The 16th season of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia (Disney+) is finally airing in Australia two months after the US. Renewed for two more seasons, it is already the longest live-action sitcom in TV history, and that’s because there is no other show on TV quite like it.
Beginning in 2005, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia is described as “Seinfeld on crack”. This gang of sociopathic narcissists includes Charlie (Charlie Day), gay Mac (Rob McElhenney), gun-toting millionaire Frank (Danny DeVito) and twins Dennis (Glenn Howerton) and Dee (Kaitlin Olson, real-life wife of Rob McElhenney who also created the show).
The characters hang out with each other because they are codependent losers. None of them ever learn anything from their self-made disasters. And it’s a riot, particularly with Danny DeVito who seems to relish playing someone even more revolting than his breakout TV on Taxi (1978).
It’s an easy show to dip in and out of, and new viewers could start easily watching from the start of this new season, despite it being episode 163. Within a few eps, you will even get to see DeVito’s real-life wife, Rhea Perlman, being called the c-word. Not for the faint-hearted, but a big thumbs up for everyone else.
Another recommendation is Without Sin (7plus), the new ITV crime drama. Nobody makes better crime dramas than the Brits, and they know how to keep things short and taut at just four episodes. The cast is headed by two real-life friends who once played an abusive father and daughter in This Is England and its TV sequels.
While also being executive producers, Vicky McClure now plays a grieving mother while Johnny Harris plays the violent criminal locked up for her murder. McLure is one of those British actresses, alongside Suranne Jones, Sarah Lancashire, and Maxine Peake, who elevate everything they appear in.
The Winter King (Stan) is the latest take on the ancient tale of Arthur and Merlin. After a Walt Disney cartoon (The Sword In The Stone), musical (Camelot), TV series (Merlin) and movies (Excalibur and King Arthur), now it’s getting a Game Of Thrones treatment. No thanks – I have more to say about the series on the TV Gold podcast this week.
Read more Mercado on TV here.
Welcome to TV Gold: Mediaweek’s weekly TV podcast
Our name is new and so is the email address asking for feedback and questions – [email protected].
Listen now on your favourite podcast platform for 30 minutes of TV reviews and recommendations every week from Mediaweek’s Andrew Mercado and James Manning.
Listen online here, on the LiSTNR app or on your favourite podcast platform.
Regular weekly episode: Without Sin, The Winter King, Red White & Royal Blue
Vicky McClure stars in Without Sin (Seven/7plus), a truly gripping British crime drama where for a change of pace she is not portraying a police officer, but a taxi driver. Also this episode we review The Winter King (Stan) which tells the fictional story of King Arthur after his falling out with his father King Uther. Finally a movie for a bit of light entertainment – Red, White & Royal Blue (Prime Video) is a rom-com with a difference starring Uma Thurman as the US President.
Don’t forget the TV Gold episode: Inside The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart
TV Gold takes you inside the biggest Australian drama of the year, and now a massive global hit, Prime Video’s The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart. Join Sarah Christie (Prime Video) and Jodi Matterson (series executive producer) as they talk to Mediaweek’s Andrew Mercado and James Manning about adapting the bestseller and finding the key cast members – from Sigourney Weaver and Leah Purcell to Asher Keddie and Alycia Debnam-Carey. They reveal all the wonderful Australian places where the series was shot and talk about the special effects that created one of the iconic locations.
Listen here.
Email the hosts and tell us what you have been watching. The good and the bad. Emails to: [email protected]