.30PM, CHANNEL 7
The final three are here at last: Denvah Baker-Moller from Rockingham, Amy Reeves from Broome and Dylan Wright from the Northern Rivers. They all sing live Sunday and Monday for a shot at the $100,000 prize and a record deal, and there will also be performances from Guy Sebastian, Sam Fisher, Delta Goodrem, Morgan Evans, Conrad Sewell and Marcia Hines.