This batch of international TV series covers all sorts of ground from foul-mouthed Canadian ice hockey coaches through to mischievous teens running amok in Alice Springs — and not one episode runs longer than 30 minutes.
Significant Other
It may seem odd to describe this show as “warm-hearted”, since its first episode kicks off with a heart attack and an attempted suicide. Yet that’s the magic of British series Significant Other, which crafts a tender and compelling love story from the darkest moments of its leader characters’ lives. In the aftermath of two near-death catastrophes, neighbours Anna (Katherine Parkinson) and Sam (Youssef Kerkour) are brought together by a stay in a Manchester hospital, where their at-turns dark and sour attitudes lead to an unexpected romance. If you fancy a love story that completely avoids all of the typical rom-com clichés, Significant Other is one for your to-watch list.
Stream free On Demand
Significant Other
series • Dark comedy
M
series • Dark comedy
M
Dreaming Whilst Black
The creative and charming Kwabena (Adjani Salmon, also the show’s creator) fantasises about making it big in the UK film industry – but for the meantime, he’s stuck in a deadend job in a recruitment agency, where he faces a constant stream of bureaucratic indignities and a cohort of well-intentioned but slightly racist coworkers. Plus, when opportunities finally open up, they’re not nearly as glamorous as Kwabena hopes, forcing him to ponder how much he should demean himself in pursuit of his goals. Dreaming Whilst Black juggles a lot of balls, as it dives into questions around (broken) dreams and aspirations, workplace drudgery, Jamaican-British identity, and the question of selling out – and remains bitingly funny and surprisingly upbeat as it does all of this.
Stream free On Demand
Dreaming Whilst Black
series • comedy
M
series • comedy
M
Shoresy
For a hearty helping of Canadiana, look no further than Shoresy: hockey coach and titular character Shoresy (Jared Keeso) moves to the rural city of Sudbury to help get a flailing, mid-tier ice hockey team off the ground. But while his meat-headed, “your mum” joke-making attitude might work for the guys he coaches, Shoresy’s attitude doesn’t impress everyone, including the powerful (and much more competent) women who manage the town’s ice hockey scene. Shoresy isn’t your average sports comedy. It might have a lot of gutter comedy, but the macho attitudes are the butt of the joke, and Shoresy does a formidable job building up likeable and smart female and First Nations characters, as an antidote to the bone-headed Shoresy. If you enjoyed , then Shoresy is a great companion piece (it’s actually a spinoff of Letterkenny), delivering a similar crass-but-lovable type of humour. But there’s no need to have watched Letterkenny to wrap your heads around the hijinks and ice rinks of this raucous show.
Bangla
This witty-yet-warm Italian dramedy is a marvellous exploration of cultural clashes. Phaim (Phaim Bhuiyan) was raised in a multicultural part of Rome to Bangladeshi parents — and when his parents’ plans to move to London falls apart, he finds himself stuck in uncomfortably close living quarters with them, right as he’s trying to navigate sex, relationships and other parts of adult life on his own. With Bhuiyan having written the show himself, basing it on his own experiences, Bangla feels decidedly genuine particularly in moments when Phaim finds himself torn between his traditional family, and freewheeling, slightly bohemian girlfriend Asia (Carlotta Antonelli). Bhuiyan obviously has a keen eye for cultural nuance (be it Italian or Bangladeshi), and the end result is a sumptuous script that puts these nuances on display in a truly lovable way.
Creamerie
“Pandemic “ and “comedy” may not seem like a match made in heaven, but New Zealand comedy Creamerie firmly defies any such expectation. When a pandemic wipes out the world’s men, leaving women untouched, the remaining half of humanity sets about building a new, gentler society that’s inevitably just a little dystopian. The vibe is a little like a lighthearted, gender-flipped Handmaid’s Tale in the best possible: with cleverly-crafted jokes around gender roles, it’s absurdly fun, considering the heavy subject matter. And if the gags don’t reel you in, the clever mysteries peppered throughout the show surely well, like the oddly comfortable “Bliss” punishment centre in the new society — or the dramatic, unexpected arrival of a real, live, and un-diseased man.
Stream free On Demand
Creamerie
series • comedy
MA15+
series • comedy
MA15+
Norwegian-ish
This poignant dramedy explores the idiosyncrasies of immigrant life in Norway: twentysomethings Fariba (Nasrin Khusrawi), Amrit (Ravdeep Singh Bajwa), and Helin (Selda Ekiz) all seem to have their lives together. They have solid, interesting jobs (doctor, photographer, bar owner) and comfortable lives in Oslo. But with family backgrounds from Turkey, India, and Iran respectively, they’re always feeling a little outsider-ish. Raised as second-generation immigrants in Norway, they’re stuck in between being totally Norwegian (feeling comfortable wearing old-fashioned folk outfits for Norway’s Constitution Day celebrations) and feeling like outsiders (Helin telling an Iranian taxi driver that actually, she’s not Iranian). It’s a sharp show that never resorts to black-and-white framing of its characters’ nuanced personalities, and is loaded with sharp observations of immigrant life.
Stream free On Demand
Norwegian-ish
series • Comedy drama • Norwegian Bokmål
M
series • Comedy drama • Norwegian Bokmål
M
Robbie Hood
Riffing loosely off the classic “steal from the rich, give to the poor” story, Robbie Hood provides a uniquely Aussie take on a Robin Hood-type tale — and all in bite-sized 10 minute episodes. 13-year-old Robbie (Pedrea Jackson) is a mischievous but kind-hearted kid living in Alice Springs, occupying his time by hanging out with his mates Georgia Blue (Jordan Johnson) and Little Johnny (Levi Thomas), while sometimes engaging in some mild shoplifting, usually with the aim of helping out family and friends. Robbie Hood doesn’t shy away from social commentary on topics like poverty and Aboriginal life, which is made particularly engaging thanks to the positively charming characters — with the delightfully blunt Robbie as a true highlight (case in point: Robbie describing his father as a “dickhead”).
