Not quite sure an inane show about wankers, Byron Baes (Netflix), is what NSW’s Northern Rivers needs right now. Byron Baes should come with a disclaimer that says: This show is fake, but the flood catastrophe is real – please help out at floodhelpnr.com.au.
Byron Baes (Netflix)
Byron Baes is the sort of show where they slag off the Gold Coast for being “tacky” while taking pictures of each other in ripped jeans for social media. One blow-in says: “It’s lonely being an influencer” before then revealing that all he’s done since arriving in Byron Bay is “bingeing the Kardashians”. Pop culture is now eating itself alive.
Another show made in Australia is Joe vs Carole (Stan). It’s about the feud between the awful Joe Exotic (John Cameron Mitchell) and the nutty Carole Baskin (Kate McKinnon). Queensland doubles for Oklahoma and Florida, but what more can possibly be told after three seasons of Tiger King (Netflix)?
Pieces of Her (Netflix)
Answer – not much. This unnecessary dramatisation doesn’t even have many Aussies in the cast, although David Wenham gets a juicy part playing the missing ex-husband of Carole Baskin. He also pops up in Pieces Of Her (Netflix), an intriguing mystery thriller where Sydney doubles for America’s Georgia coast.
Pieces Of Her opens with a mass shooting in a diner. The surprising response from Laura (Toni Collette) suggests to her daughter Andy (Bella Heathcote) that something is amiss, and there are way more Aussies in it, like Catherine McClements, Ewen Leslie and Aaron Jeffrey.
The Responder (Netflix)
American dramas might be flashier, but give me a gritty British drama any day. The Responder (Wednesday on SBS) is a police drama unlike any seen before and Martin Freeman’s performance will haunt you. He’s a cop with mental health issues struggling to control his temper, and that never ends well.
The Teacher (SBS)
Another troubled soul is The Teacher (Friday on ABC). When not at high school, Jenna (Sheridan Smith) uses alcohol to deal with her demons. After a big night and blackout, she is accused of interfering with one of her underage students. Or did she?
Anne: One Mother’s Story (BBC First)
Finally, there is Anne: One Mother’s Story (Sunday on BBC First), the heartbreaking true story about the Hillsborough disaster. Maxine Peake, an English actress I would watch in anything, plays a mother who refuses to accept why nobody will take blame for her son’s needless death. Must-see.
Hear Andrew Mercado and James Manning discuss these new releases on the Mercado & Manning TV podcast here. The latest episode is here Friday afternoon March 11.