Top 5 shows to stream: quick view
Top 5 shows to stream this week
1) Everyone Else Burns Season 2 – 6 Jan (SBS On Demand)
Series. Relationships are at the forefront in this British comedy series following a staunchly religious Manchester family who believe the world is about to end (I mean, it maybe is though, right?) and whose kids are dragged out of bed at all hours for a bit of ‘apocalypse practice’.
This season, Rachel’s (Amy James-Kelly) drive for independence is threatened by arranged marriage and cracks widen between David (Simon Bird) and Fiona (Kate O’Flynn) after he meets an imposing new member, Maude. Meanwhile, Aaron launches a revolutionary bid to drag The Order into the present day (with, and in spite of, his Dad’s help).
Does that sound like you’re being dropped in the middle of a world that’s a little too unfamiliar? Season 1 is also available to stream for free on SBS On Demand, and is well worth doing quickly (if the end really is nigh!).
2) On Call Season 1 – 9 Jan (Prime Video)
Series. You had us at ‘visceral police drama’, then had us again at ‘follows a rookie and veteran officer duo as they go on patrol in Long Beach, California’. This is the kind of tried-and-tested California-set procedural fare we live for.
Shot with a mixture of hand-held cameras, bodycam and dash-cam footage to create a ‘cinema verité effect’ – ooh, you had us again there: it’s arty! – the series explores the morality of protecting and serving a community.
Starring Troian Bellisario, Brandon Larracuente, Lori Loughlin, Rich Ting and Eriq La Salle.
3) The Pitt Season 1 – 10 Jan (Binge)
Series. Noah Wyle stars in this 15-episode drama series, set in a busy hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
A bit more errr than ER, The Pitt tells us it will offer a ‘realistic examination of the challenges facing medical workers in modern America, as seen through the high-pressure lens of healthcare – from juggling emergencies and workplace politics, to personal crises and critically ill patients, it captures the daily lives of those on the frontline’.
4) Goosebumps: The Vanishing – 10 Jan (Disney+)
Series. This one begins with fraternal twins Devin and Cece adjusting to life with their recently divorced dad, Anthony – and if there’s anything that says ‘trouble’s just around the corner’ like divorce does in middle-brow American TV and film, we don’t know what it is.
When the duo discovers a threat stirring (see!), they quickly realise that dark secrets (yep!) are among them, triggering a chain of events that unravel a profound mystery.
As they delve into the unknown, Devin, Cece and their friends – Alex, CJ and Frankie – find themselves entangled in the chilling tale of four teenagers who mysteriously vanished in 1994.
Starring David ‘WE WERE ON A BREAK!’ Schwimmer and Jayden Bartels.
5) Miriam Margolyes in New Zealand – 12 Jan (ABC iview)
Series. Determined to overcome her ignorance and prepare for a new film role in New Zealand, everyone’s favourite former Hogwarts Herbology professor and Head of Hufflepuff House embarks on a road trip across the North and South islands of NZ to find out (a little bit of) what it means to be a Kiwi today – and to understand how different it is from being an Aussie.
