The original Underbelly (Screentime, 2008) was such a critical and commercial success, Nine pumped out five more series, four telemovies and two “unofficial” sequels. All were based on true cases about real gangsters, but now there is a sixth series that could be more fiction than fact.
Underbelly: Vanishing Act (Sunday on Nine) is based on Melissa Caddick, the real-life embezzler who went missing after stealing millions. When only her foot was found months later, Nine announced this series within days.
Desperate for a gangster, Vanishing Act invents a totally new character. Sadly, George (Colin Friels) doesn’t spend any time in strip bars, making this the first Underbelly not to feature gratuitously topless women.
Colin Friels in Underbelly Vanishing Act
Top image: Kate Atkinson as Melissa Caddick
Instead, Nine tries to keep up with the times by getting the men to go naked. They aren’t as brave as HBO though, so no full frontals, just lots of bare bum close-ups from hairdresser husband Anthony (Jerome Velinsky).
Episode one reveals Kate Atkinson nailing the title role, and her “Don’t touch my clothes!”, during the AFP raid of her mansion, is right up there with “No wire hangars” from Mommie Dearest.
There’s good support from Ursula Mills, Anne Tenney and Frankie J. Holden, but it’s the second episode on Monday that will determine if Underbelly’s new “scenario” is possible or unbelievable.
People’s Republic of Mallacoota (Tuesday on ABC) is a new docuseries about a unique social experiment as a ravaged community, in the wake of its devastating bushfire, tries to take control of rebuilding the town their way.
There is some great historic footage of Mallacoota, including scenes from the flop movie Skippy and the Intruders (1969) and this could be interesting, given how many other communities need to do something similar with a rebuild after recent flood damage.
To celebrate the 35th anniversary of The Bold and The Beautiful (Tuesday on 10, or Ep 8734 on 10Play), a fantasy episode sees Brooke Logan Chambers Jones Marone Spencer Forrester (Katherine Kelly Lang) reminiscing with five of her legendary lovers, including two Forrester brothers, and their father.
And finally, Oscar-winning movies can all be viewed on your TV this weekend. Coda (Apple TV+) is a crowd-pleaser and Best Supporting Actor Troy Kotsur is hilarious in it. Ariana DeBose is superb as Anita in West Side Story (Foxtel) and Jessica Chastain is divine in The Eyes of Tammy Faye (Foxtel). But after the big Will Smith meltdown, I might give King Richard a huge miss.