There's plenty of good TV on the streamers this month, says RNZ's Perlina Lau.
She gives her take on five of the best shows to check out in November.
Photo: Screenshot
Yellowjackets - Neon
At the very start of this slow-burn mystery thriller, we learn about a 1996 plane crash that left members of a lauded US high school girls’ soccer team dead or traumatised.
Cue a Lord of the Flies-style scenario - that we see snippets and flashes of - in which a group of girls survive 19 months in the Canadian wilderness before being rescued.
In the lead-up to the national soccer competition, there are already disagreements and tensions within the squad.
The '90s setting is then intercut with the present day where we meet the now-adult crash survivors played by Melanie Lynskey, Juliette Lewis and Christina Ricci.
It’s clever casting and unmistakable as to who the teenagers grew up to be.
Yellowjackets has just landed and Neon is rolling out one episode a week but it’s clear from the first episode that the women have never spoken publicly about what happened during those 19 months and promised each other to never do so.
Yet trouble is brewing as one of the women garners publicity in a re-run for Senate and thus garners publicity and a reporter starts sniffing; hinting at a seven-figure book deal to Melanie Lynskey’s character.
Although we've only seen one episode so far, Yellowjackets is intriguing enough to leave you wondering where the story will go.
Dopesick - Disney+
This eight-part dramatic mini-series unveils the greed and ugly reality of America’s best-selling “miracle drug” - the “non-addictive” painkiller OxyContin.
Dopesick is based on Beth Macy’s book of the same name and stars Michael Keaton as the rural Dr Samuel Finnix in a small Appalachian mining town.
Finnix is persuaded by Purdue Pharma to try a new drug on patients, in a company campaign to overcome doctors’ reluctance to prescribe opioids, because of their well-documented addictive nature.
Peter Sarsgaard plays one of two US attorneys who eventually bring a lawsuit against the company.
Dopesick focuses on three main groups - the small townfolk, the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) / Food and Drug Administration and the people behind the scenes at Purdue.
The show gives an insight into how an opioid medication reached the devastating effects levels it did.
Ironically, just a few episodes have been released, presumably to hook us in before the next one is released.
To give you an idea of how pervasive OxyContin became, Purdue Pharma has made at least $US31 billion from the drug and the family behind the company, the Sacklers, are now one of the wealthiest families in the country.
It also triggered America’s worst drug epidemic with millions of addicts.
When OxyContin was first released, it boasted a 12-hour duration pain relief, but if it doesn’t last, the withdrawal symptoms can be excruciating for some patients and lead to a craving for more.
If doses are too strong, it can lead to overdoses and death.
Note: If the sound of Dopesick piques your interest, I recommend The Pharmacist (also on Netflix) which I watched last year during NZ’s first lockdown. The Pharmacist is a four-part documentary centred around a man who loses his son to a drug-related shooting. He then embarks on uncovering the devastating and terrifying reality of OxyContin through former addicts and corrupt doctors.
Cowboy Bebop - Netflix
The 10-episode series is the live-action remake of the classic Japanese anime series. The original debuted in 1997 as a manga (comic or graphic novel originating from Japan).
Cowboy Bebop centres around the adventures of bounty hunters - Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Faye Valentine, and Edward Wong, who whiz around the solar system hunting down criminals.
Fans will be excited to know the original Cowboy Bebop composer, Yoko Kanno, is also on board for this live-action adaptation.
There were already talks of a remake in 2008 - but like many films, discussions can go on for years with little progress.
There was also concern over who would play Spike’s character as previous anime projects (such as Ghost in a Shell) have white-washed their lead characters so there’s been caution in this casting.
The release of Cowboy Bebop, which was filmed in New Zealand, hasn’t been without speed bumps. Actor John Cho tore his anterior cruciate ligament during an action sequence, putting the show on hold for nine months, and then Covid-19 hit. But after border exemptions and delays, the show is finally here.
Big Mouth - Netflix
I loved this animated coming-of-age series when it first came out in 2017 and it’s now in its fifth season. The teenage cartoon characters/monsters find their lives turned upside down by the emotional and physical advent of puberty.
Big Mouth is based on the suburban New York upbringing of writers Andrew Goldberg and Nick Kroll. Kroll also voices one of the characters - an adolescent who lives with his loving but overprotective parents.
Other characters are voiced by Maya Rudolph, John Mulaney, Fred Armisen and Jordan Peele.
Big Mouth is clever, silly and entertaining so if you haven’t delved in yet, I highly recommend it.
The Shrink Next Door - Apple TV
This real-life story was the subject of a 2019 podcast of the same name and has now been adapted into a TV comedy-drama.
Set in the 1980s, The Shrink Next Door features forever-young-looking Paul Rudd and Will Ferrell.
It explores the relationship between psychiatrist and patient and what happens when it crosses boundaries.
Marty Markowitz (Ferrell) begins seeing therapist “Ike” Herschkopf (Rudd) in 1981 and their relationship continues for another 30 years and becomes manipulative and abusive.
Markowitz later alleged that Herschkopf took control of his life, including his finances, took over his home in the Hamptons and choreographed the estrangement from his family.
Rudd and Ferrell both serve as executive producers on The Shrink Next Door. Kathryn Hahn and Casey Wilson joining the ensemble as Marty’s sister and Ike’s wife.
