Read our TV and streaming highlights for the week ahead.
LANDMAN
STREAMING, PARAMOUNT+
Siobhan Duck
As the titular “landman” Tommy Norris, Billy Bob Thornton holds top billing of this drama about the oil industry, but it’s the women around him who steal the show in season two.
Ali Larter chews up the screen as Tommy’s social-climbing wife Angela, a glittering, cleavage-flashing hot mess.
Michelle Randolph is similarly spot-on as his ditzy daughter Ainsley, a role that could easily teeter into cliche. However, it’s the more understated work of Demi Moore that stands out the most.
Fresh from her Oscar-nominated role in The Substance, Moore gets the chance to further flesh out her character Cami, who challenges any notion she’s lost relevance and power due to her age.
Still grieving the death of her husband, Cami is steeling herself to make a speech for the boys’ club when she encounters two younger women brazenly hoping to become trophy wives. Their dismissive comments inspire Cami to deliver a softly spoken but fierce challenge to the men who’ve long written her off.
James Wigney
If Billy Bob Thornton’s lead character Tommy Norris keeps up his high-stress, high-stakes lifestyle, there’s surely not going to be a third season of Taylor Sheridan’s enjoyably trashy Texas-set drama.
After the dramatic first-season finale, Tommy’s problems are multiplying – he might have stepped up to effectively run M-Tex Oil, but the sharks are circling the business, forcing its owner Cami (an excellent Demi Moore) to stare down skittish investors with a steely speech that will make them underestimate her at their own peril.
Then there are the added complications of Tommy’s wife Angela, who is as volatile as ever after their reconciliation, their entitled daughter Ainsley blagging her way into university and his grumpy, ageing father (Sam Elliott, in an inspired piece of casting).
The strong accents, country music soundtrack and over-the-top melodrama can get a little grating, but Thornton is as reliable as ever, with his mix of wry zingers, calculated calmness and barely concealed menace.
ROBIN HOOD
STREAMING, STAN
I know what you’re probably thinking. Do we really need another Robin Hood adaptation? And if so, how can it possibly top the classic 1991 film starring Kevin Costner? However, this series breathes new life into the well-known tale, providing more background to Robin’s journey to becoming a legendary outlaw.
When we first meet Robin (Jack Patten) he’s been banished from his family home after the Norman invasion His future love, Marian (Lauren McQueen), is now living in the estate with her brutish father (Steven Waddington).
Meanwhile, the villain of the piece, the Sheriff of Nottingham (Sean Bean), is yet to fully embrace his dark side.
NOVOCAINE
STREAMING, PARAMOUNT+
It’s a battle of the nepo babies when Jack Quaid (the son of actors Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid) squares off against Ray Nicholson (whose father is Jack Nicholson).
Quaid plays bank employee Nathan Caine, who suffers from a rare condition that prevents him from feeling pain.
While this genetic disorder should make Nathan the perfect candidate to become a superhero, it actually puts him in constant danger because he can’t sense any injuries.
However, when his crush gets kidnapped during a robbery, Nathan puts his life (and body) on the line to rescue her. Nicholson follows his old man’s lead with a memorable performance as a wisecracking crook with a sneering grin.
DEATH BY LIGHTNING
STREAMING, NETFLIX
Two men’s lives run in parallel – on a collision course to shift the course of history – in this drama series. One of them is James A Garfield (Michael Shannon), the 20th US president.
The other is his assassin Charles J Guiteau (Succession’s Matthew Macfadyen). Garfield is a man of the people who prioritises service ahead of power, while Guiteau is a manic fan of the leader.
It’s a fascinating story that, unlike the assassinations of John F Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln, has received relatively little attention from storytellers. Macfadyen delivers the standout performance among a cast that also includes Betty Gilpin, Bradley Whitford and Nick Offerman.
BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS
7PM, FRIDAY, SEVEN
It’s almost a wrap on another year of crafting, cooking and pet care advice, so to mark the festive season the team gathers at Calmsley Hill City Farm in Sydney’s west for a Christmas special. Colin Fassnidge cooks up a grilled ham served with a peach salad, Melissa King tours a cactus garden, Juliet Love provides ideas for entertaining on a budget and Dr Harry Cooper (pictured with King and Love) puts the property’s working dogs through their paces.
A MAN ON THE INSIDE
STREAMING, NETFLIX
Going undercover at a university should be a breeze for retired professor Charles Nieuwendyk (Ted Danson) in his new role as a private investigator, if not for Mona Margadoff (Mary Steenburgen).
Recently widowed, Charles finds himself attracted to the free-spirited music teacher even though she’s a suspect in the case he’s looking into.
The second season of this fun comedy ups the ante with the addition of Danson’s real-life wife Steenburgen as his kooky love interest.
PLAYDATE
STREAMING, PRIME VIDEO
If you thought the scariest things that could happen on a play date involved navigating food allergies or indoor play centres, think again. After becoming a stepfather, Brian (Kevin James) agrees to a play date with another stay-at-home dad he meets at the park.
However, it turns out that Jeff (Reacher’s Alan Ritchson) is not an ordinary suburban parent, and poor Brian soon finds himself white-knuckling his way from one brush with death to another.
It’s predictable fun, not unlike the sort of hilarity you’d find in a buddy cop film.
UNFORGIVABLE
STREAMING, HBO MAX
Created by Jimmy McGovern (Time), this film explores the devastating impact of child sexual abuse through the experiences of one family. Anna McKinney (Anna Friel) is trying to help her son Tom (Austin Haynes) process the trauma of molestation by his uncle Joe (Bobby Schofield).
Now understandably ostracised, Joe is released from prison into a halfway house. What makes this story so challenging is the fact that Joe isn’t a textbook bad guy.
And when he learns about his own past, you’re left wondering if it’s possible to forgive the unforgivable.
JUMANJI
STREAMING, TUBI
When curious orphans Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter (Bradley Pierce) stumble upon a dust-covered board game in the attic of their new home, they promptly roll the dice inside and magically release former resident Alan (Robin Williams).
Turns out he’s been trapped in the jungle-themed challenge for decades, ever since he made a wrong move while playing with his best friend Sarah (Bonnie Hunt,) in 1969.
Unfortunately, it’s not just Alan who is unleashed into the world; he brings with him a raft of quirky characters and wild creatures that inhabit “Jumanji”.
While the special effects of this 1995 classic feel dated, Williams gets to run riot in its fantastical setting.
Real the full reviews in the new issue of The Watchlist, out in the Sunday papers. For more entertainment reviews, click here.
