What to Watch TV: Kaos, Spent, The Amazing Race Australia and Emily In Paris part 2

Kaos

Streaming now on Netflix

Jeff Goldblum stars in this off-centre comedy as King of the Gods Zeus, a “megalomaniac in leisure wear” — and he’s having something of an existential crisis.

He’s been ruling over gods and mortals alike for an eternity, but lately he’s been feeling . . . a bit off. After discovering a new wrinkle on his face, the celestial being goes into a downward spiral, convinced that an ancient prophecy has come to pass — and, well, humankind should probably watch their backs, because he’s on the literal warpath.

This show has a terrific cast and is created by The End Of The F...ing World creator, Charlie Covell, which gives you an idea of its quiet genius (if you’ve not caught that show, rectify this immediately — it’s stupendously good).

Covell has gone deep into Greek mythology, picking out ancient tales and placing them in a colour-saturated, ultra-modern setting — it’s all decidedly strange, but in the best possible way.

But it’s the performances of the central cast (it goes without saying that Goldblum is perfection personified as Zeus, in his tracksuit and Brylcreemed hair) that really make this a must-watch. Though they are often acting out absurd plots and saying and doing truly ridiculous things, they imbue their performances with a believability that makes this compelling to watch.

Look, in all honesty, I’m not sure I love this show, but there’s just something compulsively watchable about it, and I’m intrigued to see where it’s all headed.

Plus it’s nice to be reminded of all those myths and legends we learnt about in primary school. This is truly an intriguing series, and worth a look.

Wise Guy: David Chase And The Sopranos

Sunday, streaming on Binge

Fans of the HBO series are not going to want to miss this superb two-part documentary, from esteemed filmmaker Alex Gibney. It sees him going deep with the show’s creator, David Chase, to riff about the series, what it meant to those who starred in it and its legions of fans. Archive footage and behind-the-scenes intel, paired with Chase’s brilliant chats with Gibney (Dr Melfi psychiatrist’s office style) make this a fascinating watch. A must-see for fans.

Spent

Friday, streaming on SBS On Demand

Michelle de Swarte wrote and created this riches-to-rags story, about an ex-professional model who left behind a glamorous life in New York after declaring bankruptcy. She’s managed to fritter away her earnings (her accountant informs her she has spent a cool $36k on brunch and, honestly, hard relate) and now she’s forced to return home to London. This semi-autobiographical story is genuinely laugh-out-loud funny — great weekend binge. Seek it out.

The Amazing Race: Celebrity Edition

Monday, 7.30pm, Ten

And we’re off and racing! This year’s contest once again sees some of Australia’s best-known faces competing in the ultimate race around the globe. We’re talking Nat Bass, Ian Thorpe, two of the Matildas — the list goes on. They’re dashing around in the hopes of taking home $100k for their chosen charity. The show kicks off this year in Buenos Aires, before making its way across southern Africa and Asia. This is a great one for the entire family.

Emily In Paris part 2

Thursday, streaming on Netflix

The first half of this latest season saw Emily pottering around in Paris mooning after Gabriel and, honestly — snoooooze! But if promos for part 2 are anything to go by, we can look forward to the action heating up, as our fearless PR Queen crosses paths with a handsome Italian stallion. Love this for her! Four seasons on and I still hate watching this — and inhaling every second. Inject it straight into my eyeballs.