Always Be Streaming - 28 Jan 2022

Last week in the Always Be Watching newsletter I made a point of mentioning how Paramount+ is becoming a vital service in Australia, living up to the promise of the platform as more and more shows from Showtime make their way to the service. The same must also be said of Apple TV+, which is really set to deliver the goods over the next few months.

The problem for Apple TV+ is that it doesn't have third party content as part of its streaming service (you can buy or rent TV through the platform, or bundle in other providers with paid 'Channels' subscriptions), so the value of Apple TV+ isn't always there for subscribers. But the volume of content is growing and consider the new shows landing on platform between now and March:

The Afterparty - Debuts today
Suspicion - Stars Uma Thurman. Debuts 4 Feb
Severance - Stars Adam Scott. Debuts 18 Feb
The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey - Stars Samuel L. Jackson. Debuts March 11
WeCrashed - Stars Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway (what a pairing!). Debuts March 18.
Pachinko - Debuts March 25

That's one heck of a line-up of new shows.

Today has the debut of The Afterparty, which is a new murder mystery comedy show from Chris Miller and Phil Lord with a really great cast. I had a great time with it - my review is up on the ABW site:

While The Afterparty was probably the show I enjoyed the most this week, that shouldn't take away from how much I adored The Gilded Age, which is the new HBO drama that debuted earlier this week with Christine Baranski and one of Meryl Streep's acting daughters. Interestingly, this show is on HBO & HBO Max in the US, but here in Australia we get it by way of Paramount+ thanks to a canny purchase by the Channel 10 programming team a few years ago, well before Paramount+ was a twinkle in anyone's eye.

I have a review of that show also up on the site. If you aren't into period dramas, don't overlook this one. There's quite a lot going for it.

There's a third huge show to note this week. I haven't yet pressed play (that'll happen tonight), but Trigger Point promises to be a really strong series. That's the latest gritty UK police drama produced by Line of Duty's Jed Mercurio. It is an ITV drama that streams here in Australia on Stan. I'm not sure if there is yet a US broadcaster who has it.

returning:

Billions (s06), American Dad (s17), Gomorrah (s05), Resident Alien (s02), Snowpiercer (s03)

new:

The Gilded Age - HBO Max | Paramount+

Stars: Louisa Jacobson, Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon
A wide-eyed young scion of a conservative family embarks on a mission to infiltrate the wealthy neighboring clan dominated by ruthless railroad tycoon George Russell, his rakish son, Larry, and his ambitious wife, Bertha.

Trigger Point - ITV | Stan

Stars: Vicki McClure, Adrian Lester
Drama series following Lana Washington, an experienced bomb disposal officer working for the Metropolitan Police.

The Afterparty - Apple TV+

Stars: Tiffany Haddish, Sam Richardson, Ben Schwartz
After a murder is discovered at a high school reunion, the attendees try to remember what happened, despite all of them remembering the fateful night differently and the murderer remaining at large.

Promised Land - ABC (US)

Stars: Bellamy Young, Jon Ortiz
Two Latinx families vie for wealth and power in California's Sonoma Valley.

In From The Cold - Netflix

Stars: Louisa Jacobson, Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon
A mother's life turns upside down when she must choose between putting her family at risk and returning to her past as a bio-engineered Russian agent.

The Woman in the House Across The Street From The Girl in The Window - Netflix

Stars: Kristen Bell, Tom Riley, Michael Ealy
Watching the world go by from her living room window, heartbroken Anna sets her sights on a handsome new neighbor until she witnesses a gruesome murder.

All of Us Are Dead - Netflix

Stars: Park Solomon, Park Ji-hoo
Trapped students must escape their high school which has become ground zero for a zombie virus outbreak.

Chosen - Netflix

Stars: Malaika Berenth Mosendane, Mohamed Djeziri
A 17-year-old girl finds her world turned upside down when she and her friends discover the disturbing truth lurking in their quiet Danish town.

The Responder - BBC One

Stars: Martin Freeman, Adelayo Adedayo
A crisis-stricken, morally compromised first-responder tackles a series of night shifts on the beat in Liverpool, while trying to keep his head above water personally and professionally.

Astrid and Lilly Save The World - Apple TV+

Stars: Jana Morrison, Samantha Aucoin
High school is hard enough when you're different, but when outcast BFFs Astrid and Lilly accidentally crack open a portal to a terrifyingly quirky monster dimension, it gets a lot more complicated.