Screen Queen TV reviews: Abbi Jacobson’s new adaptation of A League of Their Own hits Prime Video this week

A League of Their Own

Friday, streaming on Prime Video

I’m a huge Broad City fan. If you’ve not seen this terrific Noughties comedy — stop reading immediately, take a good, long, hard look at yourself and seek it out on Prime. It’s terrific.

Starring Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson (they’re the show’s creators), the series, which ran from 2014 to 2019 is about two girls, Abbi and Ilana (played by their namesakes), in their 20s, living in New York City, getting stoned, being broke and generally running amok. In other words, it’s a loose autobiographical comedy interpretation of their lives — genius!

Not a lot happens, but the writing is so good, and Glazer and Jacobson’s performances so on-point, it’s hard not to get swept along as you relive your misspent youth through their chaotic lives.

Jacobson is also behind the TV adaptation of A League of Their Own, a series loosely based on the successful 1992 film starring Geena Davis and Tom Hanks, with a screamingly average performance from Madonna. It’s about a group of women who try their hand at playing in a professional baseball league during World War II, something which happened for real in the US during that time.

Jacobson imbues the series — which hosts an incredible line-up of new and emerging female talent, as well as the reliably awesome D’Arcy Carden (I just love her) — with the same sort of sassy spirit that made Broad City so fantastic.

There are a lot more similarities between this series about a group of women playing sport in the 40s and Broad City than you might expect. Seek them both out.

Five Days at Memorial

Friday, Apple TV Plus

I felt chilled to my bones watching the first episode of this incredibly emotional series. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative article about the event, it fictionalises the real-life story of patients and caregivers stranded at Memorial hospital in New Orleans as the 2005 hurricane Katrina rages. As floodwaters rise and the power fails, the hospital’s nurses and doctors are forced to make devastating life and death decisions. It beggars belief that this actually happened, and even more shockingly, that it happened a relatively short time ago. This is a seriously affecting piece of television.

Never Have I Ever

Friday, streaming on Netflix

It’s the debut of Daxton! If you know anything about this show, you’ll know why I’m frothing over the return of this sweet teen comedy. To the rest of you — as you were. God I loved this.

Darby and Joan

Monday, streaming on Acorn

Bryan Brown and Greta Scacchi star as a couple of super sleuthing grey nomads in this “crime of the week” road trip series. This has big boomer energy — if you’re over 70, you’ll love it.

Great Southern Landscapes

Tuesday, 8pm, ABC

Full disclosure: did not have “Rachel Griffiths as an ABC arts presenter” on my Bingo card. But I’m loving her transformation. This new series about Aussie landscape painters is a gently soothing watch, and worth a look.