WORTH WATCHING
American Woman
TVNZ OnDemand, from Thursday
Inspired by the early years of the life of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richards, which raises the exciting possibility someone might one day make a series called Parnell Woman about Anne from Real Housewives of Auckland becoming The Champagne Lady. Back to American Woman, though. t’s a glamorous 1970s LA-set comedy perhaps most notable for starring two massive whereare-they-now stars of the 90s: Clueless’ Alicia Silverstone and American Beauty’s Mena Suvari. Silverstone leads the cast as Bonnie, an “unconventional mother”, who strikes on her own as an independent second-wave feminist after leaving her husband.
The Mysterious Benedict Society Disney Plus
With its charming mid-century aesthetic and Wes Anderson-lite sense of whimsy, Disney’s The Mysterious Benedict Society will appeal to a lot of parents — if the kids end up liking it too, consider that a bonus.
The first episode of the series (based on the YA novels by Trenton Lee Stewart) has hints of Harry Potter and Willy Wonka as a group of kids are put through a series of logic puzzles and tests in order to win a scholarship at a prestigious academy run by the curious Mr Benedict (Tony Hale), who is in fact recruiting them for a topsecret undercover mission.
Sophie: A Murder in West Cork
Netflix
Hot on the heels of the sensationally good podcast series West Cork comes the Netflix documentary series about the 1996 murder of a French TV producer outside her house in a remote village on the Irish coast. It’s a crime that’s captivated people in both Ireland and France ever since, for reasons that feel a little too much like spoilers to get into here. If you enjoy a true-crime documentary but can’t be bothered with podcasts, this one is better than most. For fans of the podcast series, while this does present some new information, it’s a bit like watching the movie adaptation of a great book — never quite as good.