Cancel all of your non-TV related plans this weekend - this has been an exceptionally great week for TV. You have some catching up to do.
New Aussie drama Stateless debuted on Sunday night and the show is just incredibly good. It’s a story about unconnected people who each find each others lives dovetail together at an Australian immigration detention centre.
Ignore anyone telling you to watch it because it is ‘important’ (nothing kills a TV libido more than being told that a show is important). Watch the show because it’s a gripping drama with knockout performances.
Alex Garland (Ex Machina) debuted his first TV series this week. Devs debuted on the brand new FX on Hulu service (streaming as part of Hulu in the US) with the super creepy and brainy techno-thriller Devs. This was set to be one of the shows most-looked forward to this year and it absolutely lives up to expectation.
I haven’t seen it yet, but I have high hopes for Apple TV+’s Amazing Stories reboot. There’s also two big release movies launching directly to streaming this weekend. Spenser Confidential stars Mark Wahlberg in the movie adaptation of the Spenser characters (previously adapted in the TV show Spenser For Hire). There’s also the Apple TV+ film The Banker starring Samuel L Jackson and Anthony Mackie.
returning:
Liar (s2), Diggstown (s2), Better Things (s4), Castlevania (s3), Paradise PD (s2), The Protector (s3), Ugly Delicious (s2),
new:
Stateless - ABC (AUS)
Stars: Yvonne Strahovski, Jai Courtney, Asher Keddie
Creators: Tony Ayres, Cate Blanchett, Elise McCredie
Inspired by true events; a woman escaping a cult, a refugee fleeing with his family, a father trapped in a dead-end job, and a bureaucrat on the verge of a national scandal find their lives intertwined in an immigration detention centre.
Watch:
ABC - AUS
Breeders - FX / Sky One (UK)
Stars: Martin Freeman, Daisy Haggard
Creators: Chris Addison, Simon Blackwell, Martin Freeman
A comedic look at the trials and tribulations of parenthood.
Watch:
FX - US
Sky - UK
Fox One - AUS
Devs - FX on Hulu (US)
Stars: Sonoya Mizuno, Nick Offerman, Jin Ha
Creators: Alex Garland
A computer engineer investigates the secretive development division in her company, which she believes is behind the disappearance of her boyfriend.
Watch:
FX on Hulu - US
Fox Showcase - AUS (from Sun March 8)
Dispatches From Elsewhere - AMC (US)
Stars: André Benjamin, Sally Field, Richard E. Grant, Jason Segel
Creators: Jason Segel
Four ordinary people feel there's something missing in their lives, but can't quite put their finger on what it is, are brought together by chance - or perhaps it's by design - when they stumble onto a puzzle hiding just behind the veil of everyday life. As they begin to accept the mysterious "Dispatches from Elsewhere" challenges, they come to find that the mystery winds deeper than they imagined, and their eyes are opened to a world of possibility and magic.
Watch:
AMC - US
Amazon Prime Video - AUS (from May)
Amazing Stories - Apple TV+ (US)
Stars: Kimberly W Sandefur, Leander Suleiman, James Healy Jr.
Reimagining the anthology from visionary Steven Spielberg, "Amazing Stories," executive produced by Spielberg, will transport the audience to worlds of wonder through the lens of today's most imaginative filmmakers, directors, and writers.
Watch:
Apple TV+
Movie: The Banker - Apple TV+ (US)
Stars: Anthony Mackie, Samuel L. Jackson, Nicholas Hoult
In the 1960s two African-American entrepreneurs hire a working-class white man to pretend to be the head of their business empire while they pose as a janitor and chauffeur.
Watch:
Apple TV+
Movie: Spenser Confidential - Netflix (US)
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Colleen Camp, Iliza Shlesinger, Winston Duke
Director: Peter Berg
When two Boston police officers are murdered, ex-cop Spenser teams up with his no-nonsense roommate, Hawk, to take down criminals.
Watch:
Netflix
Noughts + Crosses - BBC One (UK)
Stars: Jack Rowan, Jonathan Ajayi, Luke Bailey
Noughts + Crosses follows two young people Sephy and Callum, who are divided by their colour but united by love. Sephy is a 'Cross', a member of the black ruling class and daughter of a prominent politician. Callum is a 'Nought', a white member of the underclass. The two have been friends since early childhood but their relationship grows ever more complicated as they come of age. It's the story of two families separated by power and prejudice but forever entwined by fate.
Watch:
BBC One - UK
