Industry's buzz worthy third series landed on Binge, mid-August. Just the other week it was renewed for a fourth series. It's odd a series grows its fanbase later in its run. The addition of HBO darling Kit Harington really added some buzz. Particularly after seeing his bubble butt.
Back in October 2022, HBO renewed the series for a third series. Unlike many series hampered by the strikes, production was not expected to be suspended amidst the WGA and SAG strikes due to the series' talent working under the UK-based union Equity.
Joining Harington this season, Sarah Goldberg,Miriam Petche, Andrew Cavill, Roger Barclay, Fady Elsayed, and Fiona Button were added to the third series.
We start off the third season with Yasmin spending the summer in Italy on her father's yacht before catching him performing oral sex on a pregnant boat employee. Six weeks later, he is missing and has been exposed for historic embezzling at Hanani Publishing.
Yasmin tries to avoid paparazzi as her anxieties build over a leaked photo of her on the boat and the threat of potential lawsuits.
At Pierpoint, ESG and impact investing have become core tenets of Pierpoint's investment strategy. Eric, separated from his wife, is promoted to partner. Adler, not fully convinced Eric has what it takes, demands he fire a member of the trading desk.
As the firm gears up to take Lumi, a green energy tech company, public, investor James Ashford voices concerns about Lumi's quarterly earnings report. Sir Henry Muck, Lumi's CEO, returns Ashford's shares, while Yasmin scrambles to find last-minute investors. Meanwhile, Harper has found a job as an executive assistant at Future Dawn Partners.
When she overhears her boss Anna arguing with portfolio manager Petra over ESG and green investment strategies, Harper later corners Petra at the end of the workday and states her belief that ESG is a fad. At Muck's behest, Yasmin visits his residence, where she finds his uncle Lord Norton and godfather Otto Mostyn in the basement; the men make it clear she must pay for her father's debts.
After staying the night at Nicole's, Robert wakes up to her dead next to him, later entering work the morning of the IPO shaken and upset. Eric, who shows up to Pierpoint disheveled after an all-nighter with Yasmin and her friend, takes Robert off the desk and tells him to man up. Instead of firing Yasmin or Robert as he initially contemplated, he fires Kenny.
The power goes out across London the exact moment Lumi goes public.
So the third season opens with a bang. It also concludes with a bang on Binge. Speaking of, HBO will launch their own streaming service in Australia next year. So will Industry remain on Binge or move?
OK, so after that TV industry gossip, as we all need to start delivering parcels via Amazon or food via Menulog to keep up with all our subscription, spoiler warning below for the third season's finale, Infinite Largesse.
As for Pierpoint, Eric’s out. The new owners are hacking more staffers than originally planned, and the London office will now be focused on private wealth. Therefore, there’s no business need for Eric anymore. Eric does however score, $20 million, though.
After reading about Jesse Bloom’s release from prison, Harper reveals to Mostyn that she wants to start a short-only fund. He’s intrigued by her subversive anti-fraud fraudsters pitch. And she wants to run it from New York.
Yas calls Harper and asks why she hasn’t responded to her wedding invite yet, then congratulates her for making Forbes’ 30 Under 30. Eric even gave her a quote. Yas, meanwhile, has gotten her own press in Real Country. Image rehab, complete? Harper asks if there are any corporate big-wigs and what the seating chart’s like.
And then Rishi’s wife is shot in the head. Yep. Rishi’s gambling debts have caught up with him. Big Man came to collect and when Rishi’s wife berates the guy, he pulls his gun out and BAM.
Harper calls Eric to thank him for the quote. He tells her to take care. There’s a finality to it. So really this could have acted as a series finale if HBO hadn't given the series the green light the other day.
Eric quits his moping at the Pierpoint office. He ends the call with Harper and immediately starts networking.
The episode concludes with Robert (sadly not nude with Joel Kim Booster) in the States working at his new job and making a pitch. He received a million dollars from Henry, after all. And he assures his listeners that they can come in on the ground floor of a spectacular journey.
I for one, hope the usual two year wait isn't in order for the fourth season. Season one landed all the way back in November 2020, season two August 2022, then this third season in 2024.
I am pumped for season four of this sleeper series. I don't even think HBO could have seen this being one of its best performers of 2024. Now let's see if the Penguin continues to shine in episode two, ahead of The Franchise commencing next week! Not a good time for Binge to be losing HBO. Just saying!
Return to Paradise is an Australian-British crime/comedy drama six part series which was originally running week to week, then iView just loaded all of the three remaining episodes this morning. So I did what any penisoner would, and binge away on the ABC.
It started earlier this month, with a UK airdate TBA. This is the second spin-off series of long-running crime series Death in Paradise. The ABC has a long history of series of the same vein. Murder mystery, week-to-week with a bit of a season long plot across the series. Think Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, The Doctor Blake Mysteries or even Jack Irish. This is the bread and butter genre for the ABC. It's not as gritty as Mystery Road, not as camp as Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, but it aims to please the ABC's core older demo, good location shots and a whodunnit.
Return to Paradise is led by Anna Samson as DI Mackenzie Clarke. Detective Inspector Mackenzie Clarke returns to her home town of Dolphin Cove (AKA Wollongong) when she is accused of tampering with evidence back in London. Mackenzie returns to solve a murder and when the past catches up with her she must fix what she broke all those years ago.
Sea Change's Catherine McClements as Senior Sergeant Philomena Strong, while handsome Aaron McGrath plays Constable Felix Wilkinson.
They are joined by Andrea Demetriades as Daisy Dixon, Glenn's girlfriend, Tai Hara's lucky AF love interest.
You get a few more familiar faces across the series as guests across the season for a number of murders.
From environmental warriors, to lawn bowl murders, even a hairdressing murder. The six episodes make Wollongong look as dangerous as Blue Heelers did for regional Victoria.
Don't take this too seriously. It's all a bit of fun, the formula works, this has been and will be a hit for the ABC. They recently renewed Austin and Ladies in Black, so I expect this to return in the future.
It's been a mixed bag for the ABC this year, however with Fisk and new series Plum looking decent, the remainder of 2024 is looking solid for local comedies and dramas.
Return to Paradise is no Newsreader or Total Control. However it is nice to have another easy to watch local drama on our screens.
OK hold up, As We See It is one of the sweetest series I have watched in sometime. Also it is the first Amazon Prime Video series I have watched in a hot minute.
Another series I slept on, created by Jason Katims, based on the Israeli series On the Spectrum by Dana Idisis and Yuval Shafferman.
Sadly only spanning 8-episodes, As We See It premiered on Amazon Prime Video back in January, 2022. Then it was canceled after one season. Boo.
Following roommates Jack, Harrison and Violet, all in their 20s, all of whom are autistic, as they look for work, make friends, and fall in love.
It makes me want to watch the recent ABC series, Austin now. So who stars in this Amazon series, Rick Glassman, Sue Ann Pien, Albert Rutecki, Sosie Bacon & Australian hunk, Chris Pang. Glassman, Pien, and Rutecki, like their characters, are all autistic.
So where does it leave off in the final ever episode, Please Don't Leave? On the day of Harrison's sister's graduation party, he struggles with several changes.
Confronted with the reality of Lou's illness, Jack turns to Ewatomi for support. Feeling like she's losing control over her life, Violet lashes out at Van. The line between Mandy's personal and professional lives continues to blur.
There are so many sweet and candid moments in this delightful series. I personally smashed it out in around 24 hours, in-between my week-to-week shows like The Old Man and Power.
If you have Amazon, please give this a go. It is 100% a delightful hidden gem I was sitting on, buried in my watch list on just one of many streaming services.
Earlier last month I gave you a quick update on music in 2024. With TV in week-to-week mode, there is way more music than TV right now. That said, next week along recently renewed Industry, All American: Homecoming and Power all conclude. The later two, for their final runs.
Currently airing, Tell Me Lies, Only Murders in the Building, American Sports Story, Bad Monkey, Slow Horses, Reasonable Doubt and Australia's own, Last King of the Cross.
This month has all been about Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Missy Higgins, and lastly Snow Patrol. This Friday it's time for pop, with Nelly Furtado on her seventh record. Bringing SG Lewis, Tove Lo and Australian own, Dom Dolla along for the ride!
And finally Australian music festivals are really on struggle street. The lacklustre line up for Listen Out, only had one really exciting artist on this year's line up. Tyla. Now the week of the festival launching, she is out.
Will Australian music festivals ever bounce back? I am starting to think no. Instead we get Kylie for $500 a ticket or Katy Perry post AFL, post launching an awful new album. Apparently even the AFL has asked she stay in her lane with Roar, Firework and Teenage Dream. Oh boy. So in tribute to that last rant, her are some hump day tunes. Later!
With limited TV posts lately, it's back to the cinema, for an outrageous new film, The Substance.
Labelled a satirical body horror film. It's co-produced, written and directed by Coralie Fargeat.
We see the return of Demi Moore following her smaller role in Feud. Moore is joined by Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid.
As we all age, this is relevant. The Substance, follows a fading celebrity (Moore) who decides to use a black market drug, a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself (Qualley), unknowingly giving her horrifying side effects.
The Substance made waves back in May at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or in its main competition section, where Fargeat won Best Screenplay. The film landed last Thursday here, so I was desperate to see what all the hype was about.
Straight up this film is long. Like almost two and a half hours. However Moore is electric. As a former massive star, this film feels real. Well until the last thirty minutes where the film begins to earn the R rating.
I enjoyed film, however the ending was bat shit crazy, that is a fact.
As I move through the interesting time known as your 40's, it's relatable to see a star wanting to hang onto their looks, value in the entertainment industry. Which let's be honest is obsessed with youth. How many teen dramas are there, has been or will be in the future.
Whilst series like Tulsa King, Yellowstone and others are embracing older male stars, there are less avenues for older female leads.
The Substance was definitely very interesting. Was it the best film of 2024? I still have a soft spot for Civil War, however this was different and thought provoking.
Again, I'm late to the party for Silo, however in some way, tuning in at a good time. Season two is set to premiere on November 15, 2024. Season one commenced back in. May 2023, so I am not too late to the Apple TV+ party.
I am again finding myself watching a lot of Apple TV+. From Slow Horses latest season to the new Vince Vaughn drama Bad Monkey.
Silo however, is a science fiction dystopian series created by Graham Yost, based on the Silo trilogy of novels (Wool, Shift, and Dust) by author Hugh Howey.
Silo is set in a dystopian future where a community exists in a giant underground silo comprising 144 levels, it stars Rebecca Ferguson as an engineer who becomes embroiled in the mysteries of its past and present. Alongside Ferguson, Rashida Jones, David Oyelowo, Common, Tim Robbins, Harriet Walter, Avi Nash, Rick Gomez, and Chinaza Uche also star.
The first season has received positive reviews from critics, particularly for the world-building, production design and Ferguson's performance. So want SPOILERS. Go below the trailer to see where we left off in season one!
In the episode, titled, Outisde. Juliette has Danny broadcast the outside footage to the whole Silo, but the broadcast is quickly shut down by Bernard.
Billings is questioned by Sims on his condition, and Billings later tells his wife that they are making an exception so he can be sheriff. Juliette escapes to Mechanical, where she talks to Walker before being arrested.
Bernard offers Juliette a deal: if she will go out willingly, he will tell her what happened to George and ensure that Mechanical will not be punished. Bernard shows Juliette footage of George jumping off the stairs to avoid interrogation. Bernard destroys the hard drive, but later recovers the disc after Juliette mentions a door underneath the Silo.
Bernard sentences Lukas to the mines. Juliette goes outside and her helmet's display shows the exact same video footage of a lush landscape from the previous cleaning.
She realizes the deception, discovering that the reality is the desolate view on the Silo's screens. Because Walker has arranged for the heat tape on Juliette's suit to be very good quality, instead of dying there, Juliette climbs the crater that surrounds the Silo and out of view of its residents. She sees dozens of similar craters, each with its own silo, and a ruined city on the horizon.
I will be back for season two in November. Currently the TV landscape over Australia's summer slack is looking a little grim, with Dexter reboots and a small amount of US network shows returning.
The Perfect Couple is the Netflix miniseries everyone is talking about.
With an all-star cast, including Australia's own, Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Eve Hewson, and Dakota Fanning
Like Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers for Kidman, the six episode romp, is an adaptation of the 2018 novel of the same name by Elin Hilderbrand.
Landing earlier this month on Netflix, I just caught up with this. What's the basic plot before the trailer? A lavish wedding in Nantucket ends tragically before it even begins when a body washes up on the beach the morning of the ceremony, and everyone staying at the house for the weekend is a suspect.
So this is pure Desperate Housewives style trashy TV. Kicking off with Greer Winbury, a rich author with three kids and a seemingly perfect marriage.
The day of the rehearsal dinner of her son who is going to marry Amelia. The wedding is supposed to take place at the Greer mansion where the rehearsal dinner is also being hosted. It is revealed in the that there has been a murder and the local police are investigating.
Amelia has invited her best friend Merritt to the wedding as her maid of honor who arrives with Shooter—the best man and the groom's best friend.
The entire episode Amelia watches Merritt and Shooter being playful together and looks at Shooter longingly. She also reveals to her best friend Merritt that she does not feel addicted to Benji as a girl who is about to be married should.
Meanwhile, Greer, Benji's mom, reveals to Benji that she is not a fan of Amelia and that she is not sure if Amelia really loves Benji. Benji stands up to his mom to fight for Amelia.
At the end of episode one, it is revealed that the girl who was murdered is Merritt. Amelia is the first to find Merritt's body on the beach and goes into shock upon realising she is dead.
WARNING, spoilers ahead!!!
In the fianle, That Feels Better, Greer and her team ponder how to spin the launch incident and reporters swarm Summerhall, the police take her in for questioning, theorising that she hired Broderick to kill Merritt and had Shooter—who has diplomatic immunity—pay for the hit.
Abby confronts Thomas about his relationship with Isabel and Amelia calls Shooter to apologize for her uncertainty. Greer confesses that Broderick is her brother and the money was to cover his debts. She admits Broderick's existence and that she was an escort when she met Tag to her family and agent.
Amelia's mother had brought pentobarbital pills, but one pill is missing. Thomas stole the pill and initially planned to spook Merritt into aborting the baby, as the sons' access to the family trust would be delayed by 18 years if Tag sires another child.
Isabel produces video evidence that she and Thomas were together at the time of the death, which contradicts Abby's testimony that Thomas was in bed.
Abby—who had drugged and drowned Merritt to ensure access to Thomas's inheritance—is arrested. Greer separates from Tag. Months later, Amelia is working at the London Zoo and meets Greer, who has written a book about Amelia.
Honestly, by the end of this series, I thought, what the hell did I just watch. I'm still not 100% sure what I just watched. This is escapism TV at best. It looks fancy, but it is fairly average. The old saying about Netflix, quantity over quality is definitely true here.
