By Craig Mathieson

Copyright smh

When engaged Sydney paramedic Lina (Aisha De) succumbs to her self-doubt and has a one-night stand with a friend of a friend, Dan (Josh Helman), her regret soon becomes panic and paranoia when she is anonymously sent hidden camera footage of the hook-up. Suspicious of her friends and digging an ever-deeper hole as she tries to hide the truth from her fiance, Lina is the harried protagonist of an extremely 21st-century thriller. Adapted from the J.P. Pomare novel The Last Guests, the limited series is taut and twisty – it takes all of two episodes to work through your expectations and then really get provocative.

Also on Stan: Y2K actually goes off the rails in the new Australian feature One More Shot (October 12), a time-travel black comedy where a young woman’s plan to win back an old flame at a 1999 New Year’s Eve party finds increasingly loopy ways to go wrong. Emily Browning (American Gods) plays Minnie, who is shocked that the 21st century will commence with her on-off boyfriend Joe (Sean Keenan) smitten with Jenny (the very busy Aisha Dee). When Minnie realises every nip from her bottle of tequila takes her back to the party’s start, she goes full Groundhog Day with scenarios to split the two and win back Joe. The universe, however, is not in a co-operative mood.

September highlights: With David Tennant headlining, The Hack dramatised the Murdoch media’s shocking phone-hacking scandal, plus the court case that captivated the world got its first taste of documentary detail with Revealed: Death Cap Murders.

Amazon Prime

My top Amazon Prime recommendation is Lazarus (October 22).

The prolific creative team of American crime author Harlan Coben and British writer/producer Danny Brocklehurst, who stocked Netflix with thrillers such as Fool Me Once and Missing You, bring their skill with twist-laden mysteries to Amazon Prime with this six-part limited series. Sam Claflin (Daisy Jones & the Six) plays Joel Lazarus, a forensic psychologist who returns to his family home after the death of his father, Johnathan (Bill Nighy), and becomes entangled with a series of cold-case murders. A string of disturbing experiences leaves Joel questioning himself, leaning the show into the horror genre. Everyone involved here knows how to pull off smartly satisfying entertainment.

Also on Amazon Prime: In the crime-fiction pantheon there’s a space set aside for the Parker novels by Donald E. Westlake, whose titular antihero is an amoral, ruthless and meticulous professional thief. Hollywood has long admired the books, with Lee Marvin (Point Blank), Mel Gibson (Payback), and Jason Statham (Parker), starring as Parker in various adaptations. The latest applicant is Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter), who headlines the action-thriller Play Dirty (October 1), where Parker takes on the New York underworld and a Latin American dictator. Will the movie work? It has the ideal writer and director in Shane Black, whose previous successes include Lethal Weapon, Iron Man 3, and The Nice Guys.

September highlights: Miranda Tapsell returned to Darwin for the big-hearted family comedy Top End Bub, whereas the British psychological thriller The Girlfriend walked a fine line between critique and craziness.

My top ABC iview recommendation is End Game with Tony Armstrong (October 21).

Whether as an ABC sports presenter, documentary series host, or even a Eurovision Song Contest commentator, Tony Armstrong has been one of the most lively and incisive new voices in the Australian media landscape the past few years. Now the one-time AFL player returns to his roots, embarking on a quest for solutions to the issue of racism across Australian sport. Armstrong, who witnessed first-hand the distressing spectator treatment of a fellow Indigenous player and teammate, Sydney Swans champion Adam Goodes, crisscrossed the globe looking for answers. I’m expecting a series true to Armstrong’s voice: open, empathetic, and committed.

September highlights: One of Australia’s best drama franchises returned, with a new season of Mystery Road: Origin.

SBS On Demand

My top SBS On Demand recommendation is King & Conqueror (October 12).

It’s the event numerous generations of students memorised: The Battle of Hastings in 1066, where England’s last Saxon king, Harold Godwinson, was defeated by the invading forces of William, Duke of Normandy, changing the fundamental course of British history. Created by Robert Michael Johnson (Sherlock), this epic historical film dramatises how the two nobles, who were once allies, ended up in a bloody war after the passing of Harold’s childless predecessor, Edward the Confessor. If you’re thinking this sounds very Game of Thrones, so were the showrunners – William is played Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (GoT’s Jaime Lannister), with James Norton (House of Guinness) as Harold and Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan) as Edward.

September highlights: The People vs Robodebt was truly a must-see documentary, expertly unfolding a national disgrace, while the gripping Code of Silence put a welcome spin on the British crime drama.

Other streamers

My top recommendation for the other streaming services is Binge’s Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy (October 17).

It’s a big month for true-crime devotees who can’t get enough serial killer content. Netflix has drafted Ed Gein, while Binge is relying on John Wayne Gacy. Created by Patrick Macmanus (The Girl from Plainville), this limited series charts the apprehension and trial of one of America’s most prolific murderers, who raped and killed at least 33 young men and boys in the 1970s. Gacy, a married builder from the suburbs who would perform as a clown at community events, will be played by Michael Chernus, with Gabriel Luna (The Last Of Us) as Rafael Tovar, the Illinois police detective who helped catch him.

Also: “Hopefully this is a series that returns for more seasons,” I wrote when BritBox’s Karen Pirie (October 10) debuted here in 2022. It took three years, but there’s satisfaction at last with a second adaptation from Val McDermid’s series of crime novels. As played by Karen Lyle (Outlander), Karen Pirie is an unyielding Scottish police detective, dogged both on the case and in a male-run service that regards her with suspicion. Promoted after her successes in the first season, Karen gets a new cold case and more official scrutiny. Creator Emer Kenny (Harlots) has rendered a thorough crime drama, rich in distinctly Scottish detail and history, with a memorable female protagonist.

September highlights: It was a tall order, but Binge’s The Paper held its own as a successor to The Office, plus we enjoyed the knowing fun of British sleuthing comedy Death Valley.

* Nine owns Stan and this masthead.

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