Dark Matter
Wednesday, streaming on Apple TV Plus
Apple TV is carving quite a name for itself as the go-to for fabulous sci-fi content.
Silo, Constellation, the grossly underrated Monarch and the incredible Severance (my pick for show of the year two years ago) — we’ve been spoiled for choice.
Now we have this nine-part drama starring Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly to add to the list.
It’s based on the book by New York Times bestselling author Blake Crouch, which was hailed as one of the best sci-fi novels of the past decade. Crouch serves as creator, executive producer, writer and showrunner on this as well, and fans are suitably excited.
I can’t tell you too much (there’s an embargo in place), except to say it’s a parallel-universe story, with Edgerton playing Jason Dessen, a physicist and professor who unwittingly finds himself placed into an alternative version of his life. Think Gwyneth Paltrow’s Sliding Doors, but heaps more horrifying, a lot pacier and altogether more disquieting.
Connelly plays the wife he’s desperate to get back to. Over the series, we follow Jason’s twisty-turny quest to reclaim his life or, as an official teaser says, “he embarks on a harrowing journey to get back to his true family and save them from the most terrifying, unbeatable foe imaginable: himself”.
Oof — how great does that sound? He’s effectively battling himself! Love it! And the more I think about it, the more I reckon there should have been a Sliding Doors 2: Return Of The Gwyneth. Imagine seeing the bobbed version of her character returning to reclaim her life from that annoying, mousy, long-haired version?
If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll know what I’m talking about — Gwynnie, you listening?
Bodkin
Thursday, streaming on Netflix
I’ve got a real thing for black comedies set in Ireland. There’s something about the Emerald Isle that just lends itself so well to the genre. This one hails (bizarrely) from Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground production company, and is their first scripted drama series. It stars Will Forte, Siobhan Cullen and Robyn Cara as three podcasters dispatched to the sleepy Irish town of Bodkin to investigate a series of disappearances — quirky weirdness ensues. Think Deadloch, but make it Irish. Mark your diaries.
Who Do You Think You Are?
Tuesday, 7.30pm, SBS
Absolutely love this long-running SBS series. This time around it’s Manu Feildel’s family getting a historical deep dive. He’s keen to discover whether he has “Viking blood”. Aren’t we all?
Maxton Hall
Thursday, streaming on Prime Video
Love me a good teen drama, but couldn’t gel with this, mostly because it’s a German production dubbed into English. It’s giving big Monkey Magic vibes — hoping I can persevere.
Eurovision
Friday, 7.30pm, SBS
Myf Warhurst and Joel Creasey are back as hosts of Eurovision, this year beaming direct from Sweden’s Malmo Arena. The broadcast is on at all sorts of weird times, but I’ll be tuning in on Friday because, honestly, is there a better way to round out your week?