TV Gold

• Ms. X (Binge/Foxtel, 6 episodes) Ms. X is a six-part dramedy that tells a “good person gone bad” story, through the eyes of a suburban kiwi mum. A stay-at-home mother of two, Mia Bennett (featuring the return of Melissa George), suspects her husband is cheating. He arrives home after a night out apparently dining with clients and then sleeping in his car. Mia enlists the help of...

The Killings at Parrish Station (Stan, 6 episodes) When a brutal massacre at a remote desert research station rocks 1987 Australia, Detective Georgia Cooke (Mia Wasikowska) and her partner, Michael Thorne (Xavier Samuel), uncover disturbing links between a delusional survivor, a mysterious text called The Bone Gospel, and the station’s eccentric benefactor, Callum Parrish (Nic...

Alice and Steve (Disney+, 6 episodes) Billed as a comedy-drama that follows the 25-year-long friendship between middle-aged Londoners Alice and Steve. Their bond devolves into an all-out, petty feud when Steve—a divorced celebrity hairdresser—begins dating Alice’s recently dumped daughter, Izzy.  Casting of Nicole Walker and Jermaine Clement in the lead roles keeps you watch...

On this episode of TV Gold, Andrew Mercado and James Manning review: Two Years Later (Paramount+, 8 episodes) Two Years Later is an Australian romantic dramedy created by Pete Bridges, starring Brenton Thwaites and Phoebe Tonkin. The show tracks thirty-somethings Ryan and Emily, who exchanged flirty glances on their daily commute prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. When they reconnect years later, Rya...

A special episode of TV Gold this week with Andrew Mercado and James Manning joined by author Holden Sheppard, whose best-selling debut novel Invisible Boys was turned into a Stan series. All three have watched Tip Toe and talk about the series, the themes explored, the plot devices and how some critics have had problems with the storytelling. The five-part series on Binge and Foxtel follows Leo a...

Shows reviewed by Andrew Mercado and James Manning this week on the TV Gold podcast: A Woman of Substance (Binge, 8 episodes) Based on the best-selling novel by Barbara Taylor Bradford, A Woman of Substance is a drama spanning six decades, charting the rise of Emma Harte (Brenda Blethyn) from penniless Yorkshire maid in the early 1900s to apparently a powerful 1970s business mogul.  Brenda Bl...

Andrew Mercado and James Manning review three new TV series this episode: Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed (AppleTV, 10 episodes) Paula (Tatiana Maslany) is a magazine fact-checker in the midst of a messy divorce from her ex-husband Karl which centres around the custody arrangements of their daughter Hazel.  She begins paying Trevor, a webcam boy, for his time, during which she vents about her lif...

This week on the TV Gold podcast Andrew Mercado and James Manning review: Dutton Ranch (Paramount+, 9 episodes) Reilly and Cole Hauser reprising their roles from Yellowstone as Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler. They gamble everything on a new life in South Texas, with the promise of building a future far from the ghosts of Yellowstone. Also features Aussie actors Finn Little and Jai Courtney. The...

TV series reviewed on the TV Gold podcast this week: Widow’s Bay (Apple TV, 10 episodes) Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) is a well-meaning but somewhat timid leader determined to transform his struggling, isolated town of Widow’s Bay into a bustling tourist destination. Despite warnings from eccentric locals—led by skeptical fisherman Wyck (Stephen Root)—that the island is...

Half Man (Stan, 6 episodes) The original six-episode drama from the multi award-winning Richard Gadd (Baby Reindeer) explores male rage, trauma, and identity over 30 years, starting with the childhood of two “brothers from another lover” and following them into adulthood. A tough watch for some, this is nevertheless an important series. The series explores their non-biological bond tha...

Margot’s Got Money Trouble (Apple TV, 8 episodes) Nineteen-year-old Margo Millet, daughter of an ex-pro wrestler and a former waitress, finds herself pregnant after a brief affair with her English professor. Defying everyone's advice to terminate the pregnancy, she decides to keep the baby. Needing cash fast, Margo launches an OnlyFans account under the name HungryGhost. Brilliant cast inclu...

Outcome (Apple TV, movie) Reef Hawk (Keanu Reeves) is an actor who has been sober for five years. He has taken a break from acting to build his new home, and he takes pride in his progress in life. However, when he receives a call from his crisis lawyer Ira Slitz (Jonah Hill), who reveals that someone is blackmailing him with a video of questionable content, his life is turned upside-down. Reef th...

This week TV Gold hosts Andrew Mercado and James Manning review: • Something Very Bad is Going to Happen (Netflix, 8 episodes) The series follows Rachel (Camila Morrone), a cynical and anxious bride-to-be, and her fiance, Nicky (Adam DiMarco), a seemingly perfect, kind-hearted optimist. They arrive at the remote Cunningham family cabin in the snowy countryside for their wedding week. The atmo...

Riot Women (SBS, 6 episodes) Written by Huddersfield-born Sally Wainwright, the show follows five menopausal women who have come together to form a punk rock band to take part in a local talent contest. The band consists of five main characters played by Joanna Scanlan (Beth Thornton - keyboards), Rosalie Craig (Kitty Eckersley - stunning as the singer), Lorraine Ashbourne (Jess Burchill - drums),...

Crackhead (HBO, 5 episodes) Drug-addicted party-animal Frankie has blown it all up - her inheritance, her relationships, and most recently, her sister's house. It's time to go to rehab. Creator and star Holly Hervey is outstanding in the lead role as Frankie in this New Zealand comedy. Also watch out for Sara Wiseman and Errol Shand who both work at the rehab centre Frankie arrives at. The filmmak...

This special episode of TV Gold looks at the Australian comedy Deadloch. Podcast hosts Andrew Mercado and James Manning review the second season of the hit Prime Video series and also included in the episode after our review is an interview with the stars Kate Box and Madeleine. About Deadloch Season 2 (Prime, 6 episodes) Detectives Dulcie Collins (Kate Box) and Eddie Redcliffe (Madeleine Sami) ar...

This week on the TV Gold podcast AM and JM review: Imperfect Women, Gone and Frauds. Imperfect Women (Apple TV, 8 episodes) The series examines a crime that shatters the lives of three women in a decades-long friendship – characters played by Kerry Washington, Elisabeth Moss, and Kate Mara. The  thriller explores guilt and retribution, love and betrayal, and the compromises people make...

The Madison (Paramount+, 12 eps) The Madison is new from Taylor Sheridan and stars Michelle Pfeiffer as Stacy Clyburn, a ritzy New York City philanthropist and the matriarch of the successful Clyburn family. She seems intent to quit city living for the wilds of Montana after an event sees her questioning her life in New York. Scarpetta (Prime, 8 eps) Nicole Kidman is forensic pathologist Dr. Kay S...

DTF St Louis (HBO Max, 7 eps) A limited series about a love triangle between three adults experiencing middle-age malaise that leads to one of them ending up dead. Jason Bateman plays Clark Forrest, a St Louis TV weatherman, who rides a recumbent bicycle everywhere he goes - even to a murder scene apparently which makes him a prime suspect. David Harbour is sign language interpreter Floyd Smernitc...

This week on the TV Gold podcast: The Lady (Binge/Foxtel, 4 episodes) Produced by Left Bank Pictures (makers of The Crown), the series is a true-crime drama based on the life of Jane Andrews, a working-class woman who became the dresser and confidante to Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, but was later convicted of murdering her partner, Thomas Cressman, in 2000. Brilliant performance from Mia McKen...

This week on the TV Gold podcast, Andrew Mercado and James Manning review: Love Story (Disney+, 9 episodes) Another series from producer Ryan Murphy tells the story of John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette and explores the chemistry, whirlwind courtship, and high-profile marriage of one of the most iconic couples of the 20th century. Under Salt Marsh (Binge/Foxtel, 6 episodes) Under Salt Mars...

TV Gold special: Ryan Murphy This week’s episode of TV Gold is devoted to the prolific TV creator Ryan Murphy. The podcast has regularly reviewed his prodigious output. TV Gold hosts Andrew Mercado and James Manning don’t always love everything Murphy delivers, but it always gives the podcast plenty of talking points. Over recent years Murphy’s creations have lived on Netflix and...

Andrew Mercado and James Manning this episode review more TV Gold. Listen to the episode on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3CbytnyTdiQD0fEIauNJ09 Dog Park (ABC) 6 episodes When Roland(Leon Ford) and wife Emma (Brooke Satchel) separate, she leaves him with their teenage daughter Mia (Florence Gladwin) who barely notices him, and Beattie the dog he never wanted in the first place. Beatt...

This week on the TV Gold podcast: The Guest (4 episodes on BritBox) Eve Myles and Gabrielle Creevy star in this series about a cleaner taking a job in what seems to be a normal family home. Albeit in a very posh family home for a family with no children and a husband who rarely seems to be home. Although the cleaner is slowly welcomed in, tensions rise and boundaries blur. When one defining m...

Summer TV viewing So much TV and so little time. The new year kicks off with this big first episode from TV Gold hosts Andrew Mercado and James Manning. Number of episodes of each show is in brackets. Run - Binge (6) Sunny Nights - Stan (8) Imposter - Paramount+ (4) Dear Life - Stan (6) His & Hers - Netflix (6) Red Eye S2 - Stan (6) The Night Manager  - Prime (6) Goolagong - iview (3) Run...