WOW! Apple TV delivers again. Based on Araminta Hall’s novel of the same name, Imperfect Women examines a crime that shatters the lives of three women in a decades-long friendship. The unconventional thriller explores guilt and retribution, love and betrayal, and the compromises we make that irrevocably alter our lives.
As the investigation unravels, so does the truth about how even the closest friendships may not be what they seem.
Elisabeth Moss, Kerry Washington, lead with an ensemble cast starring Kate Mara (House of Cards), Joel Kinnaman (For All Mankind), Corey Stoll (House of Cards), Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton), Audrey Zahn (Wildcat), Jill Wagner (Special Ops: Lioness), Rome Flynn (With Love), Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary), Violette Linnz (Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty), Indiana Elle (The Housemaid), Jackson Kelly (The Pitt), Keith Carradine (Madam Secretary), Ana Ortiz (Ugly Betty) & Wilson Bethel (All Rise).
So it's a damn strong cast, lead by the OG Handmaid herself Elisabeth Moss. This gives Liane Moriarty vibes. Big Little Lies, with some seriously badly behaved men.
Moss just slays on screen, whilst Kate Mara is truly fab, as we piece together the story of Nancy.
I enjoyed all eight episodes of this tasty, at times trashy miniseries.
It wasn't too hard to see where the finale was going. I did enjoy this though. It continues a solid year for Apple TV. Building on that, Ted Lasso's return was announced today. Returning in early August. Praise be, Apple TV, you have hits, hits and more hits.
Now this is done, Wednesdays will get my full focus on The Testaments (more Moss) and the other Apple TV hit, Margo's Got Money Troubles.
Animal Control is lead by hunky 50+ lead, Joel McHale, Michael Rowland, Grace Palmer, Vella Lovell & Ravi Patel. In season four, Kyla Pratt joined the series as Daisy Cannon.
I binged seasons one to three last year, so this was the first season I watched week-to-week.
This season had a weird release schedule with the first episode held in Australia to be released along side the second episode mid-January.
Was an interesting tactic in the USA to release one episode around Christmas, have a few weeks off then return. Only to then be off during the Winter Olympics. Then return for a bit, then be off for half of March.
By doing this, you lost rhythm of the whacky group of municipal animal control workers in Seattle, filmed in beautiful Vancouver.
Amid all the scheduled breaks and Winter Olympics, the series was renewed for a fifth season.
Which will most likely return in early 2027.
FOX will release their upfront details next month, with Baywatch their highly anticipated new series. Following the cancellation of Rescue: HI-Surf after one season.
Alongside Baywatch, FOX have another new spy drama scheduled to start next season, The Interrogator. Along with the list of series below.
American Dad!
Animal Control—Streams on Binge in Australia
Best Medicine
Bob's Burgers
Doc—Streams on Stan in Australia
Family Guy
Fear Factor: House of Fear
The Floor
Krapopolis
MasterChef
Memory of a Killer—Streams on Stan in Australia
Next Level Chef
The Simpsons
Universal Basic Guys—Streams on Stan in Australia
In coming days/weeks, I will release further details of the other big four US network plans for 2026-2027. The CW has completely dropped out with their final original series, All American streaming on Stan from July.
Nice to have a winter network series to binge.
ABC will have more finales soon with Abbott Elementary returning to Disney+ soon with a dump of new episodes, alongside new series, 9-1-1: Nashville wrapping in a couple of Saturday's.
CBS are continuing with the traditional network format of all series concluding mid-May. ABC, FOX have broken wraps and almost shut up shop early this TV season.
NBC have no current series which peak my interest.
So until next time, if you need a twenty minute workplace comedy to calm the nerves, Animal Control has cute animals and a hunky Joel McHale, who is no stranger to removing his shirt!
Enjoy another long weekend Australia. Next stop, the Kings Birthday!
In the thrilling second season of Idris Elba's Hijack, a Berlin underground train and its commuters are taken hostage, while authorities scramble to save hundreds of lives. Sam Nelson (Elba) is at the heart of the crisis on board, where one wrong decision could spell disaster.
Season two reunites its ensemble cast of stars including Elba, who was honoured with an Emmy Award nomination for his season one performance, Christine Adams, Max Beesley and Archie Panjabi, & welcomes Christian Näthe (“Ballon,” “Soloalbum,” “Schule”), Clare-Hope Ashitey (“Seven Seconds,” “Top Boy,” “Doctor Foster”), Lisa Vicari (“Django,” “Dark”), Toby Jones (“Mr Bates vs The Post Office,” “Detectorists,” “Empire of Light”), Karima McAdams (“Dune: Prophecy,” “Deep State,” “Soulmates”) and Christiane Paul (“Counterpart,” “FBI: International,” “Parlement”).
From planes to trains, Hijack returns after originally set out as a miniseries, the first seasons success, left Apple TV wanting more Elba, less plane, more train! In Germany too.
So yes, there is subtitles for season two. I know right. After a long day in front of endless Teams meetings, sometimes you just need to watch an episode of DMV or Animal Control.
So how'd it wrap up last month? Yes I am behind. I know right. So many shows, so little time! Apple TV is also on a roll! Imperfect Women, Shrinking, along with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters currently streaming.
SPOILERS AHEAD....
Sam tells Thatcher the handover must continue until Marsha is safe. Atterton is revealed to be the main orchestrator, wanting to eliminate Bailey-Brown so he can become head of the Cheapside Firm. He calls Lang and demands that Bailey-Brown be handed over or Lang will not get paid. The police identify Jess as a former Moroccan soldier.
Faber finds Linder's body and determines that Lang (ex-military who worked with Jess as a mercenary) is the orchestrator. At the Britz-Süd depot, Sam releases the passengers.
Lang and Bailey-Brown get on to complete the handover, but Sam and Otto drive the train away. Bailey-Brown tells Sam he did not kill Kai and that Lang has manipulated him. Lang incapacitates Sam, flees the train, and detonates the bombs. Believing Sam and Bailey-Brown dead, he calls Atterton to demand a higher share of the fortune made from the KA29 hijacking short. However, Sam and Otto survive. GSG-9 pursue Lang and shoot him dead when he makes a sudden movement.
Marsha makes a bonfire to signal a police helicopter, which finds her and forces Gold and Mansell to surrender. Atterton's machinations are discovered, and he is apprehended in prison, with O'Farrell confirming that Sam and Marsha are alive. Thatcher gives Sam his phone to call Marsha, confirming she is safe.
It doesn't end with all issues tied up. I wonder whether a third season will be announced by Apple TV? I feel this series was wonderful and original in its first season, however (like many shows) the second series struggles to deliver the same suspense and impact of the first season.
That said, it was highly addictive viewing again. Until next time. Bring on the long weekend!
undertone is a Canadian supernatural horror film written and directed by Ian Tuason, in his directorial debut.
Starring Nina Kiri as Evy, a woman who hosts a paranormal podcast with her friend Justin (Adam DiMarco), where she is the skeptic to his believer. After Evy moves back home to become the caregiver to her dying mother (Michèle Duquet), she and Justin are sent recordings of a married couple (Keana Lyn Bastidas and Jeff Yung) experiencing paranormal noises in their home, drawing Evy into fear and paranoia.
Evy and her mother are the only characters to be shown on-screen in the film. All other characters are heard as off-screen voices, thus conveying the film's horror through its sound design.
It's a unique idea if you ask me. Via creating horror via sound, rather than visuals. You still get the old fashioned jump scares though. As at times, this slow burn has some real tense, scary moments!
undertone premiered at the Fantasia International Film Festival on July 27, 2025, before getting a cinema release, recently.
It's another A24 success story, receiving generally positive reviews from critics, whilst being a box office success, grossing $20 million against a budget of $500,000.
That is one small budget!
undertone was an interesting take on horror. A seriously religious, dying mother upstairs. A horror podcast being recorded at 3am downstairs. I still hear the bumps in the night.
The movie also leaves you guessing a little. What actually does the ending mean?
I kinda like a film that leaves you thinking, long after you leave the cinema.
This won't be everyone's cup fo tea, however I enjoyed this. Another horror film in the bag for 2026. 3 Stars.
Big Mood is back on Stan! The British dark comedy-drama series returns after a two year break. However in the show... it’s been a year since Maggie (Nicola Coughlan) and Eddie (Lydia West) last saw each other, without any contact between the best friends.
When Eddie suddenly returns for a wedding, she isn’t alone – Maggie has competition, in the form of an infuriatingly positive spiritual healer named Whitney. Can Maggie and her special brand of chaos find space in Eddie’s new life? Or will Maggie lose Eddie forever?
Starring: Nicola Coughlan, Lydia West, Hannah Onslow, Rupert Everett, Robert Gilbert, Eamon Farren, Niamh Cusack, Amalia Vitale, Luke Fetherston, Rebecca Lowman, Stephen Sobal, Kate Fleetwood
The Channel 4 series confirmed the second season back in February 2025. This was released last week. Let's wait and see if a third season gets confirmed. I'm not putting bets on this returning or being cancelled.
This was one of those random shows I picked up on Stan when I hadn't nothing else really to watch. Also I was attracted to the interesting first season's premise. Now I feel this is one of the shows that has a great first season idea, however struggles to get out of first gear, in the second season.
That said, if you are fans of the leads, you may enjoy this.
Until next time, Animal Control concludes this week, plus tomorrow, I'm back at the movies. Yep, another horror film.
Get ready to get mucked! It's term 4 (aka final season) at Hartley High and things are getting out of hand.
As the students hit the final stretch toward graduation - chaos, secrets and mistakes look to get in the way between school and the real world. Heartbreak High, concluded on Netflix, late last month.
Over three seasons, Heartbreak High, was sort of Australia's answer to Euphoria (which is also back. Episode one sucked, hard) as well as a soft reboot of the 1994 series (itself a spin-off of the 1993 feature film The Heartbreak Kid).
Over three seasons, it has followed the students and teachers of Hartley High as they navigate racial tensions in Australia, high school romances, and all sorts of teen angst.
Starring some of Australia's upcoming (and current) new screen legends, Ayesha Madon, Thomas Weatherall, Bryn Chapman Parish, Asher Yasbincek, James Majoos, Chloé Hayden, Will McDonald, Gemma Chua-Tran, Sherry-Lee Watson, Josh Heuston, Brodie Townsend, Chika Ikogwe, Rachel House, Kartanya Maynard, & Ioane Sa'ula, Aki Munroe, William McKenna and Ben Turland joined in its third and final season.
Over its run Heartbreak High has received universal acclaim from critics, with performances and costumes in all three seasons were met with praise. It has received numerous accolades, including an International Emmy Award and six AACTA Awards (of 15 nominations).
All this said, the third season was a bit of a hard slog.
Season one was gold, season two kind of struggled to keep the standard of the first, then this one felt like the regular Netflix quantity over quality.
Sadly Netflix (of all the streamers) definitely churns out loads of content (including a load of B grade films, which in the old days would have been straight to video/DVD) some good, some awful. Some just to keep people's subscriptions.
Emily in Paris, is cruisey and an easy watch, however the quality is highly questionable.
Heartbreak High is one of few locally produced series that were longer than an Aussie miniseries. Boy Swallows Universe, Apple Cider Vinegar & The Survivors all were shorter runs and received solid reviews, plus loads of award nominations.
Sadly Heartbreak High went off on a low, not a high like HBO series Succession and Six Feet Under.
Sometimes some shows should just end on a high before they jump the shark. This series just got too woke and too diversity tick boxing. Much like Sex & The City sequel, And Just Like That...
I am all for diversity and inclusion, however come on, not EVERY box needs ticking. Please. This is why the better side of politics lost to people like Trump, or whoever is running Tasmania and the NT.
Well until next time. More Aussie content on the way from ABC, with Kitty and Anne Edmonds teaming up for Bad Company and an NZ favourite, Urzila Carlson show landing soon. Praise be. Speaking of, how good is the Handmaid's Tale sequel, The Testaments! Well done Hulu!
Fuze is my second NOT another streaming Movie post for a week, given there were no TV finales or time for binges this week. That said, I'm almost at the end of Heartbreak High's final season. So with less TV time, a 90 minute Friday film was perfect!
The British crime/thriller heist film directed by David Mackenzie and written by Ben Hopkins.
Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Theo James, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, & Aussie Sam Worthington. Taylor-Johnson is such a rat bag! Also remember how hot Theo James was in White Lotus season two?
Such a thirsty cast! And also the return of Sam Worthington!
Set in contemporary London, Fuze unfolds after an unexploded World War II bomb is unearthed at a busy construction site, forcing a massive citywide evacuation.
Amid the escalating tension and chaos, a daring criminal operation is set in motion—one that uses the evacuation as cover for a meticulously planned heist. As authorities race against time to contain the crisis, alliances blur and moral boundaries are crossed, the film deftly propels audiences through a series of calculated twists delivering a wildly entertaining ride.
I really enjoyed this piece of escapism on a Friday night after a hectic week.
There was no time to waste in this action heist. With plot twists and turns. I was glued. Not just for the eye candy!
If you are looking to escape the real world this weekend. Fuze is a lot of fun.
