Aussie critics weigh in on Aussie Big Little Lies as forgotten Beyonce role is ‘unearthed'
One show. Two views
The Family Next Door, 8.30pm, Sunday, ABC TV
Siobhan Duck
Motherhood is put under the microscope in this riveting new suburban thriller. Hot on the heels of her performances in The Last Anniversary and Mix Tape, Teresa Palmer stars as Isabella, a new resident in an extremely tight-knit cul-de-sac (think Ramsay Street meets Desperate Housewives' Wisteria Lane).
Soon after moving in next door to Ange (Bella Heathcote), her tightly wound landlady, it becomes apparent to Isabella that life on Pleasant Court isn't quite as idyllic as its name suggests.
Of course, Isabella isn't exactly perfect herself and there seems to be a secret agenda behind her move. But what (or who) is Isabella looking for? The longer she stays on Pleasant Court, the more Isabella discovers that all its residents are struggling with the pressures of parenting and keeping up the happy-family facade.
Adapted from Sally Hepworth's page-turner, it also features a terrific supporting cast that includes Catherine McClements and Jane Harber.
James Wigney
Director Emma Freeman (who was behind one of our best dramas of recent years, The Newsreader) is in total control as she drip-feeds the reveals and twists from this six-part adaptation of Sally Hepworth's 2018 bestseller in a fashion that will keep you on the edge of your seat – and in awe of her assembled cast.
In her third – and best yet – major series of the year, the versatile and prolific Teresa Palmer is front and centre in the poster.
But as compelling as she is as the stranger purporting to be a travel writer who up-ends the life of a dead-end street in a sleepy holiday hamlet, it's the powerhouse ensemble of women surrounding her that really elevates this thriller about secrets, family, grief and suburban life. Scrubalnds' Bella Heathcote and Offspring's Jane Harber nail their parts as a brittle, struggling real estate agent and a gay mum with a troubled past respectively, and former Home And Away star Philippa Northeast is a revelation as the frustrated, vulnerable and sleep-deprived new mother Essie. Quality stuff.
In case you missed it …
Cadillac Records
Streaming on Tubi
Chuck Berry. Muddy Waters. Etta James. In the 1950s and '60s, Chicago's Chess Records boasted an impressive roster of music legends.
It is therefore fitting that this biopic about the famed label also features a star-studded line-up: Beyoncé plays James and Adrien Brody is her chain-smoking boss Leonard Chess. Beyoncé – who first gained acting acclaim playing a character based on another icon (Diana Ross) in the Oscar-winning musical Dreamgirls – is a great fit as the supremely gifted James.
She even performs a pitch-perfect rendition of James's best-known ballad 'At Last', which was so memorable that Barack Obama got her to croon it at his inauguration (much to James's chagrin at the time).
Playing Gracie Darling
Streaming from Thursday, Paramount+
Morgana O'Reilly is definitely one to watch. Fresh from her stint as a sunny yet pedantic hotel staffer in the third season of The White Lotus, the talented Kiwi actor is leading this supernatural thriller.
O'Reilly plays Joni, a child psychologist haunted by the disappearance of her best friend Gracie (Kristina Bogic) during a seance when they were teenagers.
When another of Gracie's relatives vanishes in similar circumstances, Joni returns to her home town in search of answers.
While O'Reilly was really only a supporting player in The White Lotus, her capable shoulders very squarely carry this six-part mystery and she brings a believable mix of vulnerability and strength to the role.
The Pickup
Streaming, Prime Video
Saturday Night Live made Eddie Murphy a household name in the 1980s. Four decades later, the show did the same for Pete Davidson (pictured, right, with Murphy).
Now, the two comics join forces for this buddy comedy.
Murphy is a hardworking and experienced armoured guard who is on the cusp of retiring to start a B&B with his wife (Eva Longoria), while Davidson is the screw-up rookie.
When the pair's truck is ambushed by thieves, they must work together and play to their individual strengths to save the day. Cue hilarity.
While I've never understood the appeal of Davidson (who seems to be like catnip to the Hollywood ladies), Murphy is excellent as always.
Shark Week
From 7.30pm, Sunday, Foxtel's Discovery Channel & HBO Max
It's hard to believe that it's been 50 years since Steven Spielberg made us all terrified to go back in the water with a little film called Jaws.
The enduring popularity of the iconic blockbuster proves there is a great white-sized appetite for shark-themed content.
Here, the predators of the deep are celebrated with a stream of back-to-back documentaries, including Expedition Unknown: Shark Files (which investigates the real-life inspiration for Jaws), Dancing With Sharks (pictured) and How To Survive A Shark Attack (spoiler: surfer Mick Fanning had the right idea when he resorted to punching one in 2015).
Marc Maron: Panicked
Streaming, HBO Max
Comedian Marc Maron (pictured) offers some hilarious insights into life as a straight-shooting, left-leaning cat owner in Trump's America in this stand-up set.
From being made to feel guilty by his fellow liberals for failing to boycott his preferred soy milk to dealing with the bleak realities of living in a country where people are being systematically stripped of their rights, Maron's self-deprecating stories are punctuated with razor-sharp cultural analysis.
If you don't laugh, you'll cry, right?
Little Fires Everywhere
Streaming from Saturday, SBS On Demand
This series drew comparisons to Big Little Lies when it first aired in 2020.
Also adapted from a bestselling novel and starring Reese Witherspoon, it likewise deals with a mystery that threatens to unravel the fabric of an affluent suburb.
Here, it's the arson of Elena's (Witherspoon) home and her tense relationship with tenant Mia.
If you liked: The Watcher
Try: Fear
Streaming from Thursday, BritBox
Best known for playing detective Steve Arnott in six seasons of Line Of Duty, Martin Compston (pictured) has also had a very engrossing sideline in lesser-known mysteries.
In this one, he's an architect named Martyn who moves to Glasgow with his wife Rebecca (Anjli Mohindra) and two children.
Welcoming the family to their new digs is their downstairs neighbour Jan (Solly McLeod).
While socially awkward, Jan seems harmless – until he forms an unhealthy interest in Rebecca and throws Martyn's fresh start into complete disarray.
If you liked: Sam Pang Tonight
Try: Shaun Micallef's Eve Of Destruction
7.30pm, Wednesday, ABC TV
When this chat show debuted last year, Shaun Micallef (pictured) proudly described himself as Australia's least experienced interviewer.
Now, with one season under his belt, Micallef has graduated to seeing himself as a 'barely competent' compere.
Sitting down with swimmer Ariarne Titmus and comedian Frank Woodley, Micallef invites his guests to share anecdotes about their two most prized possessions.
For Titmus that's her Olympic gold medal, while for Woodley it's a signed picture of the legendary duo Laurel and Hardy.
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Peter Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock, released 50 years ago, is remembered for its eerie atmosphere and mysterious story. But beneath its haunting beauty, the film challenges the idea of colonial control over the Australian landscape. The rock becomes a place that refuses to be explained or conquered by European logic. This tension between the land and colonial power still matters today. The failure of the referendum on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament shows how divided Australia remains over questions of reconciliation and Indigenous sovereignty. Rewatching Picnic at Hanging Rock in 2025, we can appreciate the film as an unsettling portrayal of place, silence and disappearance. Picnic at Hanging Rock tells the story of a group of private schoolgirls and their teachers who visit the nearby Hanging Rock on Valentine's Day in 1900. During the excursion, three students and one teacher mysteriously disappear. No clear explanation is ever given, which unsettles both the characters and the audience. The mystery triggers hysteria, scandal and a slow collapse of order at Appleyard College. As the search for answers continues, the film refuses to provide resolution, deepening its sense of unease and ambiguity. Based on Joan Lindsay's 1967 novel, the story captured the public imagination with its haunting beauty and unanswered mystery. Audiences were obsessed with whether it was based on true events (it wasn't). The film became a landmark of the Australian New Wave, a 1970s movement that revitalised the national film industry with bold, artistic storytelling and a focus on uniquely Australian themes. With its poetic visuals, haunting score and colonial setting, the film stood out for its mood rather than action. Audiences were both fascinated and frustrated by its lack of closure, and it gained a cult following, especially among viewers drawn to its gothic atmosphere and slow-burning mystery. Ngannelong, also known as Hanging Rock, is a striking volcanic formation north-west of Melbourne. For the Dja Dja Wurrung, Woi Wurrung and Taungurung peoples of the Kulin Nation it is a deeply important cultural and spiritual place. Lindsay and Weir's mystery of white schoolgirls who mysteriously vanish sits on top of older, deeper traumas – those of dispossession and the forced removal of Indigenous people from their lands. While the film appears dreamlike and mystical, Ngannelong's sacredness challenges this romantic view, reminding us that the land holds its own stories and history. It does not forget. Picnic at Hanging Rock can be seen as a powerful story about colonial fear and uncertainty. The unexplained disappearance of the schoolgirls plays off the idea that European thinking and logic can't fully understand or master the Australian landscape. When watched through this lens the story reveals just how fragile colonialism is. The film invites viewers to think differently about Australia's identity, suggesting the landscape itself remembers the past and actively resists the stories colonisers have tried to tell about it. The film contrasts the tidy world of Appleyard College – which stands for colonial order, built on white privilege and Britishness – against the untamed mysterious landscape of Ngannelong. The girls represent white femininity, meant to bring culture and control. When they vanish, it's as if the land rejects these colonial ideals. Their disappearance unravels the school's order, exposing how fragile colonial power really is. It hints at a deeper crisis beneath the surface. Russell Boyd's cinematography is key to the film's unsettling mood. Shifting light and strange angles create a sense of uncertainty. The bush isn't just background, it is defiant. This fits with 'ecological cinema', where nature has its own voice. In Picnic at Hanging Rock, the land often overpowers people. It refuses to be controlled or explained by colonial ideas. Picnic at Hanging Rock is part of the Australian Gothic: literature and films which explore dark parts of Australia's story. Named for European Gothic literature of the 18th and 19th centuries, these 20th century Australian stories often express the anxieties, violence and uncanny dislocations of colonisation and the natural landscape these settlers encountered. In this Australian Gothic tradition, Picnic at Hanging Rock uses haunting and mystery to explore deep social and historical wounds. These unsettled feelings still shape how Australia sees itself. Australia's national identity rests on silences and erasures. Like the missing schoolgirls, the colonial subject is lost – unsure of who belongs and whose history matters. Picnic at Hanging Rock remains powerful today, especially in light of ongoing discussions about Indigenous sovereignty and reconciliation in Australia. The film's mystery is never solved, forcing viewers to sit with the discomfort of what's left unsaid. The land is not something empty or passive, but alive. It is a force that remembers and resists. Even 50 years later, the film still unsettles, not just through its eerie beauty, but by challenging colonial ways of thinking and reminding us that sovereignty endures – even if it's not always visible. This piece first appeared on The Conversation. Jo Coghlan is an associate professor of humanities, arts and social sciences at the University of New England.
