There were some memorable international TV series that made Mercado on TV columns in 2022. My favourites were The Offer (Paramount+), about the making of The Godfather, and The Last Movie Stars (Foxtel/Binge), Ethan Hawke’s love letter to Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.
Woodward and Newman: The Last Movie Stars
Top: The Offer
I also loved This Is England (Foxtel/Binge), Gaslit (Stan), Minx (Stan), Tom and Pammy (Disney+), Notre Dame (Netflix), Severance (Apple TV+), Somebody Somewhere (Foxtel/Binge), The Bear (Disney+), Shantaram (Apple TV+) and Reboot (Disney+).
Mercado on TV: So bad you can’t look away
But what about the worst shows of the year, the ones that were so bad they will make for hilarious hate-watching this summer:
And Just Like That (Foxtel/Binge) – Sex And The City was never big on diversity, but rushing in several women of colour to cover for the loss of Samantha was clunky as. Will the second series be as bad as the second movie? Here’s hoping!
Byron Baes (Netflix) – Byron Bay is a place where social media influencers argue with each other about who has more followers and people from the Gold Coast are treated like trash. Dragon bones are real and there’s a male mermaid. The end. Except it never will be.
Byron Baes (Netflix)
RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under S2 (Stan) – The BBC-funded UK version has never been better, and Justin Trudeau just appeared on Canada’s Drag Race. Meanwhile, our version still comes across as a bit cheap and nasty. Give this show a bigger budget and relocate its production to Sydney. Please.
The Menzies Movies (Foxtel/Binge) – While the Canadian PM is throwing shade on Drag Race, our former PM John Howard will shade you into a deep sleep with this. Never before has a show with cameos from The Queen and Sir Winston Churchill been so dull.
The Real Love Boat
Irreverent (Netflix) – Queensland may be beautiful one day, but any TV show filmed there is rarely perfect. This US-Oz co-production (er-oh) is about a wacky coastal town (oh dear) with man-eating crocodiles (oooh) but without the CGI to show them (groan). The cast is great though, let’s hope the budget was spent on them.
Poker Face (Stan) – What a mess. This could not be more devoid of humour, although you will get a chuckle over Liam Hemsworth and Russell Crowe playing childhood friends, despite the 25-year age difference between them. Howlingly bad and pretentious, don’t miss it.
The Real Love Boat (10) – This wasn’t a great year for new reality shows, especially the creepy one with masks and sex cult vibes (hello and goodbye to The Traitors). Oh well, at least there’s a dating show based on a classic 70s series that its target audience has never heard of. Genius.
Read more Mercado on TV columns here.
Mercado & Manning weekly TV podcast: Year in Review double episodes
Listen now on your favourite podcast platform for 30 minutes of TV reviews and recommendations every week from Andrew Mercado and James Manning. There are two new episodes now available with your complete guide to Summer TV viewing. We list over 40 great 2022 drama series plus streaming platforms movies and the famous Mercado Worst of the Year lists.
There is also a special BONUS episode where Andrew and James talk with Heartbreak High producer Carly Heaton.
Listen online here, on the LiSTNR app or on your favourite podcast platform.