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ONE SHOW, TWO VIEWS MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN, STREAMING, PARAMOUNT+ Siobhan Duck Since inheriting the poisoned chalice of running Kingstown – a community built on the lucrative business of incarceration – Mike McLusky (Jeremy Renner,) has squared off against crooked cops, the Russian mafia, white supremacists and Mexican cartels. However, they all pale in comparison to his latest adversary, who comes in the shape of new prison warden Nina Hobbs (Edie Falco). Hobbs boasts a reputation for reducing in-house violence like a fine sauce. Her secret? She doesn’t play by anyone else’s rules and – unlike her predecessor – that means no bending the rules for the likes of McLusky. It couldn’t come at a worse time for the power broker given his police officer brother Kyle (Taylor Handley) is about to do a six-month stretch behind bars. With McLusky’s many enemies keen to use his sibling as either a punching bag or a knife block, he’s going to have to find new ways to keep him safe. The fourth season of this riveting drama co-created by Taylor Sheridan gets off to a solid start. James Wigney Jeremy Renner’s Mike McLusky has come up against some formidable foes in his three seasons so far as the unofficial “mayor” of Kingstown, but he’s never clashed with someone who could go toe to toe with Tony Soprano – until now. Carmela Soprano herself, Edie Falco, is the most notable addition to the latest instalment of Taylor Sheridan’s Michigan-set crime thriller. She makes an immediate impression as the new Anchor Bay prison boss Nina Hobbs, who has run five jails in 10 years and promises to clean up the hopelessly dirty institution after the demise of her predecessor. And that could spell trouble for McLusky, with his cop brother Kyle unlikely to receive preferential treatment during his upcoming stint in jail. McLusky’s first, relatively polite, confrontation with Hobbs crackles with energy and anticipation of what’s to come. Elsewhere, with a new and very dangerous threat emerging on the tough streets of Kingstown, McLusky’s ongoing battle to keep the peace is tougher than ever. STILLER & MEARA: NOTHING IS LOST STREAMING, APPLE TV To millions of viewers, Anne Meara was best known as Miranda’s demanding mother-in-law Mary in Sex And The City, while her husband Jerry Stiller was George Costanza’s explosive father Frank in Seinfeld. However, to Ben Stiller they were simply “mum and dad”. In this personal documentary, the Meet The Parents actor details what it was like to grow up as the son of these two very successful comedic actors, and how they shaped his own career. Stiller also turns the camera on his sister Amy and actor wife Christine Taylor to paint a full picture of the family dynamic and his parents’ legacy. STREAMING from TUESDAY, HBO MAX When Broadway producer Charlie (Harry McNaughton) heads home to a small town in New Zealand, his excited mum Gaye (Rebecca Gibney, pictured with McNaughton) marks his return by organising a flash-mob performance of a hit song by the Backstreet Boys. It’s all part of Gaye’s not-so-secret plan to recruit Charlie to her amateur theatre group, which is gearing up to stage a musical spin on the Greek tragedy, Helen of Troy. While Charlie is initially reluctant, a problem with his US visa forces his hand. Soon, Charlie trades directing Sally Field in Cats for coaching retirees, teenagers and a swarthy electrician to tread the boards in style. It’s a fun ride with a fantastic soundtrack. DOWN CEMETERY ROAD STREAMING, APPLE TV It’s Emma Thompson as you’ve never seen her before. Sporting a silver hairdo and leather jacket, Thompson plays Zoë, a veteran private investigator who begrudgingly gets drawn into a complex case when a girl goes missing after an explosion in a quiet neighbourhood. While everybody seems to accept the claim that the blast was caused by a gas leak, local woman Sarah (The Affair’s Ruth Wilson) suspects foul play and enlists Zoë to help her prove it. Teaming up to find the child sets both women on a dangerous path of unlocking a complex conspiracy. Based on the book by Slow Horses author Mick Herron, it’s a similarly irreverent mix of espionage and intrigue. TALAMASCA: THE SECRET ORDER STREAMING, STAN Based on author Anne Rice’s novel series The Vampire Chronicles, this supernatural thriller follows gifted lawyer Guy (Aussie Nicholas Denton) as he’s recruited into a secret society that tracks monsters and ghouls living among the general population. Among the creatures being monitored by the group’s leader Helen (Elizabeth McGovern) is the charismatic bloodsucker Burton (played with suitable panache by Jason Schwartzman, pictured). PORTRAIT ARTIST OF THE YEAR 8PM, SUNDAY, ABC TV Hosts Luke McGregor and Miranda Tapsell watch in wonder as nine talented Aussies paint three famous faces in four hours. The subjects in this episode include chef Maggie Beer, Yellow Wiggle Tsehay Hawkins and artist Ken Done. It’s a high-pressure task, but each painter rises to the challenge to create unique pieces of art. At the end of the series, one participant will have a commission hung in the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. STREAMING from THURSDAY, BRITBOX Forced to team up because nobody else is willing to work with them, the mismatched detective duo of aristocratic inspector Thomas Lynley (Leo Suter) and hot-headed working-class sergeant Barbara Havers (Sofia Barclay) are a formidable force. Drawn from the crime novels by Elizabeth George, the characters were first brought to life 24 years ago in the BBC series The Inspector Lynley Mysteries. Rather than replicate the original, Suter and Barclay put their own entertaining spin on the pair’s combative dynamic. STREAMING from MONDAY, HBO MAX A group of co-dependent 20-somethings navigate life and love in Los Angeles in this edgy comedy. Creator Rachel Sennott plays Maia, an aspiring talent manager working for an egocentric boss (Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester) and looking to move up in the world. When Maia’s “frenemy” Tallulah (Odessa A’zion) suddenly returns to LA to celebrate Maia’s birthday, the insecure influencer instead makes the day all about her. This series is a revealing glimpse at the Hollywood scene, proving it’s not all glitz and glamour. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT … BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN Directed by Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee, this acclaimed 2005 western sparked two significant love stories: on screen, it follows the complicated relationship between a pair of closeted cowboys (Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal); off screen, it resulted in Ledger beginning a real-life romance with co-star Michelle Williams, who plays his conflicted character’s devoted wife. In one of the most controversial snubs in Oscars history, the groundbreaking drama was trumped for the 2006 Best Picture award by the forgettable Crash. Nonetheless, it has since been lauded as a landmark film in queer cinema, paving the way for more inclusive storytelling. Streaming on Tubi. Read the full TV and streaming reviews in this Sunday’s issue of national TV guide The Watchlist, in the Sunday papers.
