Best new shows: quick links
5 best new shows
Strife Season 2 – Binge (8 May)
Series. We’re back in the newsroom, where digital publisher Evelyn is set to take Eve Life, Australia’s first women’s website, to new heights with a fancy new office and some fresh faces on the team.
But a rival site, relentless online trolls and the chaos of her personal life have her second-guessing everything. Navigating a cutthroat digital landscape isn’t getting any easier … and we’d hope not, cos that’s what keeps this show so entertaining. Starring Asher Keddie. Watch the trailer.
From ScreenHub’s review of Season 1:
Whatever Strife is, one thing’s for sure: it’s not a sitcom. Yes, each episode is half an hour. Yes, it does contain a decent amount of jokes. Yes, it’s about a woman struggling to balance the demands of her zany workplace with a home life that largely involves embarrassing her children and rolling her eyes at the husband she just left. But a sitcom? In 2023? Don’t be ridiculous.
Instead, the press material describes Strife as a ‘comedic drama’. Which is a shame, because the workplace side of things is clearly prime sitcom material (the family side is a bit more mundane).
Once a leading media figure, Evelyn Jones (Asher Keddie) is now the somewhat disengaged and frazzled boss at Eve Life, which is a website but as it’s 2012 nobody really seems quite sure exactly what that is; ‘it’s not a blog’ is said more than once.
It’s home to a collection of female writers (plus one frazzled guy running sales) putting together what we now know as ‘clickbait’. Their newest member of staff (Olivia Junkeer), who they definitely can’t afford to hire, is appalled to find herself not at a beacon of feminist social commentary, but at a place where one of her fellow writers says ‘I love me some incest … it’s very clicky’. Read more …
Sherlock & Daughter – SBS On Demand (8 May)
Series. The great detective Sherlock Holmes finds himself in a most unusual state: extortion. He is stymied, unable to investigate a recent spate of high-profile kidnappings lest he incur the wrath of a mysterious criminal syndicate who have taken hostage his dearest friends, Doctor Watson and Mrs. Hudson.
Meanwhile, a young American woman named Amelia Rojas travels across the world after a murder in her home in California, intent on meeting the famed detective with whom she claims a startling connection (the show title is a bit of a giveaway).
When this young woman shows up on his Baker Street doorstep, Sherlock must determine whether she is a threat, an asset, or, somehow, I mean, it’s elementary – family.
Starring David Thewlis, Blu Hunt and Dougray Scott. Watch the trailer.
Poker Face Season 2 – Stan (8 May)
Series. Season 2 of the Emmy award-winning series follows sass-queen Charlie (Natasha Lyonne), who has an extraordinary ability to determine when someone is lying. She hits the road with her Plymouth Barracuda and with every stop encounters a new cast of characters and strange crimes she can’t help but solve.
Starring Natasha Lyonne, Awkwafina and Cynthia Erivo. Watch the trailer.
Forever – Netflix (8 May)
Series. In 2018, two black teenagers meet at a New Year’s Eve party and fall hopelessly in love. Keisha and Justin are both star athletes with dreams of becoming professionals in their fields. But when they separate for the summer, their newfound love is tested and both struggle to maintain their burgeoning bond. This one’s inspired by Judy Blume’s 1975 novel of the same name.
Starring Xavier Mills, Lovie Simone and Michael Cooper Jr. Watch the trailer.
Long Way Home – Apple TV+ (9 May)
Series. Rev those engines. Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman are back on the road for another motorcycle adventure, this time across Europe. In the new season, the duo traverses breathtaking landscapes from Scotland to England, taking the scenic route through Scandinavia, the Arctic Circle and continental Europe. Get your motor running …
Starring Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. Watch the trailer.
