What to Watch: Bay Of Fires, Dancing With The Stars, We Were Liars and Joanna Lumley's Danube

West Australian

13-06-2025

It's hard to describe this drama series. Part crime caper, part Tassie noir, part black comedy, it's a mishmash of genres that, in all honesty, shouldn't really go together.
Yet it does — and pretty darn well in season two.
Part of the reason this sometimes confounding series lands better this time around is undoubtedly Marta Dusseldorp, the show's co-creator. She is fantastic as Stella Heikkinen, the woman who at the end of 2023's first season was living in witness protection in the wild and remote Mystery Bay with her two children, Otis (Imi Mbedla) and Iris (Ava Caryofyllis).
She'd managed to outwit and outlast all those looking to do her in, and as we check in with her again this season, she's juggling the town's criminal enterprises, holding on by the skin of her teeth.
Dusseldorp does a fantastic job of making us believe every white-knuckle moment of it all.
The show has managed to assemble an absurdly talented ensemble cast, which includes Pamela Rabe, Roz Hammond, Kerry Fox and Toby Leonard Moore, who all do a great job of inhabiting their, at times wildly unbelievable, characters.
Season two sees backstories fleshed out further, and it's great to spend more time with these quirky misfits, discovering why they have found themselves trapped together in the open-air prison of Mystery Bay.
There's danger afoot for them all this season, and especially for Stella, who is beating off the Russians, a cult leader (Matt Nable) and the spectre of crime matriarch Frankie McLeish (Kerry Fox) — she's barely holding on, and it's heaps of fun watching as she attempts to juggle everything, including her would-be relationship with Jeremiah (Moore).
A satisfying continuation of a truly bonkers story.
Sir David Suchet played one of Agatha Christie's most famous characters — Inspector Hercule Poirot — for a whopping 25 years, so he's the perfect person to host this delightful historical travelogue series, which sees him retracing Christie's journeys aboard a steamship in 1922. She's criss-crossing the old Empire, with Suchet, a delightful guide, following behind. It's lovely to spend some time in his quiet presence.
Dim the lights and crank up the mirror ball — it's time for another turn on the dance floor! This season boasts a great line-up (how DO they keep enticing stars to sign on the dotted line?), including Osher Gunsberg, Shaun Micallef, Rebecca Gibney, Susie O'Neill and Felicity Ward. Week one is always heaps of fun, mostly because there are always one or two who crash out spectacularly — you'll want to be watching to find out who they are. Family-friendly fun.
Regular readers of these columns will know my love for teen drama runs deep. This one is based on the bestselling novel by E. Lockhart, and follows impossibly gorgeous Cadence Sinclair Eastman (Emily Alyn Lind) and her tight-knit circle of friends (The Liars) as they come to grips with events that changed their lives one summer. If you loved The Summer I Turned Pretty, you'll want to check this out.
I can't think of too many people who have seen quite as much of the world as Joanna Lumley — what a well-travelled life she's lived! In this series, she's embarking on an epic journey down 3000km of the Danube, as it flows towards the Black Sea. The river, which traverses the heart of Europe, tells myriad different stories, and Lumley is there with open mind and open heart to hear as many as she can — and it's an absolute delight. Don't miss this one.