TikTok meets Real Housewives in nepo baby drama
Watching TV while sick is a very different beast to your usual screen time. The shows don't need to grip you completely because you'll be drifting in and out of sleep, missing scenes between coughing fits and nose-blowing. There will be no Emmy nominations in this line-up, and chances are the shows will fall into either a guilty pleasure or hate-watch category.
During a recent bout of the flu, I dove into The Real Housewives universe. And wow, what a world it was. We're talking handbags worth more than the average Aussie's annual salary, drama that veers from petty bickering to near fist fights, and housewives actually going to jail for real-life crimes. It's unhinged — and sick me couldn't get enough.
While I'm saving the rest of RHOSLC for my next sick day, I have continued dipping into Next Gen NYC as it drops weekly on Hayu. Please don't judge me — I also watch Severance, The Studio, Hacks and all the other highbrow stuff. I have some taste.
But if, like me, you need a bit of sugar with all that substance, this series delivers. It follows 'a tangled web of friends raised in the spotlight — or at least close enough for good lighting — as they stumble into adulthood one brunch, break-up and spontaneous decision at a time'.
It's like if TikTok and the Housewives had a baby. Literally. The show features the children of some of the franchise's most iconic reality mums, and they're putting their parents to shame, shouting their way through their own chaotic episodes.
There are characters being called 'dirt poor' because they don't get a $10k allowance from their parents, arguments over who should foot the $14k bill for a nightclub booth, and a full-blown spat over . . . something I've already forgotten (but felt very important at the time).
And yet, it's all set against an iconic New York backdrop, has flashes of genuine friendship and surprising glimmers of growth. Sick or not, it's the kind of show that lets you switch your brain off — and sometimes, that's exactly what you need.
Get well soon Clare! This creepy horror is currently streaming on Binge. Credit: Universal Pictures Australia / TheWest
While we're talking nepo babies, this vampire horror featuring Lily-Rose Depp (daughter of Johnny Depp and singer-model Vanessa Paradis) and Bill Skarsgard (son of actor Stellan Skarsgard) is dropping on Binge. This is one you'll want to watch at full health, phone face down with all the lights on. Everyone's favourite angry chef is back with Gordon Ramsay's Secret Service. Credit: Supplied
Back bef or e there was streaming and we had to hope something decent was on TV or that our pocket money could cover a new release at the video shop, it was always a great day when you stumbled across a Gordon Ramsay show.
Whether he was calling someone an idiot sandwich, saving a restaurant that didn't particularly appreciate his style of tough love or making rising chefs reconsider their career path, it was nothing if not entertaining.
It's fair to say he's softened a little over the years, so it will be interesting to see how spicy his new series is. This time Ramsay sends an insider undercover at a struggling restaurant who squirrels out information back to him. What could go wrong except for, well, everything. Ingrid (Sally Phillips), Austin (Michael Theo) and Julian (Ben Miller) are all back for season two of Austin. Credit: Supplied
For viewing that feels like a warm hug, it's hard to go past this lovely show starring Michael Theo, Sally Phillips, Ben Miller and Perth's Claire Lovering. Season two picks back up on Austin's Game Of Scones: Doing Britain On The Spectrum (my book club would read that!) snapped up by a publisher before the newfound fame goes to his head. Can't wait to jump in the back seat with Claudia Karvan and Steph Tisdell for Great Australian Road Trips. Credit: Supplied
There is nothing like a road trip to really get to know someone — the good, the bad and the 'let me out here please' — though we can't imagine there will be any of the latter between the hosts of this new series. Claudia Karvan joins Steph Tisdell while Melissa Leong is in the driver's seat with Nazeem Hussain as they take on some of Australia's best drives, including the Great Barrier Reef Drive in Queensland to Kangaroo Island in South Australia.
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