The Good Fight
Zimbabwean–Australian Charmaine Bingwa and Mandy Patinkin join the cast in season 5 of The Good Fight. When the firm loses two top lawyers (played by Cush Jumbo and Delroy Lindo, who will return to wrap up their characters’ storylines), Diane (Christine Baranski) questions whether it’s appropriate for her to help run a Black law firm with Liz (Audra McDonald). Meanwhile, Marissa (Sarah Steele) gets tangled up with Hal (Patinkin), who opens his own courtroom in the back of a copy shop, as you do.
Only 7 episodes were made in season 4 due to COVID-19 interrupting filming, but we’re back to the full slate of 10 episodes this season. Bring on the good fight.
The Good Fight season 5 is on SBS at 8.30pm weekly from Thursday 1 July. Episodes stream after broadcast, but will only be around for 90 days, so be quick to catch up.
Your Honor
This dark, gripping and morally complex drama tells the story of a brilliant judge, Micha Alkoby (Yoram Hattab), who is heading down a promising path. That is, until his teenage son, Shai (Erez Oved) is involved in a hit-and-run, in which he is the guilty party. Just as Micha is about to turn Shai in, he learns the victim is a member of a crime family, the kind that runs its own system of justice. The once-honest judge is forced to shed his morals to protect his son, proving that even the most honourable men will bend and break when faced with death and despair. If the plot of this acclaimed Israeli drama sounds familiar, you may have seen the American remake starring Bryan Cranston.
Cry Wolf
When 14-year-old Holly (Flora Ofelia Hofman Lindahl) submits an essay at school detailing domestic abuse, her family is torn apart. Social worker Lars (Bjarne Henriksen) is assigned to the case, and is convinced Holly’s story depicts her real life, promptly placing Holly and her younger brother Theo in foster care. Holly’s stepfather insists it’s an act of teenage rebellion, not what’s actually happening in the home. They quickly turn on Lars, who faces his own barrage of negative publicity when a video from his past is leaked to social media. Holly’s parents also go after Holly. This compelling drama from Denmark will have you glued to the screen. Brilliant performances abound, from children and adults alike. Cry Wolf has won a brace of awards, including Best TV Series, and best actress, actor, supporting actress and supporting actor in a TV series, at the 2021 Robert Awards (Denmark’s national film and TV awards), after also being named Best Series at the 2020 Zurich Film Festival.
The Twelve
The Twelve is a tense, Flemish crime drama where 12 citizens are called for jury duty on a controversial murder case. They have the difficult task of deciding the guilt or innocence of respected headmistress Frie Palmers (Maaike Cafmeyer), who stands accused of two murders. As time goes by, the murder trial becomes a trial, not only for the accused, but for the jury members themselves. Make sure to watch this one, a remake is currently in development in Australia.
Les Honorables
The tragic death of Gabrielle Dessureaux (Myriam Gaboury) plunges her family into a living hell. Each member of the family will react differently to the acquittal of the man everyone believes to be her killer. For Gabrielle’s father Ludovic (Patrick Huard) (who, like Gabrielle’s mother, is a judge), the experience will turn into a nightmare as he begins to feel abandoned by the judicial system in which he’s always believed. This French Canadian series is above all the story of a family torn apart. Family members struggle to put the broken pieces back together, to face their demons and to find new meaning in their lives, with or without the aid of what society calls justice.
The Lawyer
It’s all about law and family again with this hit series out of Sweden. Frank Nordling (Alexander Karim) is a young and exceptionally promising defence lawyer. When Frank learns the truth behind his adoptive parents’ deaths, his whole world unravels. They were murdered by a leader in Copenhagen’s criminal underworld, Thomas Waldman (Thomas Bo Larsen). To Frank’s horror, Waldman also happens to be one of the law firm’s most prominent clients – a man that the firm has helped escape justice many times. To avenge his parents’ deaths, Frank must infiltrate Waldman’s organisation and become his personal lawyer and trusted confidant. To avoid putting those close to him in danger, Frank must keep up appearances and play the game. But can he handle it? Is it worth the price? And who’s really tricking whom?
Witch Hunt
Inspired by true stories of whistle-blowers in Norway, fighting for justice and taking huge risks, these people often become targeted themselves – the systems that are meant to protect them can let them down, leaving them alone and unsupported with tremendous stress and fear.
Peer Eggen, a major finance and business man, is positioning himself for an important acquisition, all while a troublesome tax case is on its way to court. Meanwhile, an invoice from an unknown Dutch company lands on the desk of Ida Waage, chief accountant at influential law firm, Biermann & Gude. The amount is modest, but seemingly lacks basis, and Ida discovers the invoice is part of a money laundering operation on behalf of B&G’s biggest client, Peer Eggen. She alerts the board, but instead of going after the ones responsible, they turn on her with harassment and fabricated accusations.
Invisible Heroes
Invisible Heroes takes us to Santiago, Chile in 1973. Augusto Pinochet has just overthrown the president in a bloody military coup, plunging the populace into fear and turmoil. At the time, Tapani Brotherus was working as a Finnish diplomat and enjoying the expat lifestyle with his wife Lysa. But when people literally start climbing the walls into their compound, desperate for help, he ignores all diplomatic protocol and instructions from above, helping ensure safe passage to Europe for over 2,000 Chilean citizens.
This multilingual political thriller from Finland in collaboration with Chile is utterly captivating, highlighting what can happen when individuals choose to act from a moral rather than policy standpoint. Pelle Heikkilä () stars as Tapani, and his real-life wife Sophia Heikkilä plays Lysa.
Party Of Five
From Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman, the creators of the original Party Of Five, this modern-day update tackles the issue of deportation in the US. When Gloria and Javier Acosta are taken to a detention centre awaiting return to Mexico, their five children are left behind. The eldest, 24-year-old Emilio, takes on the challenge of not only caring for his younger siblings, including a baby, but also trying to keep his music career alive and the family restaurant afloat. This sadly timely series is moving but also uplifting, making this not just another teen series.
On Death Row: The Pablo Ibar Story
In June 1994, police discover three bodies in a suburban home in Miami, Florida shot through with bullets and the murders recorded on video. One of the assailants’ faces can be seen in the footage, albeit it’s blurred. Three weeks later, Spaniard Pablo Ibar (Miguel Angel Silvestre) is detained over an armed altercation and a police officer connects him with the recent murders. Despite an absence of conclusive evidence and Ibar’s adamant pronouncement of innocence, he’s tried and sentenced to death. This four-part drama is based on a true story and follows the family’s 25-year fight to prove Ibar’s innocence. True crime lovers, pop this one into your diary.
