The top entertainment picks to enjoy this March

Spoiled for choice with some season reboots and still more to come. I am excited to see The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 coming soon. I’ve been waiting 3 years for the 6th and final season which was delayed by industrial action. It’s screens on April 8th so not too much longer to wait. White Lotus 3 has started but I’m saving it for a really good binge. Here’s what I have been watching.

The Newsreader Season 3

Dale and Helen are back but network games mean they are now competitors and it’s now the late 1980’s. It’s all in there, the TV Week Logies, the Lockerbie Air Disaster (which has its own mini-series streaming with Colin Firth in the lead), Tianamen Square, the Exxon Valdez oil spill and Bob Hawke the Prime Minister. This season also covers the Fall of the Berlin Wall and has some great 80’s music included. Of course, the news as events are the backdrop for the relationships and culture within the newsrooms at the time and the changing behaviours and standards. Great Australian TV watch it on iView

Optics

More good Australian TV on ABC and if you enjoy the satirical style of the Chaser you should enjoy Optics. Two fast talking 20 somethings Greta Goldman and Nicole Kidman, (Jenna Owen and Vic Zerbst) are fast tracked to head their PR firm following the death of the founder and leaving heir apparent Ian played by Charles Firth (of the Chaser), wondering what happened. The PR firm’s clients are quite a problematic group but the many strategies developed seem to get them out of trouble but is there bigger trouble brewing? It’s a light hearted comedy with some great zingers.

Apple Cider Vinegar

I binged this one on Netflix watching all six episodes in the series over a weekend. The miniseries is based on the book, The Woman Who Fooled the World written by journalists Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano who uncovered the series of mistruths and fabricated claims Belle Gibson created and built her world of followers on. It’s cleverly done and at some points I even found myself feeling sorry for Gibson but then the story twists to someone whose partner is dying because they followed Gibson’s advice after her so-called miracle cure and the made-up story of her own cancer journey. It’s easy to understand how desperate those with a difficult prognosis can be and how badly they want to believe that they can fix themselves. We all know, or know of, someone who has travelled to try an “experimental cure” or even attempted radical diets in their search for hope. Apple Cider Vinegar is the story of how this hope is exploited. Technically the fourth wall is broken a number of times with characters directly addressing the viewer which I didn’t find jarring and I think it added to the story.

If you are keen for more, Nine Now is streaming Dangerous Lies Unmasking Belle Gibson and you can also watch Tara Brown’s 60 Minutes interview on Nine Now.

High Potential

With her exceptional mind, single mum of three, Morgan, is able to spot incongruent details on a case board while working as a cleaner at the local police station. Morgan rearranges the information and the case is solved but not before Morgan is threatened with disciplinary action. Once she explains her theory, she is offered a job as a consultant and the series is underway. Her “high potential mind” can also make her difficult to put in a box like most neuro divergent people so her “quirky” behaviour can land her in trouble. Following the murder an episode format it is refreshing to see a main character shine who is a little bit different. Created by Drew Goddard and starring Kaitlin Olsen as Morgan along with Daniel Sunjata and Javica Leslie High Potential is streaming on Binge.