When it comes to Canadian pop star Carly Rae Jepsen, people fall into two camps. The first is made up of those shocked to hear she’s still making music after her 2012 global smash hit Call Me Maybe. And then there’s the dedicated contingent who know the truth: that Jepsen’s infectious, bubblegum pop is pure joy to behold. And it was these chosen few who sold out the Forum on Monday night for Jepsen’s second-last Australian show of The So Nice Tour. Read more…

One person’s trash TV is another person’s trashy treasure. And when it comes to the American TV network Bravo, I am one of millions who treasure it. More than 40 years into its existence, the NBCUniversal-owned channel has become something of a phenomenon, with a “Bravoverse” that mostly comprises unscripted reality shows. Read more…

HBO has long been credited with shaping the television landscape as we know it. More recently, it has been credited with something equally revolutionary: levelling the playing field for nudity. After years of women’s naked bodies being objectified on our screens, men are finally also baring all. From the Harry Goldenblatt reveal on And Just Like That to the myriad members of Euphoria, the era of dicks has arrived. And no show is doing more for this moment than Minx. Read more…

It was a given that the Australian spin-off of US maritime reality show Below Deck would feature some local flair. But when Channel Seven news footage from 2019 popped up halfway through the first episode of Below Deck Down Under, I was surprised and absolutely on board. Read more…

If I were to describe one of my all-time favourite sitcoms as The One with a Group of Six Tight-Knit Friends, you’d probably presume I also enjoy giant mugs of coffee at Central Perk. It’s unlikely you’d immediately think of Happy Endings. Read more…

There was a brief and beautiful window of 2020 when people called me Jeff. As in Jeff Probst, the legendary host and executive producer of Survivor. I was one of three “Jeffs” and together we were organising the greatest game of Survivor we could imagine.

For our friends. In Melbourne. Australia. (No spoilers.) Read more…

If you grew up with a TV in Australia, Benita Collings was very likely your on-screen mum.

Benita (we were on a first name basis) was my most reliable friend, confidant and role model, who would spend most mornings and afternoons with me, singing, dancing and making crafts. Bookending the day as one of Play School’s longest-serving cast members, her relationship with me – as with her stuffed-toy colleagues Big Ted, Little Ted, Jemima and Humpty Dumpty – felt very real. Read more…

Konbanwa! Please, put your luggage to one side and join me at the table. I’m looking forward to spending time with you. Pour yourself a glass of wine—kanpai!—but...Wait. You can't sit there! That’s Seina’s seat. Let me explain. Before Terrace House was a Netflix original, before there even was a panel on the reality show, there was Seina Shimabukuro. Read more…

Beyond reasonable doubt, we’re guilty of a cultural obsession with dead girl dramas. Stories about pretty girls in shallow graves strike fear in our hearts and captivate our suspicious minds. Like countless others, I participate in this fascination; Twin Peaks, True Detective, Top of the Lake, Gone Girl – I’ve collected them all. So it was inevitable that I’d get hooked on Serial, a spin-off podcast from public radio giants This American Life and the latest dead girl drama to capture the popular imagination. Read more…