Image: Wanna fight? Susie Porter and Leah Purcell in Season 6 of Wentworth.
TV & STREAMING
Wentworth, Season 6 (Foxtel Showcase)
Who’s top dog? Wentworth is, having just completed screening its sixth season, with at least two more in the works.The Logie-winning top-rating women’s prison drama series has become a constant showcase for fearless female acting talent. It has sold to more than 20 territories around the world and employs around 300 locals per episode when it’s filmed in Melbourne, which makes it an industry stalwart for sure.
Wentworth is a contemporary re-imagining of cult drama Prisoner, which ran on Network Ten from 1979 to 1986. It’s executive produced by Fremantle Media’s Director of Drama, Jo Porter, with experienced script executive Sarah Walker helming the writing team. The sixth season has 12 episodes and picks up just days after the escape of Franky Doyle (Nicole da Silva) and Joan Ferguson (Pamela Rabe). Three new characters are introduced, played by Leah Purcell, Susie Porter and Rarriwuy Hick.
As Craig Batty wrote in his review of the first two seasons of the show for The Conversation: ‘Unlike many Australian dramas on TV today, Wentworth is far from tepid. It’s brave, raw and, thematically, it goes deep.’ Batty also noted that the scripting goes deep and the characters seem well-balanced.
If you’re behind on Wentworth and don’t have access to Foxtel, ABC iview is currently screening Season 2.
This US comedy drama comes recommended to us by ArtsHub Memberships Manager Carolin Casey, who says she’s loved watching the two available seasons of GLOW – the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, which has recently been renewed for a third season. Created by Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, the story revolves around a fictionalisation of the real characters and gimmicks of the 1980s syndicated women’s professional wrestling circuit and stars Alison Brie, Betty Gilpin and Marc Maron.
Carolin says:‘GLOW takes a little bit of time to find its feet, but do persevere. It’s refreshing to see the 1980s from the unapologetic ladies’ points of view, not through your normal male-lens. I can’t wait for Season 3 and hope it will develop more of the individual stories. Cringey 1980s stereotypes are boldly presented, for example, Fortune Cookie the Chinese Girl (she is Cambodian) and Beirut the suicide bomber (who’s actually Indian), to offer witty and incisive comments on current gender politics.’
Variety also had great things to say about the second series, writing that, ‘like the rapidly improving show within the show, this sophomore season of GLOW finds its footing, throws in more jaw-dropping stunts and mines its potential to become just as spunky, tenacious and determined as its heroines.’
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Netflix)
This is the first feature film to be shot digitally by Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men, Fargo, Inside Lllewyn Davis). The fact that it’s financed by Annapurna Television and has gone almost straight to Netflix is also a sign of the times. Written, directed and produced by the Coens, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is structured like a ye-olde storybook anthology, containing six separate tales from the wild west frontier. There are gold-diggers, savage Indians, wagon trains, bank robbers and outlaws. Each segment begins and finishes with pages turning and watercolour illustrations that set the tone. While many anthologies suffer a lack of cohesion or a monotonous sameyness, these diverse stories are tied together with the Coen’s dark humour and a touch of the macabre. Death is never far away and quite often it’s devastating. Standout performances come from James Franco, Liam Neeson, Zoe Kazan and Tim Blake Nelson.
This YouTube Originals comedy came across our radar at last week’s Screen Forever conference, where the Australian creator and director Daniel Reisinger was a speaker, alongside YouTube Originals exec Amanda Barclay. The web series, which premiered in July of this year, follows the single and miserable 35-year-old Olivia (Carly Craig, who also writes and produces), who is plunged into the world of Tinder dating with the help of her recently widowed mother (Rosanna Arquette) and younger married sister (Chelsea Frei). The first two of eight episodes are free if you haven’t signed up to Premium, and of course they’re hoping you’ll be hooked.
PODCASTS
ABC journalists Leigh Sales and Annabel Crabb have created one of the most popular and enduring podcasts around with their weekly(ish) chats about what they’re reading, watching, cooking, listening to or generally getting excited by. The pleasure of this podcast, which has now spawned a series of sellout live shows, a huge fan club, merchandise (like Moral High Grounds reusable coffee cups) and an online bookstore, is the friendship between the two women. They make merciless fun of each other while also coming across as smart, funny, down-to-earth career women who manage to bake muffins and read serious novels as well. They seem to live a kind of fantasy – or is this just Rochelle Siemienowicz who wishes she could write best-selling books, interview the Prime Minister and whip up a light supper for 10 all in the space of one lifetime? Catching up with Crabb and Salesy is a comforting pleasure and highly recommended if you’re awake in the night with insomniac perimenopausal woes.
You can listen to Chat 10 Looks 3 here.
We’re a broad church of true believers and hardened sceptics alike in here at the ArtsHub/Screenhub headquarters. In the true believer camp is Sabine Brix, ArtsHub feature writer and avid astrology fan. She recommends Ghost of a Podcast to us with these words:
‘You have to love an astrology podcast that begins like this: “I am going to give you your weekly horoscope and no-bullshit mystical advice for living your very best life.” Taking a two-part approach, host Jessica Lanyadoo answers a listener question and then helps you analyze what’s happening skyward over the next week. It’s an accessible podcast for anyone interested in using astrology to try and navigate a range of issues that arise in life. As someone who listens to a lot of podcasts, I have to say that what really sets this apart from others is Lanyadoo’s personality. She’s informative, charismatic, contemporary in her approach and gives unflinchingly honest advice. I highly recommend it.’
You can listen to Ghost of a Podcast here.
