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IT: WELCOME TO DERRY NEW EPISODES MONDAYS, HBO MAX As a huge fan of director Andy Muschietti’s two-part movie adaptation of Stephen King’s doorstopper horror classic as well as the author himself (my teenage Shakespeare), I was approaching this ten-part prequel with equal parts anticipation and trepidation. All my fears of Pennywise overkill were allayed literally within the first five minutes, after which fans will be all in – but the more faint-hearted might be decidedly out. Muschietti is back directing the early episodes and does a magnificent job of creating a slightly off-kilter atmosphere for the seemingly cursed town of Derry, Maine, which has been terrorised every generation for hundreds of years and so often that its residents are almost used to their children disappearing. This time it’s 1963 and as if the threat of a shapeshifting alien killer clown wasn’t bad enough – some of the bloody encounters will leave you reeling and yelling at the screen to stay out of the damn sewers – there’s also the spectre of Cold War nuclear annihilation and social upheaval to contend with. One of the year’s best – and as a special (or nightmarish) Halloween treat, episode two arrives early this Friday from 6pm. JAMES WIGNEY It took me a lot of time to build up the courage to watch this one. And when I did, it was through my fingers and with gritted teeth. That’s because I’m still scarred from watching Tim Curry’s performance as the maniacal Pennywise in the original 1990 adaptation of Stephen King’s novel. Back then, I was so terrified at the sight of him lurching out of sewers to snatch children that I didn’t make it to the end to see if Pennywise got his comeuppance. I’ve looked at clowns – and, indeed, drains – with suspicion ever since. Despite this painful past, here I am 35 years later, going back to the beginning with this prequel starring Bill Skarsgard as the terrifying circus freak. Right from the get-go, you know something bad is coming. And when it does, it’s a lot. There’s blood. There’s gore. And there’s intensive spelling. Basically, it’s the stuff of nightmares. Thankfully, the man himself – Pennywise – doesn’t make an appearance straight away. That might disappoint ardent fans, but for this scaredy cat it was a sweet relief. SIOBHAN DUCK NADIYA’S FAMILY FAVOURITES WEDNESDAY, 7.30PM, SBS FOOD Frazzled parents tired of the endless grind of keeping families fed – let alone spicing up the menu – will find plenty to like about this user-friendly cooking show hosted by British chef and author Nadiya Hussain. The setting and guests might be terribly British (like the winner of 2018 World Cornish Pasty Championship), but the delicious and easy-to-follow recipes and picnic ideas definitely translate, from chai spiced vermicelli to a versatile samosa pie and prawn and saffron biryani. SON OF A DONKEY THURSDAY, NETFLIX After gaining more than 3 million subscribers, hundreds of millions of video views on social media and two seasons of Netflix comedy Superwog, Aussie brothers Theodore and Nathan Saidden (who wrote, directed and star) are back with more of the same – for better or worse. The story this time, not that it’s important, has Theo threatened with the impounding of his beloved car after a road rage incident and also dealing with the challenges of flying the nest. Cue all manner of taste-free shenanigans – including fart gags, cross-dressing, gratuitous swearing, violence, gross-out comedy and possibly the biggest projectile vomit ever committed to the screen – as he tries to raise the funds to retrieve his motor. Approach with caution. DRAG ME TO HELL Before he shot to the big time as a superhero director with Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man trilogy and Doctor Strange in the Multitude of Madness, Sam Raimi cut his teeth on the low budget, high-gore-factor Evil Dead movies. He returned to the horror world in 2009 with the spooky-as-all-get-out cult classic Drag Me To Hell – about a young woman cursed by an elderly woman and then pursued by a demon – which is perfect (and free) for your Halloween viewing. THE VOICE GRAND FINAL SUNDAY, 7PM, CHANNEL 7 It’s been a strong year for the long-running reality TV show and last week’s welcome announcement that Kate Miller-Heidke, Richard Marx, Melanie C and Ronan Keating will all be back again next season shows that Channel 7 isn’t trying to fix what ain’t broke. And where Mel’s Spice Girls championed Girl Power, it’s been put into practice for the grand finale with an all-female line-up for the first time. Team Mel C will be represented by Cassie Henderson, who will take on Alyssa Delpopolo from Team Kate, Bella Parnell from Team Richard and Cle Morgan from Team Ronan, with the winner taking home a $100,000 cash prize, plus a recording development package including production, recording, mixing, mastering and access to ANR and label services. GHOSTS AUSTRALIA SUNDAY, 8.30PM, CHANNEL 10, PARAMOUNT+ Since the original English sitcom (created by the team behind the much-loved Horrible Histories) wrapped up on its own terms after five series in 2023, Ghosts has proved to be tried and tested formula around the world, with the US version still going strong and spin-offs in France, Germany and Greece. It in this new homegrown version Cleverman star Tamala is charming as the woman who inherits a ramshackle mansion and, after knock on the head, gains the ability to see and speak to the motley crew of squabbling and needy ghosts who are stuck there for eternity. The gentle humour sits somewhere between the original and the broader US take, and there’s a distinctly Aussie flavour to the ghosts, who include a survivor from the Irish famine, a 1990s bikie called Satan and Second Fleet officer sporting an unfortunate spear wound. PORTRAIT ARTIST OF THE YEAR SUNDAY, 8PM, ABC Not dissimilar to the joyous and uplifting The Piano earlier this year, this new eight-part series might purport to be a competition but it’s much more a celebration of art. Portrait painters – amateur and professional – from all walks of life and with all manner of contrasting styles are pitted against each other to capture well known Aussies in a series of heats, with one selected by a panel of experts to progress to the semi-finals, and the subject also invited to nominate (and take home) their favourite likeness. This week’s models are Maggie Beer, Ken Done and Yellow Wiggle Tsehay Hawkins, while hosts Miranda Tapsell and Luke McGregor bring the commentary and zingers. WARREN’S VORTEX MONDAY, 10.10PM, SBS VICELAND From the creators of Wellington Paranormal – and very much in the same vein – comes this kooky Kiwi sci-fi-comedy about “an ordinary human from Lower Hutt” who has been hiding an interdimensional portal in his backyard shed for 18 years. Rather than investigate the countless alternative realities it can access, Warren has been using it to dump his lawn clippings but when his newly adult daughter gets sucked into it, he reluctantly follows her. He emerges into a dystopian future world where the All Blacks have been soundly beaten by Uruguay and sentient fridges are now in charge, with laughs and sci-fi references from 2001 to the Terminator coming thick and fast. MELBOURNE CUP TUESDAY, FROM 10AM, CHANNEL 9 The final field for the 165th Melbourne Cup might not be announced until Saturday afternoon, but while racing tragics are studying the form closely, the more casual punters will already be anticipating the fashion, drunk people falling into hedges and their annual donation to the betting industry that inevitably come with the race that stops the nation. Eddie McGuire will anchor the coverage on the big day, with league legend and former trackwork jockey Billy Slater handling on-track interviews with winning riders post-race and international racing expert Francesca Cumani also weighing in from the mounting yard. Giddy up! THE KENNEDYS STREAMING, TUBI With the news a Crown-style, sweeping epic exploring the family’s torrid history is in the works (starring Michael Fassbender as patriarch Joe) – not to mention Ryan Murphy’s much-hyped biopic about the doomed romance of John Jr and Carolyn Bessette – the Kennedy clan are very much back in the news. And with good reason. This powerful family is America’s answer to royalty. And in this star-studded 2011 soapie-style, drama starring Greg Kinnear as JFK and Katie Holmes as his wife Jackie Kennedy, you get to feast upon the highs and lows of a dynasty of political powerbrokers and fashion icons.
