Netflix
Black Mirror, season six
TV, UK, 2023 – out 28 June
Charlie Brooker’s anthology series has played with tons of disturbingly interesting concepts – from killer robot honeybees to the British prime minister dealing with, shall we say, unconventional hostage demands. Not much is known about the latest season, except Brooker’s claims that the show is undergoing a “slight reset”, because he’s a “bit bored” with it, given there’s “so many dystopian shows out there that are a bit Black Mirror-y”. You know what they say about imitation and flattery!
Run Rabbit Run
Film, Australia, 2023 – out 21 June
The reviews for this Australian thriller have been mixed at best, though everybody agrees on one thing and woe betide any fool who suggests otherwise: the Adelaide-born Sarah Snook, who plays the protagonist, is a damn good actor. Snook plays a fertility doctor and single mother who, dealing with unusual behaviour from her young daughter, must confront the demons of her past. Her past roles, of course, include Shiv Roy in the recently concluded Succession; for more Snook excellence, fish out the 2014 Australian sci-fi Predestination.
Arnold
TV, US, 2023 – out 7 June
Netflix is in an Arnold Schwarzenegger love fest at the moment, last month launching his first TV show as a leading man – Fubar – and in June premiering a documentary charting his life story. It’s a hell of a tale: the Austrian-American who became a built-like-a-brick-shithouse strongman, then, implausibly, a superstar Hollywood actor, then, even more implausibly, the governor (or “Governator”) of California. His advice, featured in the trailer, is to “work your ass off” and “do it, do it now”.
Honourable mentions: Extraction 2 (film, 16 June), Break Point: part two (TV, 21 June), Last Night in Soho (film, 23 June), The Witcher season three: part one (TV, 29 June), Nimona (film, 30 June).
Stan
The Whale
Film, US, 2022 – out 2 June
Director Darren Aronofsky has a way of turning high art into explosive conversation starters. His latest film, featuring Brendan Fraser’s Oscar-winning performance as a dangerously obese online college tutor, has drawn a range of responses – positive and negative to say the least. This terribly sad drama, mostly unfolding in a single setting, was adapted from a stage production by Samuel D. Hunter, drawing on the playwright’s own experiences. I found the protagonist a nuanced individual: strong but fragile, bold but pathetic, gentle albeit in his own way quite hardhearted. Perhaps we can all agree that Fraser’s performance is exceptional.
Year Of
TV, Australia, 2023 – out 9 June
Stan’s latest original series has been described as a spin-off of its popular and well-received Bump, based in the same high school but revolving around different characters. It’ll be interesting to see if the new show retains Bump’s tone, which smoothly oscillates between comedy and drama. Year Of follows a group of friends coming of age, as well as their teachers and parents.
Honourable mentions: Ali (film, out now), Ithaka: A Fight To Free Julian Assange (TV, 3 June), Revealed: Reefshot (film, 5 June), Lost City of Z (film, 9 June), Revealed: The Cape (film, 18 June), Ghost in the Shell (film, 19 June), Dance Academy: The Movie (film, 23 June), The Devil’s Rejects (film, 29 June), House of 1000 Corpses (film, 29 June).
ABC iView
The PM’s Daughter, season two
TV, Australia, 2023 – out 12 June
The first season of The PM’s Daughter has spunk and sass from the start. In the opening moments, the protagonist Cat (Cassandra Helmot) describes herself as a “cliche brooding teenager” who, we soon learn, is a climate activist. Oh: and her mother is the prime minister! The stakes are low but the characters are fun and the performances well pitched, with, dare I say it, the right amount of teen angst and sarcasm. The second season inserts Cat into a new school year and returns her to the Lodge, with shock secrets, security breaches and plots against her mum.
Utopia, season five
TV, Australia, 2023 – out 7 June
The official synopsis for the fifth season of Utopia explains that the bureaucrats at the National Building Authority are “trying to get the job done in the face of endless backflips, government interference and ever-shifting priorities”. Which, of course, could describe every season. The show maintains a very consistent comedic tempo: no wild highs or side-splitting laughs but no long slow spots either.
Honourable mentions: Dolphins: Is Our Love Too Deep? (TV, 6 June), The Platypus Guardian (TV, 13 June), Flyways: The Extraordinary Story of Migratory Shorebirds (TV, 20 June), Gruen season 15 (TV, 21 June).
SBS on Demand
The Kingdom
TV, Australia, 2023 – out 8 June
Drawing from his own experiences being raised Pentecostal, Marc Fennell investigates the phenomenon of megachurches in Australia and abroad with a focus on Hillsong and its stadium-style spectacle. As Fennell puts it: “This is Christianity, born again for modern times.” Hillsong is receiving substantial coverage at the moment, including in the US series The Secrets of Hillsong and in the first episode of The Betoota Advocate Presents (also out this month).
The Wicker Man
Film, UK, 1973 – out 30 June
Still one of the greatest, boldest and strangest films about occultism. In director Robin Hardy’s notorious classic, Sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward) visits a remote island off the Scottish mainland to investigate reports of a missing girl. It doesn’t take him long to realise its pagan residents are stark raving mad but what are they playing at? Periodic infusions of lovely, uplifting, celebratory folksy music have a paradoxical effect; the tension builds towards a searing final act containing a brilliant (and very famous) twist.
Honourable mentions: Candy (film, out now), The Orchestra (TV, 8 June), The Crash (TV, 8 June), High Life (film, 9 June), Crisis in Cocaine Valley (TV, 15 June), Deep Fake Neighbour Wars (TV, 15 June), The First Inventors (TV, 15 June), Silent Road (TV, 22 June), A Very Ordinary World (TV, 29 June), A Touch of Sin (film, 30 June).
Amazon Prime Video
Deadloch
TV, Australia, 2023 – out now
Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan, AKA the Kates, are best-known for parodying cooking shows and satirising breakfast television. They’ve entered narratively richer territory with this ripsnorting Tasmanian whodunit, which they co-created and co-wrote, injecting it with comedic chutzpah while also satisfyingly recalibrating the dark and grisly genre elements of a crime show. Local sergeant Dulcie Collins (Kate Box) is forced to team up with the thunderously loud and incongruous detective Eddie Redcliffe (Madeleine Sami) to solve a murder. Which becomes two murders. Which becomes … well, best to find out for yourself.
Honourable mentions: Bones and All (film, out now), Medellín (film, out now), Creed III (film, 9 June), Mack & Rita (film, 11 June), Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant (film, 16 June), I’m a Virgo (TV, 23 June).
Disney+
The Full Monty, season one
TV, UK, 2023 – out 14 June
“What are the characters from The Full Monty up to these days?” asked nobody. Nevertheless, we get answers in this belated sequel, spin-off, whatchamacallit, returning to the gang who are still floundering about in crummy old Sheffield. Except this new version features a young person of colour, Talitha Wing’s Destiny, who is the troublemaking daughter of Robert Carlyle’s Gaz, the protagonist of the original film. Which is all well and good but when are these old-timers going to strip? Isn’t that why we’re watching? I’ve seen the first episode and there’s no hint they’ll be removing layers any time soon while swivelling their hips to You Can Leave Your Hat On.
Avatar: The Way of Water
Film, US, 2022 – out 7 June
By now you know what James Cameron’s water-drenched blockbuster is about: a bunch of lanky blue aliens harassed by humans and their incorrigible ways. The appeal of this gloss-lacquered screensaver of a movie is more about environmental details and worldbuilding then a satisfying story per se. It’s a huge spectacle and of course hugely popular, despite being far too long and uninvigoratingly paced.
Honourable mentions: Saint X season one (TV, 7 June), Flamin’ Hot (film, 9 June), Secret Invasion season one (TV, 21 June), FX’s Class of ‘09 (TV, 21 June), Revenant season one (TV, 23 June), Home Improvement season one to eight (TV, 28 June).
Binge
The Idol
TV, US, 2023 – out 5 June
Every once in a while the PR surrounding a new film or show stinks so badly it truly stress-tests the conventional wisdom about all publicity being good publicity. In March, Rolling Stone published an eye-widening behind-the-scenes account of The Idol, a salacious drama about a pop star (Lily-Rose Depp) determined to get her career back on track after suffering a nervous breakdown. Detailing how it was hampered by mismanagement, clashing visions, a director who left mid-production and more, the article drops turns of phrase such as “shitshow” and “torture porn”. And then came the reviews. I kind of want to see it just to know if it’s that bad. Maybe the conventional wisdom holds up after all.
The Fugitive
Film, US, 1993 – out 30 June
Andrew Davis’ 1993 classic – starring Harrison Ford in one of his greatest action movie roles – is a muscular, pulse-pounding flick. Within the first 15 minutes, the wife of Ford’s protagonist, Dr Richard Kimble, has been killed, he’s been falsely convicted of the murder and he’s escaped from custody and is on the run, desperate to prove his innocence. Tommy Lee Jones (also bringing his A-game) is the gruff US marshal tasked with bringing him in.
Honourable mentions: Being John Malkovich (film, out now), The Fisher King (film, out now), Layer Cake (film, 4 June), Funny Woman (TV, 6 June), The Swarm (TV, 7 June), Based on a True Story (TV, 8 June), Smile (film, 13 June), The Angels: Kickin’ Down the Door (film, 16 June), Hey Arnold! The Movie (film, 17 June), Marie Antoinette (film, 18 June), And Just Like That season two (TV, 22 June), The Wizard of Oz (film, 30 June), All the President’s Men (film, 30 June).
Apple TV+
Hijack
TV, US, 2023 – out 28 June
If you’re on a plane that gets hijacked, who would you prefer on board: a beefy action hero or a corporate negotiator? This series mounts a compelling case for the latter, with Idris Elba playing Sam Nelson, whose skills in brokering deals are put to the test on a flight from Dubai to London that is indeed hijacked. Unfolding in real time, the show can’t afford to reveal too much too quickly. By the end of the second episode, we still don’t know why the plane has even been hijacked. There’s nothing remotely new or revelatory about it, but it’s quite well-staged and I’m curious to see where it goes.
Honourable mentions: The Crowded Room (TV, 9 June), The Snoopy Show (TV, 9 June), Swagger season two (TV, 23 June).
Paramount+
The Betoota Advocate Presents
TV, Australia, 2023 – out 14 June
Popular satirical news website The Betoota Advocate now has its own TV show, retaining its comedic sensibilities while delivering informative takes on meaty topics. It careens between talking heads, news and archival footage, animated segments and the outlet’s two Akubra-wearing editors, Clancy Overell and Errol Parker. The first episode, titled The Hillsong Story: Houston We Have a Problem, charts the rise and fall of the Evangelical and Pentecostal megachurch. The Hillsong conference is memorably described as “like Big Day Out – without the pingers and UDLs”.
Honourable mentions: Queer Planet (film, out now), Der Scheich (The Sheikh) (TV, 8 June), Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season two (TV, 15 June), Summer Days, Summer Nights (TV, 20 June), Dead Hot: Season Of The Witch (film, 22 June).
