Screen Queen: Bingeing True Detective and listening to a companion podcast one of life’s great joys

True Detective: Night Country

Monday, streaming on Binge

There’s nothing better than taking a deep dive into a TV series via a good old binge watch — I’ve lost days, weeks, months of my life doing this, and I have precisely ZERO regrets.

Thrillers and mystery series lend themselves particularly well to this, with shows like Stranger Things the perfect example of a series made richer by watching back to back over its entirety. I feel almost jealous thinking about all those who have yet to discover it, knowing they’ve got all those seasons to binge at once.

Can you imagine?

The latest series I’ve inhaled is True Detective: Night Country. I’ve loved watching Jodie Foster and Kali Reis investigate the grisly deaths of a bunch of scientists at a remote research station in Alaska.

While I’ve been watching, I’ve also been listening to Vanity Fair’s Still Watching podcast, which is almost as enjoyable to listen to as the show is to binge.

This podcast has been going for a while now, the hosts focusing on different shows depending on what’s creating buzz. They’ve done The Last Of Us, Succession, And Just Like That, and now this.

Each week they’ve dissected their theories about what’s playing out in Night Country, and having now binged all eps (the finale airs this week) I can tell you they’re not always on the money. But it’s still heaps of fun, and they interview leading cast members as well.

If you’re a fan of bingeing TV series and have not yet discovered the beauty of a good companion TV podcast, are you in for a treat.

Start with True Detective season four and work your way backwards — you won’t be sorry.

Constellation

Wednesday, streaming on Apple TV Plus

This series tells the story of Jo (Noomi Rapace), an astronaut on the International Space Station who is involved in an accident up there. There’s an explosion, and one of her crew members is injured, the action playing out in the show’s gripping first episode. It was all filmed on a purpose-built set, with the actors suspended on hidden wires to replicate the sensation of zero gravity — it’s incredibly effective, to the extent I completely forgot they weren’t there in the ISS. If you’re into sci-fi thrillers, you’ll want to check this one out — it’s fascinating.

Gogglebox Australia

Wednesday on Binge, Thursday on Ten

There’s something comforting about having Adam and Symon, Anastasia and Faye and the Delpechitra and Dalton families back on our screens — they’ve been guests in our lounge rooms for 10 years now and feel like family. Gosh I love this show.

This Is Going To Hurt

Wednesday, 9pm, ABC

This award-winning series, starring Ben Whishaw, came out yonks ago, but has only just made its way to free-to-air. If you didn’t see it first time around, catch up on ABC iView — it’s terrific. It stars One Day’s Ambika Mod in the role that made her famous.

Australia Uncovered: The Carnival

Thursday, 8.40pm, SBS

Ever wondered what life is really like for Australia’s travelling carnival families? Wonder no more! This doco follows the six-generation Bell family, who own and operate fairground rides. Truly fascinating.