What to watch
★★★★
Streaming
Rose Byrne is terrific in the final season of darkly comic, 1980s period drama Physical
Byrne’s Sheila Rubin is a deeply unfulfilled graduate of the counter-culture who is just trying to move forward in this under-rated show.
- by Craig Mathieson
Latest
★★★★
Review
Forget the glamour, Rachel Ward gets her hands dirty in documentary
Rachel’s Farm is a hugely valuable adventure infused with the actor’s insatiable curiosity and staunch refusal to give up, no matter what.
- by Sandra Hall
★★★★
Review
The story of Mozart’s rival is worth rediscovering
This unfairly neglected episode in Black history has been criticised by musical purists - but you can also just sit back and enjoy it.
- by Sandra Hall
Asher Keddie: ‘This was the only project I’ve ever put my hand up for’
The TV adaptation of Holly Ringland’s acclaimed novel The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is a passion project for the seven-time Logie-winning actress.
- by Lenny Ann Low
Eighties blockbusters are back, as Idris Elba’s Hijack reaches its finale
For seven weeks we’ve been glued to Apple TV’s airborne adventure series Hijack, yet its brilliance harks back to the stars and movies of decades past.
- by Sinead Stubbins
How and why does a person go ‘missing’? New doco tries to find answers
Documentary maker Laurie Critchley is used to difficult topics; her latest series, Missing Persons Investigation, wades into challenging personal and ethical terrain.
- by Ben Pobjie
★★
Cinema
This slick documentary is too focused on Hollywood to justify the title ‘The Movies’
A six-part series produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman is best described as hype, and only a handful of movies made outside Tinseltown earn a mention.
- by Tom Ryan
Tears, tall poppies and Japandi style: An architect takes on The Block
Steph and Gian Ottavio are the youngest couple to ever appear in the reality show, but Steph’s qualifications proved a blessing and a curse.
- by Bridget McManus
Steven Soderbergh surprises again with an unannounced sci-fi series released on his own website
Command Z, available on Soderbergh’s website, is inspired by journalist and broadcaster Kurt Andersen’s 2020 non-fiction book, Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America.
- by Craig Mathieson
As a comedy about the modern workplace, Utopia hits all the KPIs
From diet fads to “respectful behaviour” workshops, the latest season of Working Dog’s comedy delivers refreshing insights into the contemporary world.
- by Debi Enker
Twenty years on, The Block’s co-creator won’t consider downing tools
When Julian Cress and David Barbour came up with the idea of a show where contestants would renovate and live together for 120 days, they had no idea it would turn into a juggernaut.
- by Ben Pobjie