Winter’s warm embrace

Welcome to winter, friends. If ever there was time for snuggling up on the couch for some great viewing this, is it. Grab your favourite blankie, comfort animal or person, warm drink and get cosy.

Totally Completely Fine (Stan), written by Gretel Vella, is about a young woman Vivian (Thomasin McKenzie - you may remember her from JoJo Rabbit and Last Night in Soho) who inherits a waterfront house from her grandfather. The catch is the house is on a cliff edge which is a popular suicide spot. Vivian is self-destructive: she smokes dope, drinks too much and is reeling from the death of her parents. She’s rude to people and rough in her dealings, but also no bullshit and compassionate and this cuts through. But is she up to ‘saving people’ like her grandfather before her? Relationships are tested and spun around as various threads of stories and suicide attempts play out. Vivian must grow up, and while saving others somehow save herself. This clever, amusing (yes) story arc aptly portrays the messy and complicated nuances of family relationships, pain, and grief. It’s very engaging and a great six-episode series to watch.

Gretel Vella, a graduate of NIDA’s Writing for Performance program, also wrote for all three seasons of The Great: An Occasionally True Story (Stan), a three-season series based very loosely on the story of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, played by Elle Fanning and with Nicholas Hoult as Emperor Peter III. Hard line historians should look away now, but for those want a good-natured romp through Russian history, with glorious costumes and marvellous settings then this is just the ticket. In season three the story gets wonderfully nuttier. It’s a fabulous comedy drama that is not for the prudish or squeamish, with plenty of swearing, heaving bosoms, duels, fighting, wars, men in tight pants and high boots, bears, horses, ceremonies, all manner of racy sex and plenty of vodka drinking and glass smashing. Huzzah!

Do not overlook the excellent and lovely Australian three season series Bump (Stan). Created by Claudia Karvan and Kelsey Munro, this very human, enjoyable, and engaging series follows the story of Oly (the excellent Nathalie Morris) a smart young adolescent, who gives birth at school, without even knowing she was pregnant. The world of teenagers and fractured families is portrayed by an excellent cast, Including Karvan as Oly’s mother Angie and Angus Samson as Dom her father. The show really grows on you as the various family members interact and everybody faces the daily, ordinary challenges of life. This is not drama on a grand scale, its humans bumping into each other and working themselves out as they make mistakes, laugh, and generally muddle through. As we all do. Great viewing from that cosy couch.

Dr Airdre Grant