By Siobhan Duck
Copyright news
MORNING WARS
WEDNESDAY, APPLETV+
One of the enduring pleasures about this glossy, slick, star-studded behind-the-scenes dramatisations of a high-pressure news network has been its willingness to lean into current events and ground the sometimes soapy machinations, scheming and romantic entanglements in the real world. So it proves again in this fourth season, set two years after the third, with the Paris Olympics looming and a volatile presidential election on the horizon (although executive producer Mimi Leder has confirmed the season will end right before Donald Trump’s return to the White House). In the uncertain environment after a corporate merger – and the industry still shedding jobs, trying to stay solvent and wrestling with whether AI is a game-changing saviour or an existential threat – Jennifer Aniston’s Alex Levy is also railing against a Joe-Rogan-esque podcaster and a defection drama, while Reese Witherspoon’s Bradley Jackson is pondering a return to the network after her hiatus teaching journalism to bored students. Meanwhile former network boss Corey Ellison (two-time Emmy-winning MVP Billy Crudup) is finding out that between volatile talent, strikes and the LA bushfires, producing movies isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
JAMES WIGNEY
When we first met Alex Levy and Bradley Jackson (Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon) they were stepping into their power and finding their feet in the fallout from #metoo. Season two saw the volatile TV anchors navigating Covid while the third instalment introduced the threat of the billionaire boys’ club and an America at war with itself. As we round the bend into season four, it’s AI and environmental cover-ups that have Alex and Bradley in a lather. The dire state of the world (and America itself) has certainly proven a windfall for the writers of Morning Wars, offering a steady source of ripped-from-the-headlines inspiration. While the opening act was easily the very best of the four (thanks to the brilliant performances of Steve Carrell as Alex’s ignorantly egotistical co-host and Martin Short as a lecherous producer), this latest chapter still makes for an engrossing watch. It opens after a network merger with the sophisticated but calculating Celine Dumont (Marion Cotillard) now at the helm and Alex and Stella (Greta Lee) part of the new female-led regime.
SIOBHAN DUCK
7PM, WEDNESDAY, NINE
On Grey’s Anatomy, Cristina Yang and Meredith Grey could dance off any sort of drama between them. On The Block, it takes a lot more than busting a few moves at the McCafe disco to heal the rift between friends turned rivals Britt (pictured) and Alicia. Once thick as thieves, the pair fell out after Britt went shopping without telling her Block bff. Now, Alicia has decided the time has come to stop playing nice with others and put herself first too. Another potential divide in the group is Ben and Emma’s below floor wine tasting room which is basically another way of saying underground wine cellar to avoid admitting they are outright copying Robby and Mat’s game changing plan.
NEXT GEN CHEF
WEDNESDAY, NETFLIX
The proliferation of cooking shows being churned out these days can feel a bit like 101 ways to cook with mince, each serving up variations of the same tried and true fare. This new show isn’t going to revolutionise the genre but it will leave you hungry for more. Hosted by Miss Universe turned restaurateur Olivia Culpo, 21 young chefs compete at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). In round one, they are asked to create a dish inspired by some of the CIA’s most famous alum: Julia Childs, Jerome Bocuse and Anthony Bourdain. With three CIA graduates watching them in the kitchen and Culpo, master sommelier Carlton McCoy and Top Chef winner Kelsey Barnard Clark judging their food, the pressure is on as only 12 will make it through to the next round.
DNA JOURNEY: JAMES NESBITT AND SARAH PARISH
WEDNESDAY, 8.30PM, SBS
Actors James Nesbitt and Sarah Parish’s friendship began more than 20 years ago while they were both in Manchester filming their respective series Cold Feet and Cutting It. After laughing that they spent some wild times together during those heady days of early fame, the pair turn their attentions to history of a different sort. Setting off on a genealogical journey, Parish discovers details about a relative’s groundbreaking work in Scottish education, tearfully wishing her mum (a lifelong and passionate teacher) had been alive to discover this piece of their past. Nesbitt meanwhile isn’t surprised to learn one of his forebears was a roguish publican. On that score, the apple does not fall far from the tree.
FRIDAY, DISNEY+
Still gagged by the Non Disclosure Agreement she signed after leaving Tinder, Whitney Wolfe Herd reportedly did not have anything to do with this fictionalised account of her experiences founding the dating app. But this biopic starring Lily James (pictured) as the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire certainly doesn’t paint a pretty picture of Tinder’s male dominated workplace. It traces Wolfe Herd’s journey from wide-eyed, eager entrepreneur to emotionally damaged recluse after an emotionally abusive relationship with a colleague. The experience was enough to make Wolfe Herd swipe left on Tinder and start her own female-led dating app Bumble. Just like The Social Network, Aaron Sorkin’s 2010 biographical drama about the founding of Facebook, this film lifts the lid on the toxic creators of online dating.
7PM, SUNDAY, SEVEN
Atr three heads – or, rather, three voices – better than one? That’s the question Richard Marx, Mel C, Ronan Keating (pictured) and Kate Miller Heidke hope to answer when a trio goes head-to-head with a primary school teacher with dreams of pop stardom. The musical battle has Ronan and Mel C reminiscing about their days in Boyzone and the Spice Girls. As Ronan reflects on the challenges of coming up with hand gestures to croon a pop ballad alongside his four bandmates (before recreating moves that resemble a ballerina directing traffic) Mel C interrupts with a mic-dropping “Meanwhile I was just doing backflips on Top of the Pops.” Now, that’s memorable choreography!
SUNDAY, PARAMOUNT+
Just when Dwight “The General” Manfredi (Sylvester Stallone, pictured) thought he was out, they pulled him back in! When the series returns for its third season, everyone seems to want a piece of Dwight and the empire he’s built in Tulsa with the help of his sister Joanne (Annabella Sciorra) and assorted hangers on. Now in the cross hairs of the Feds, his old boss and a local crime figure, Dwight starts to realise that whatever doesn’t kill him can only make him stronger. And so, with his Tulsa “family” around him, Dwight decides to take the plunge into the local liquor trade. Also joining this stellar ensemble this season are Aussie actor Bella Heathcote and Pulp Fiction star Samuel L Jackson.
THE ASSEMBLY
7.30PM, SUNDAY, ABC
Caught off guard, Richard Roxburgh finds himself getting emotional when he sits down to be grilled by the latest group of neurodiverse journalism students being mentored by Leigh Sales (pictured with Roxburgh). With questions that springboard from fun and lighthearted (like being asked to recreate his iconic performance as the Duke in Moulin Rouge) to those that give him pause for more serious (and tearful) reflections on life, family and love, this press conference is an emotional rollercoaster for Roxburgh and the viewer. This opening episode sets the tone for another terrific season which will feature an impressive rollcall of guests who include Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian and Gold Logie winner Ray Martin.
MYSTERY ROAD: ORIGIN
8.15PM, SUNDAY, ABC
WHEN Jay Swan (Mark Coles Smith, pictured) rolls into town, trouble is always sure to follow. Having waved goodbye to his dusty outback home in Jardine, Jay arrives in Loch Iris with Mary (Tuuli Narkle) to await the birth of their daughter. Any hopes the couple had for a fresh start are derailed when Jay’s car is sideswiped on the way into town, setting in motion a new case for him to obsess over. As always, Jay butts heads with the local constabulary, led by the jaded Paula “Simmo” Simons (Robyn Malcolm). Everyone brings their A Game, but it’s Malcolm who is the standout. Fresh from exceptional performances in After the Party (do yourself a favour and seek this one out on ABC iview) and The Survivors (Netflix), Malcolm proves her unmatched skill at playing women hardened by terrible events.
JASON BATEMAN
THE ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT DOCUMENTARY PROJECT
STREAMING, TUBI
While Jason Bateman has been doing is very best to distance himself from his nice guy persona with his recent performances in Carry On and The Black Rabbit, this fun doco takes you right back to where it all began (again) for the actor with the Ron Howard-narrated comedy Arrested Development. Arrested Development put the former child star back on the Hollywood map as the straight man to a cast of hilarious larger than life characters played by Portia de Rossi, Wil Arnett and Tony Hale. Featuring interviews with the cast and creatives, this special offers a fun peek behind the curtain at how this quirky comedy became a cult favourite.
