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BOO, BITCH (NETFLIX)
A bizarre combination of Booksmart and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), Netflix’s latest high-concept high school comedy is a so hip it hurts, fitfully funny farrago that will doubt attract a devout, loyal following.
It’s attitude writ large in its very name, the eight-part Boo, Bitch is the story of best friends Erika (Lana Condor) and Gia (Zoe Margaret Colletti).
With just two months left at Parkway High School, the pair suddenly worry that all they are going to leave high school with “is an education”. Having only just discovered that they are not on the senior text chain, they’re now lamenting all the “kickbacks, lowdowns and hoedowns” they’ve missed. But while their first big party night goes well, the next morning not only sees Erika with a hangover, but also upon retracing her steps, finding what appears to be her body – squashed under a moose.
Whatever you do, don’t go into this series from the creators of Awkward and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend expecting coherence or subtlety. Boo, Bitch’s strengths are in its rapid-fire back and forths, pithy one-liners and subverting of traditional tropes.
BLACK BIRD (APPLE TV+)
Those who have followed Taron Egerton’s career on the big screen are in for a shock.
The British actor most famous for playing Elton John, Eddie the Eagle and Kingsman’s Eggsy has significantly bulked-up for his latest role in this six-part, true crime drama . The 32-year-old looks chiseled and buff as he portrays the series protagonist – and author of the 2010 autobiographical novel on which it is based – James Keene.
Initially sentenced to 10 years in a minimum-security prison for drugs and firearms offences, he is given “the choice of the lifetime”. Either serve out his full sentence with no possibility of parole, or enter a maximum-security prison for the criminally insane and befriend a suspected serial killer.
While the directing is split between former directors of The Wire and The Drop, it’s veteran crime writer Dennis Lehane’s (Mystic River) script that really shines. Memorable dialogue abounds, while mystery and intrigue deepen with every scene and you find yourself drawn into both the investigation and Keene’s conundrum, until you’re completely engrossed by it all and pushing yourself to watch “just one more episode”.
Eight great shows to stream this week.
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* Question Team: Richard Ayoade and friends hilariously ‘rewrite the panel show’
* The Chase USA: Bigger money, extra Jeopardy, but somehow not quite as much fun
* Winning Time: Neon’s wildly entertaining look back at a crazy decade
Sky TV
Sci-fi thriller The Lazarus Project follows a secret organisation that can go back in time whenever the world is threatened with extinction.
THE LAZARUS PROJECT (NEON/SKY GO)
I May Destroy You’s Paapa Essiedu is George, a man who wakes up one day with a distinct sense of déjà vu in this eight-part, sci-fi-infused action-thriller. He’s reliving a day from his past, with some notable exceptions – his success at work and marriage to the love of his life seem to never have happened.
While convinced he has lost his mind, he instead finds himself recruited into a secret organisation who claim to be able to turn back time whenever the world is under threat of extinction.
Viewers could be given for feeling more than a little exhausted by the initial instalment’s exposition and action, but fans of sci-fi-infused dramas like Tenet, Station Eleven, Doctor Who, Timecop and The Adjustment Bureau should be well-satisfied.
Screenwriter Joe Barton, who helped successfully create an English-language adaptation of Sweden’s Humans and was behind last year’s under-rated Riz Ahmed thriller Encounter, again demonstrates his ability to make the fantastical seem organic and mine evocative, sometimes gritty personal drama out of potentially preposterous concepts.
LIFE AFTER LIFE (TVNZ+)
Shortland Street’s former Pixie Hannah’s return to the small screen for the first time in five years demonstrates just how far she’s come.
Thomasin McKenzie is outstanding in the BBC’s four-part adaptation of Kate Atkinson’s award-winning 2013 novel. You’ll have to wait until the second episode to see more than a fleeting glimpse, but once she takes centrestage, you’ll be captivated, compelled and rather concerned about the fate of her seemingly ill-fated Ursula Todd.
Yes, be warned, this is not feel-good television, our heroine suffers many privations, indignities and downright criminal acts as she navigates her way through the first-half of the 20th Century. The twist here is, that if she dies, she is simply reborn.
Screenwriter Bathsheba Doran and director John Crowley have done a fine job of distilling a challenging text, the costumes and production design are top-notch and it’s television drama that definitely leaves a mark.
Supplied
Thomasin McKenzie stars in drama series Life After Life, which tells the story of a woman who has an infinite number of chances to live her life.
RAP SH!T (NEON)
Insecure’s Issa Rae created this eight-part comedy about two estranged high school friends from Miami who come back together to form a rap group. Shawna Clark is stuck in a dead-end job at a hotel, while solo-mother Mia Knight is struggling to support herself and her four-year-old daughter. But when Shawna surprisingly invites Mia out for a drink, the unexpected happens.
“The jokes here pack a punch even when they tiptoe into corny territory, the visuals are smooth and the chemistry between the performers feels warm and familiar,” wrote The Hollywood Reporter’s Lovia Gyarkye.
TOO CLOSE (THREENOW)
Emily Watson and Denise Gough team up for this three-part British crime-drama about a forensic psychiatrist who is charged with assessing a woman accused of a heinous crime, who claims she can’t remember a thing. Based on Natalie Daniels’ popular 2018 novel.
“The idea of a psychiatrist becoming fascinated – or manipulated – by a patient is hardly uncharted territory, but Gough and Watson are two of our best actresses. Watching them go head-to-head is a treat,” wrote London Evening Standard’s Katie Rosseinsky.
ITV
Too Close is now available to stream on ThreeNow.
UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN (DISNEY+)
The latest adult drama to make its unlikely home on Disney+ is further proof that Andrew Garfield is in the acting form of his life.
Based on Jon Krakauer’s (Into the Wild, Into Thin Air) 2003 investigation into the 1984 murders of Brenda and Erica Lafferty, Under the Banner of Heaven sees the 38-year-old American-born, England-raised Garfield play East Rockwell, Utah detective Jeb Pyre.
Like 99 per cent of the town, he’s a god-fearing member of the Latter-Day Saints (LDS), using the teachings of Joseph Smith to guide his actions and way of life. But he is shaken to the core by the “house of horrors” he encounters one evening, a 24-year-old and her 15-month daughter brutally slain, their blood splattered across a wide area.
Strip away the religious trappings and investigation into the history of one particular faith and, at its heart, Under the Banner of Heaven is quite simply a terrific true crime dramatisation. Gripping and dripping with dramatic tension, this feels like a lost series of True Detective.
VIRGIN RIVER (NETFLIX)
While it’s more Netflix’s answer to Hart of Dixie, or a rural take on A Million Little Things than Yellowstone, it’s easy to see why this Martin Henderson-starrer has gained an army of admirers over its three-season run.
The Northern California-set soap certainly doesn’t stint on drama, conflict or romance, as it breathlessly crash-bang-wallops from one crisis to another, teeing up the next one before you’ve had much time to process the last.
But for all its potential preposterousness, there’s something warm and comforting about watching the sometimes trivial, mostly life-upending trials and tribulations of the inhabitants of this small town. Need a few hours escape from crumbling democracies, Covid-ravaged society and climate change-fuelled chaos? Welcome to binge-watch friendly world of Virgin River, where “the internet is slow, but the gossip is fast”, where a racoon regularly haunts the local bar to steal the silverware and the arrival of a handsome new doctor causes the waiting room to be filled with virtually the entire over-40 female population.
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