Disney+’s The Clearing, Neon’s Quantum Leap among great shows to stream this weekend

BLACK KNIGHT (NETFLIX)

Based on a webtoon of the same name by Lee Yun-kyun, this six-part, 2071-set tale depicts a dystopian future where extensive air pollution is a huge problem after a comet collided with Earth. The 1% of the population left standing are forced to wear respirators and rely on specialist delivery drivers to provide them with the supplies they need to stay alive.

This is the story of a legendary driver who decides to train a boy in the art of being a “knight”.

“As dystopian escapism goes, the series delivers thrill, spills and chills with dead-eyed efficiency,” wrote The Telegraph’s Ed Power.

THE CLEARING (DISNEY+)

Disney+’s first “scripted” Australian series is an eight-part psychological thriller based on the best-selling 2019 crime thriller In The Clearing by J.P. Pomare, which itself was inspired by the darkness of real-life cults around the world.

Starring Teresa Palmer (A Discovery of Witches), Miranda Otto (Homeland) and Guy Pearce (Mare of Easttown), it’s the story of a woman who is forced to confront the nightmares of her past in order to stop a secret organisation from gathering children to fulfil its master plan.

“The knockout performances of Otto and Palmer, mixed with the thrilling psychological mystery, makes for a series worth watching,” wrote Ready Steady Cut’s Ricky Valero.

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FATAL ATTRACTION (TVNZ+)

While the creators of this eight-part contemporary update of the smash-hit 1987 adult-thriller seem at pains to ensure there are plenty of consequences for Daniel Gallagher this time around and the character of Alex Forrest is far more fleshed out, I feel this tale could well have lent itself to a more The Affair-style of storytelling, providing multiple perspectives of scenarios or conversations (but maybe that brilliant series cornered the market on that).

What you can’t fault though is the casting. Joshua Jackson – who through The Affair, Little Fires Everywhere and Dr. Death really has left Dawson’s Creek far behind and become terrific at playing characters you’re never quite sure you can trust – is a brilliant choice for Michael Douglas’ replacement, while Lizzie Caplan offers yet another reminder of her innate ability to draw the viewer into a drama, a skill that made both Fleishman Is in Trouble and, particularly, Masters of Sex, such compelling viewing.

THE GREAT (NEON)

As the 10-part third season of this critically-acclaimed, satirical 18th Century-set dramedy opens, Catherine (Elle Fanning) and Peter (Nicholas Hoult) seek marriage guidance after the chaotic events of the previous day have left them in an awkward place in their relationship.

“It’s yesteryear reimagined as a theatre of the absurd, and all the more winning for the way in which its ridiculousness is rooted in enduring personal, social, and political dynamics,” wrote The Daily Beast’s Nick Schager, while The Boston Globe’s Matthew Gilbert thought this latest instalment was “playful, deeply irreverent, twisted, moving, and, this season, defined by one or two powerful twists, The Great is true to its title”.

QUANTUM LEAP (NEON)

While the premise of La Brea and Alcatraz duo Bryan Wynbrandt and Steven Lilien’s reboot of the beloved 1990s sci-fi drama is essentially the same, it features a much more diverse set of central characters.

Although the focus is very much on the complicated dynamic between the leaping Dr Ben Song (Top Gun: Maverick’s Raymond Lee) and his advisor from the future Addison Augustine (Caitlin Bassett), a bigger group of characters involved in the scientific project give the show more of a police procedural vibe similar to Criminal Intent or The Blacklist, which may or may not be a good thing in the long run.

However, what made the original show so endearing and nostalgia-inducing is still there, each episode featuring appropriate period details and hits. It’s clear from the care and attention shown onscreen that the creators definitely have an affinity for the ‘90s series’ sensibilities.

QUEEN CHARLOTTE: A BRIDGERTON STORY (NETFLIX)

After two successful seasons focused on the lives, loves and complex social politics of the ‘Ton, creator Shonda Rhimes has decided to take a leaf out of Jon Favreau’s Star Wars franchise-building blueprint.

A seemingly peripheral, yet pivotal character amongst all the sometimes Machiavellian machinations and social climbing of Grovesnor Square’s Featherington and Bridgerton families, Queen Charlotte is now the subject of her own six-part series.

A la Favreau’s Mandalorian spin-off The Book of Boba Fett, its action criss-crosses between two time periods, exploring both her ascension to the throne and dealing with a crisis that threatens her legacy. This allows both Golda Rosheuvel and newcomer India Amarteifio (The Midwich Cuckoos) plenty of opportunities to make the acerbic and already crowd-pleasing character truly their own.

TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS (DISNEY+)

Based on the best-selling 2012 literary collection by Wild author Cheryl Strayed, this eight-part dramedy follows Clare (Kathryn Hahn), a floundering writer who becomes a revered advice columnist while her own life is falling apart.

Executive produced by Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern, while Strayed has said that while the character isn’t exactly her, “there were pieces that come from my life”. “She had to have a mother who died young of cancer, who got married young and then divorced. She had to grow up in a rural environment like I did.”

“True to its name, Tiny Beautiful Things is sensitive to the details,” wrote The Hollywood Reporter’s Angie Han. The series has a knack for zeroing in on moments too strange or specific to feel like anything but lived experience.

WHITE HOUSE PLUMBERS (NEON)

After a recent string of more sombre takes around Watergate, a new five-part series delivers the half-century-old scandal with a hefty dose of hilarity and satire.

The slightly cracked creation of former Late Show with David Letterman and Frasier writers Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck, White House Plumbers is far removed in tone from last year’s Gaslit or The Martha Mitchell Effect.

Reminiscent in style to Adam McKay projects like Vice, The Big Short, The Other Guys, Don’t Look Up and Winning Time, most of the delights of Plumbers comes from the chemistry between its two leads. As he showed in the charming Champions earlier this year, Woody Harrelson is having something of a renaissance at the moment, while Justin Theroux (The Mosquito Coast, Maniac) offers a welcome refresher on just what a terrifically dry comedic actor he can be.