With widespread power outages across the Gold Coast and SEQ due to Cyclone Alfred, we urge you to stay safe and listen to authorities. If, however, you’re one of the luck ones and you’ve got power, why not make the most of this silver lining and catch up on the best the silver screen has to offer?
Toxic Town
Based on one of the UK’s biggest environmental scandals, Toxic Town, starring Jodie Whittaker and
Aimee Lou Wood, focuses on a group of mothers — based on a true David and Goliath battle for justice in Corby, England — looking for answers after their children were born with severe health issues due to their town’s mismanagement of toxic waste materials.
This enraging story will have you on the edge of your seat and rooting for the little guy — or rather, gal — as they seek accountability with inspiring courage and conviction. The mini series is streaming on Netflix.
White Lotus
Everyone’s favourite outrageous mystery-comedy anthology is back. This time, set against the seemingly-serene backdrop of a posh wellness hotel in vibrant Thailand, the show is as full of intrigue, romance — both sweet and misguided — and entitlement as ever. With the likes of Walton Goggins, Parker Posey, Jason Isaacs and Aimee Lou Wood joining the cast, the tension, stakes and comedy are more heightened than ever.
Fair warning, the much-loved — and meme’d — opening credits song is different this season, but it’ll probably grow on us as the season progresses. You can watch the first two seasons, and three episodes of the third on Binge.
Running Point
The ever-charming Kate Hudson stars in this comedy about a reformed party girl who must prove herself as a businesswoman when she’s unexpectedly put in charge of her family’s pro basketball team, almost like a cross between Succession and Ted Lasso.
Fish out of water antics? Check. Female empowerment? Check. Second season? Already greenlit, so it’s the perfect moment to binge season 1 on Netflix!
Daredevil: Born Again
After a long absence from our screens Matt Murdock and his heroic alter-ego are finally back. Seven years after the original Daredevil show — whose first season in particular was smart, dark and full of incredible performances — was cancelled, the title hero and his nemesis, Wilson Fisk, are butting heads again in a revival that promises to be as thrilling as its predecessor.
Rewatch the original three-season run and catch the first two episodes of the continuation on Disney+!
The Pitt
A refreshing new entry in what we would affectionately call “Dad TV”, don’t let the straightforward premise of The Pitt — a look at a shift in an American emergency room — fool you: it’s a quality watch. A realistic examination of the challenges facing healthcare workers as seen through the people in the frontline of a modern-day hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this drama will get your heart pumping.
You can binge the whole season/shift on Binge.
Apple Cider Vinegar
If you can’t get enough of scammers — the shamelessness, the larger-than-life lies and, ultimately, the spectacular downfall and the schadenfreude that comes with it — this Aussie drama is for you. Promoted as a “true-ish story based on a lie”, it’s inspired in the real-life story of wellness influencer and scammer Belle Gibson, who for years falsely claimed to be suffering from cancer and to be managing it through diet, exercise, natural medicine, and alternative medicine therapies.
Watch the sordid story unfold on Netflix.
Severance
The show on everyone’s mind — severed and otherwise — raises as many interesting questions about identity, love and what it means to be human, as it answers in each episode. After an acclaimed first season and a long wait, season 2 is just as intriguing, heartbreaking and touching. With a stellar cast, most of them playing multiple characters, and outstanding cinematography, Severance is one of the most absorbing shows airing at the moment.
You can watch season 1 and eight episodes of season 2 on Apple TV.
Yellowjackets
Jumping back and forth between the present day and flashbacks, Yellowjackets follows a talented all-girls soccer team who survive a plane crash deep in the wilderness. What follows is a Lord of the Flies-esque fight for survival, with all the ruthlessness of nature plus the interpersonal drama that teenage hormones add to the mix. The show also tracks the lives the survivors have attempted to piece back together in the present, while haunted by the horrors of their past.
Hunt down the first two seasons and five episodes of season 3 on Paramount+.
Reacher
The former U.S. Army military police major turned drifter brings all the action his bulky biceps can carry. Thanks to its interesting changing locations, menacing villains, and a big sense of humor, this Jack Reacher adaptation has been delighting fans new and old throughout its two first seasons and into the third.
Two full seasons and five episodes of the third await you on Prime Video.
Boy Swallows Universe
Okay, yes, this limited series came out last year but we couldn’t leave the adaptation of Trent Dalton’s beloved, Brisbane-set novel out of the list! This classic coming-of-age story balances darkness with levity well and approaches the stakes of the story with compassion, while avoiding falling into melodramatics.
You can binge all seven episodes on Netflix.
SEE MORE: Fantastic Books Set In Brisbane
Bonus recommendations:
- School Spirits — two seasons, on Paramount+
- Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man — one season, on Disney+
- Ghosts — season 4 currently streaming on Stan
- Ten Pound Poms — one season, season 2 premieres Monday, March 10 on Stan