Chief of War
Jason Momoa stars in and cowrote this epic Hawaiian historical series. Set in the late 1700s, the thunderous plot centres around Momoa's Maui warrior Ka'iana, caught between two outrageously violent kings (Temeura Morrison and Cliff Curtis) and the benevolent Kamehameha (Kaina Makua). It's a robust show with hugely thrilling moments and beefy dramatic beats. Characters are vivid, including some superbly strong women (especially Luciane Buchanan and Te Ao o Hinepehinga). There's also a lot of grisly violence, although the show flinches away from romantic elements, leaving some sequences rather unfinished. This series leads to a staggeringly intense battle on an active volcano. And plenty of nastiness is still lurking for season 2. (Apple)
Based on the Stephen King novel, this conspiratorial mystery series centres on a top-secret facility run by the creepy Sigsby (Mary-Louise Parker), who kidnaps, exploits and possibly kills children with telepathic abilities for some nefarious reason. Meanwhile, drifter Tim (Ben Barnes) takes a job in a local police station and begins investigating. The intrigue levels are high, largely because the scripts give so little away, centred on the smart teens (including Joe Freeman, Fionn Laird, Simone Miller and Viggo Hanvelt) trying to escape from this shady prison-like facility. The scrappy filmmaking approach makes it riveting to watch, because it feels so unpredictable. Although it takes a long time to get around to supplying the answers. (MGM)
This is about as Dennis Lehane as a TV show can be, a thriller packed with conflicted and often downright loathsome characters that give the actors a lot to chew on. Taron Egerton stars as an arson investigator teamed with a local cop (Jurnee Smollett) to solve two sets of serial fires. Meaty support comes from Rafe Spall, Greg Kinnear and John Leguizamo. Each of these tough-talking characters has at least one key moral failing, and they interact in ways that are as fiery as the blazes that are burning everything down around them. The plot takes a series of seriously grim twists and turns. And not a moment of what's on-screen feels remotely plausible. If you don't get too frustrated by this, the show is still entertaining. (Apple)
Comedian Leanne Morgan leads this sitcom about a Southern woman who is thrown when her husband (Ryan Styles) suddenly leaves after three decades of marriage, children and grandchildren. She puts her life back together with the help of her tearaway sister (Kristen Johnson), two hilariously sparky siblings against the world. It's fairly standard TV stuff, with the usual children (Graham Rogers and Hannah Pilkes), parents (Blake Clark and Celia Weston) and nosey neighbour (Jayma Mays) on hand to spike the one-liners. Plus a new suitor (Tim Daly) for Leanne. It's also warm and funny, with strong characters and a steady stream of laugh-out-loud moments. But the laugh track feels oddly old fashioned, and more than a little distracting. (Netflix)
With heavy Ted Lasso vibes, but a more formulaic story arc, this sports comedy-drama stars Owen Wilson as disgraced golf pro Pryce who finds new purpose in life when he discovers talented 17-year-old Santi (Peter Dager) and offers to help launch his career. The character-based storytelling is hugely engaging, most notably in the long-time relationship between Pryce and his caddy Mitts (Marc Maron). And Mariana Trevino (as Santi's mother) and Lilli Kay (Santi's love interest) add superb textures as this offbeat makeshift family travels around middle America in an RV. Big story elements arrive with a thud, mainly in the form of unnecessary conflicts, but the show maintains its warm, brittle sense of humour. (Apple)
From the producers of Elite, here's another show about an exclusive school, this time an academy for, yes, elite athletes. It's of course populated by sex-obsessed students and over-serious teachers, all of whom who are stupid or vile, often both. Of course, this makes it just as watchable as Elite, because all of these absurdly super-fit, clothing-averse people are deeply conflicted about the contrived nastiness the writers continually throw at them. With multiple mysteries, scandals and conspiracies for these eye-catching hotties to grapple with over the course of eight episodes, the show is a full-on guilty pleasure. It also makes some gestures toward confronting big issues in sport, such as doping, homophobia and corporate sponsorship. (Netflix)
While it's snappy and engaging, there's an annoying whiff of artificiality running through this comedy about five lively 20-somethings, starting with the fact that they live rent-free in a friend's house in Queens. This makes their whiny complaints about adult life feel astonishingly shallow and self-indulgent. The dialog is edgy and entertaining, well delivered by the central ensemble even if they're overplaying these likeable idiots. Frankly, there isn't one person on-screen who doesn't seem in dire need of a firm slap. And it doesn't help that every twist of the plot is painfully contrived, while the issues the show pretends to explore are little more than cliches addressed with jokes that aren't particularly funny. (FX)
Former commando Aldo Kane and intrepid camera operators Declan Burley and Vianet Djenguet take on some jaw-droppingly intense projects in these six episodes. They travel into inaccessible spots around the globe in an effort to document endangered species and help make sure they don't go extinct. Looking for tigers in Malaysia, bears in Mongolia and whales in the North Atlantic, these guys come up with ingenious ways to capture footage of seldom-seen animals. The situations they get into are astonishing, beautifully filmed to reveal the rarely seen settings and wildlife. It's also a little surreal to realise that they are accompanied by an equally intrepid camera crew that's filming this series, and perhaps could have a show of their own. (Apple)
C A T C H I N G U P
Wednesday: series 1-2
Having never watched this Addams Family reboot before, I binged the first season before the second arrived. This is a wonderfully deranged and stylised comedy from the mind of Tim Burton, centred around Jenna Ortega as a dark-minded teen in a nutty boarding school for outcasts. The second season is instantly gloomier, with a stronger sense of violent nastiness woven into the storylines. Thankfully, it's also still hilarious, with the added nuttiness of Steve Buscemi's over-eager headmaster. Everything about this show is delightfully ghoulish, from the bonkers plotting to the thoroughly up-for-it cast. These could easily be one-note characters, but they're full of witty nuance. And at its core this is a terrific celebration of individual quirks and offbeat family bonds. (Netflix)
As a Kath & Kim fan, this show has often been recommended, but it took me awhile to catch up with it ahead of the recently dropped third season. This is another riotously bone-dry comedy from Melbourne, populated by amusing characters who are instantly unforgettable. In the title role, Kitty Flanagan has impeccable timing as the intelligent but vaguely clueless probate lawyer Helen Fisk, whose colleagues (Jilia Zemiro, Marty Sheargold and deadpan genius Aaron Chen) never say or do anything that isn't ridiculous. There's even an outrageous recurring role for Glenn Robbins (Kath & Kim's Kel). Each season pushes these people to the breaking point, but they hang on resiliently. And hilariously. Unmissable. (Netflix)
T H E Y ’ R E B A C K !
Dexter: Resurrection
The killer who can't be killed returns once more for another gritty series of episodes. Michael C Hall is back in his signature role, as Dexter now moves to New York to keep an eye on his son Harrison (Jack Alcott), who has some demons of his own. But of course, Dexter can't resist getting caught up in murderous shenanigans of his own. After tracking down a serial killer, he finds himself on a collision course with deadly puppet-masters (Uma Thurman and Peter Dinklage) who run a club for murderers. Fabulous cameos liven things up considerably, including Neil Patrick Harris, Krysten Ritter, David Dastmalchian and Eric Stonestreet. And the tension between Dexter and Harrison is beautifully well-played. (Showtime)
Still endearingly awkward, this low-budget queer series set in Melbourne continues the adventures of magazine photographer Adam (Will Hutchins), with new wrinkles provided by younger brother Ethan (Joel Nankervis). Even if the direction is rather clumsy, series creator Lee Galea continues to have fun with an ensemble of lively characters who are likably played by a bright young cast. Everyone falls in and out of love in an instant, slutty one day and chaste the next. But it's easy to ignore the corny plotting and implausible details (can any free gay magazine support such a large staff?), thanks to thoughtful issues that pop up here and there. And it's especially nice to see characters who are so relaxed about sexuality. (Cinephobia)
Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman are back for a fourth epic motorbike odyssey, this time riding reconditioned 50-year-old vintage bikes in a huge arching circle around Europe from Ewan's Scotland hometown to Charley's house outside London. They spend much of this series in Scandinavia, which is particularly fascinating as they discover glorious scenery, offbeat sports and several astounding places to camp or rent an unusual room. Their camaraderie is infectious, because they come across as endearing chuckleheads who are simply enjoying the unexpected things they discover along the road. And their families feature as well this time, which makes it even more involving. We'd love to go travelling with them. (Apple)
O V E R A N D O U T
The Sandman: series 2
Grim and almost oppressively dark from the opening moments, this show digs further into its elaborate mythology while majoring in shadowy sets and black-intensive costumes. The overwhelmingly grey imagery and tone are hugely indulgent and not terribly original. But there are a huge crowd of terrific characters along the way, and some churning surprises in the way the story unfolds its tale of gods and spirits and faeries and such. Best of all are the evolving relationships between the mopey Dream (Tom Sturridge) and his friends, siblings, parents and foes. This offers beefy roles for superb actors who manage to hold things together despite seemingly being directed to do everything in slow motion. (Netflix)
For its final season, this refreshingly bilingual series doubles down on its fractured narrative approach, excessively spinning out sideplots for supporting characters while stretching out the present-day framing device into a separate story strand of its own. And visually, current scenes and those set 40 years ago look increasingly similar, which oddly blurs everything, lowering the stakes because the storylines seem to be warring with each other for our attention. Still, the writers have fun with versions of the characters while also tying up the various threads. The show continues to have plenty of Latin-fuelled charm, with hilarious gags peppered throughout the script. And Eugenio Derbez is engaging as always. (Apple)
There are only four half-hour episodes in this final season, and it feels much more plot-driven than before, rushing to tie up a range of loose threads in thankfully unexpected ways. While the tone leans further into the more slapsticky elements, the story itself is surprisingly dark, touching on issues of grief and loss in intense ways that sit at odds with the silly comedy. It helps that Robbie Amell is as charming as always in his now-dual role as two versions of Nathan, even if one of them is very mopey this time around. And as before, he's ably supported by Andy Allo, Allegra Edwards, Kevin Bigley and Zainab Johnson, plus Owen Daniels as the mass-produced AI Guy. Hopefully we'll see these actors in new gigs soon. (Prime)
GUILTY PLEASURES: The Great British Bake Off, Last Week Tonight, The Late Show, Destination X, Battle Camp, Final Draft, South Park.
NOW WATCHING: The Paper, Peacemaker 2, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 3, The Morning Show 4, Only Murders in the Building 5
COMING SOON: Black Rabbit, The Savant, Chad Powers, Boots, Gen V 2, Loot 3
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