First up Kate Langbroek and My Mum Your Dad. Is there room for yet another romance reality show right now with Love Island Australia (9GO!), Heartbreak Island Australia (7Plus), The Real Love Boat Australia (10), Couples Therapy Australia (Paramount+), Love Triangle (Stan), Love Is Blind (Netflix) and The Bachelors Australia (January on 10)?
My Mum Your Dad (Monday on Nine) may well succeed in this crowded field because it’s got a major point of difference. Incredibly, the main cast are middle-aged singles, while their young kids get relegated to “binge on the cringe” via closed circuit monitors.
Kate Langbroek (pictured) makes for a good host, cracking jokes about the budget now that she’s working at Nine. She doesn’t take it too seriously, but when one of the kids gets teary, she is quick to snap into maternal mode.
David Tennant and Stanley Tucci from Netflix series Inside Man.
For the past few weeks on our Mercado & Manning podcast, James has been banging on about an upcoming British drama. It has finally arrived down under and with a cast headed by David Tennant and Stanley Tucci. He has been right to get excited.
Inside Man (Netflix) gets off to a fascinating start as journalist Beth (Lydia West) is rescued from a toxic situation on a train by tutor Janice (Dolly Wells). Meanwhile, village vicar Harry (David Tennant) agrees to hide a USB stick for a rather odd parishioner, and in the US, a convicted killer (Stanley Tucci) is helping out by solving complicated cases.
Lydia West and Dolly Wells from Inside Man
Without giving away any more plot spoilers, all of the above quickly escalates. As one of the more original drama scenarios this year, it’s no surprise to see it comes from the vivid imagination of Steven Moffat of Dr Who and Sherlock fame, so strap yourself in for a wild ride.
Celebrities renovating homes with the help of their families look like a new trend on TV. Before we get to see Country Home Rescue with Shaynna Blaze (soon on Nine), Pamela Anderson is doing up her grandparents’ home on beautiful Vancouver Island.
Pamela’s Garden of Eden (Sunday on Arena) has already dated, given the actress has now split up with her fifth husband who features in this series. Nevertheless, Pamela Anderson comes across as sweet and funny, particularly as she sorts through mountains of her clothes and shoes.
And finally, congratulations to Marc Fennell’s Stuff The British Stole and Magda Szubanski’s Big National Health Check (Tuesday on ABC) given both shows won their timeslots last Tuesday. Well deserved, and expect the tenth and final season of Doc Martin (Saturday on ABC) to top the ratings this weekend too.
Doc Martin with Louisa and the family
Read more Mercado on TV columns here.
Mercado & Manning weekly TV podcast
Listen now on your favourite podcast platform for 30 minutes of TV reviews and recommendations every week from Andrew Mercado and James Manning. In the new episode to be published on Friday, Andrew and James discuss how good Stanley Tucci and David Tennant are in the Netflix thriller Inside Man, plus the final season of Doc Martin and the second season of Abbott Elementary.
Listen online here, on the LiSTNR app or on your favourite podcast platform.