As the days grow longer and spring sweeps in, our trusted blogger has once again scoured the streaming platforms to bring you a handpicked selection of must-watch shows, making your October evenings all the more delightful.
With a fresh batch of compelling stories and laugh-out-loud comedies, there is sure to be something to captivate your attention and transport you to new worlds of entertainment.
Barbara from Blackpool ditches her Beauty Queen tiara and her fiancée and heads off to London to follow her dream of becoming an actor. Based on Nick Hornby’s novel, Funny Woman is set in 1960s London where the gender bias and sexism prevalent at the time dominate. Hornby claims that in the absence of a British equivalent to Lucille Ball, he developed Barbra Parker to fill the space.
Gemma Arterton plays Barbara Parker a naïve young woman who despite being treated as an object remains upbeat looking for her big break whilst working in the hat section of an upmarket department store. Rupert Everett and Morweena Banks are delightful as Brian and Patsy Debenham Barabra’s agent and his wife.
The characters are well developed as the family dynamic between Barbara and her Dad and her Aunt are explored with a reminder of how the significant changes of the 60’s impacted the public but also the private sphere of people’s lives. With only 6 episodes it is a perfect Binge Day, (or two) watch and you will be cheering for Barbra as she makes her way in the world of show biz. I really enjoyed the set dressing, furniture, and fashions of the day too. I watched Funny Woman on Binge.
This has been my Sunday night watch on ABC but thankfully it’s also available on iView so you can watch it from start to finish and you do need to watch it sequentially. Stella and her two children have to relocate to a small Tasmania town full of odd characters and simmering undercurrents. There are so many characters in this town from Stephen Curry plays Frances Pike the daggiest real estate agent ever, the pig mother, the bus driver the list goes on.
Great performances by so many Australian actors. There are 8 episodes in season 1 and about episode 3 or 4 I almost gave up thinking it was all too weird, but so glad I stuck with it as the final few episodes bring it all together in a very satisfying way. I am now looking forward to Season 2. It has beautiful scenery shot around Queenstown in Tasmania, quirky characters, and a twisting, dark storyline dotted with some great one-liners. Created by Max Dunn, Marta Dusseldorp, and Andrew Knight, Dusseldorp also plays the lead role supported by Pamela Rabe and Toby Leonard Moore.
Watch for Kerry Fox’s superb characterisation as Frankie and a cameo by Sandy Gore in one of the later episodes. Is it farfetched? Yes, it absolutely is but that is part of the fun and quirkiness. Australian produced and a great ride but don’t forget to watch in order and hang in there through the episodes that are setting up the plot- it’s worth it.
Gertrude and Marigold Brewer leave Sydney in 1853 and head to the goldfields in search of their own treasure, newly rich husbands, “but old so they don’t live too long”. Rat bags, possibly thieves and suspected murderers Gertrude and Marigold may be living in 1853 but their attitudes, jokes, and approach are very 2023, especially in relation to feminism, sexism, and race. With witty one-liners and strong feminist opinions, this is certainly not a historically accurate representation of life in the gold fields. If you need historical accuracy this is not the show for you but it is funny and Marigold and Gert along with their friends will keep you entertained. It’s entertainment not the History Channel!
Clare Lovering, Danielle Walker, and Eddie Perfect star but have a good cast of co stars working with them and a long, long list of writers. If you can suspend reality, and cope with a bit of slightly off-colour comments and humour you might like this one. On ABC and ABC iView.
I have already written about the Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That, but having watched the entire season I need to revisit it because while initially I had concerns, I ended up loving it. The first few episodes were somewhat jarring with constant references to their age but either I warmed to it or the season I got better because I found myself waiting for the new episode to drop each week and was hooked. It left a couple of unanswered questions leaving the door open for a revisit in about 5 years.