What's on TV this week: Big Mouth, Working Class Boy, Will & Grace and more

YOU’RE probably trying to recover from all the libations a long weekend brings, plus there were a couple of sports events on, yes?

(Sorry, Western Australians and Territorians — I know, I know, you guys had normal weekends.)

Anyway, the best cure for that bruised liver is to lie down on the couch, drinks lots of water, chow down on some bland Milk Arrowroot biscuits and watch TV. Solved.

BIG MOUTH S2

(Netflix — Friday, October 5 at 5pm AEST)

Irreverent adult cartoons are dime a dozen in 2018 and a lot of them are on Netflix. There’s something about the contrast between bright, colourful animated characters and the filth that comes out of their mouths that makes it so jarringly good. Speaking of mouths — yeah, yeah, bad segue — Big Mouth season two is out at the end of this week.

Co-created by Nick Kroll, Andrew Goldberg, Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett, Big Mouth is based on comedian Kroll and Goldberg’s awkward teen years growing up in upstate New York. Essentially, it’s a series about puberty and all the gross, freaky and odd things that come up when your body is changing and you don’t understand why.

Big Mouth doesn’t believe in subtlety — the first few minutes of season two features a jerk-off journal and a choice between a real-life person and an anthropomorphised pillow. It’s rude, crude and often funny.

MR INBETWEEN

(Fox Showcase on Foxtel — Monday, October 1 at 8.30pm, then Foxtel Now)

Mr Inbetween is the big, flashy new Australian drama that has divided American critics — one said it was one of the best of the year while the other was definitely less enthused. Based on creator and star Scott Ryan’s 2005 student film, the six-part series was directed by Nash Edgerton.

Ryan plays a hitman whose job is to take care of everything that’s necessary — extortion, kidnapping, murder, intimidation. You know, your run-of-the-mill wetworks guy. But despite his violent vocation, he’s a good father, a caring brother and an attentive boyfriend.

So, does he get a pass for everything else, the heinous things he doesn’t seem to have a moral quandary about?

Mr Inbetween also stars Brooke Satchwell and Damon Herriman, the latter being the man of the moment with his part in Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming flick about the Manson Family and as the newly named Orry-Kelly recipient by Australians in Film.

WILL & GRACE S10

(Stan — Friday, October 5)

Depending on who you ask, this new chapter is either the 10th season of the beloved sitcom or the second season of the revival of the beloved sitcom. Will, Grace, Jack and Karen are back and they’re bringing some famous friends along for the ride. That, by the way, was obviously a punny reference (sorry) to David Schwimmer’s upcoming guest run as Grace’s new, very un-Ross-like romantic interest.

And romance will be in the air this season after the previous season finale saw everyone paired off except for Will and Grace, who were then roundly told off for all the choices they’ve made that have cemented their perpetually single statuses.

Jack’s wedding, if it happens, promises to be an extravaganza while Karen and Stan’s marriage may not be as semi-solid as she thought. Let’s not forget that Will and Grace are soon to be step-siblings.

Plus, if you’re watching TV to escape from the political madness, the show’s writers have said there will be less Trump references. Thank god.

GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM

(SBS — from Tuesday, October 2 at 8.30pm, then SBS On Demand)

In an attempt to inject some empathy and compassion into a refugee debate that is increasingly dehumanising, SBS’s doco series Go Back to Where You Came From is mixing it up for its fourth year. The three episodes will be broadcast live from refugee zones and conflict hot spots around the world.

Prominent personalities including Meshel Laurie, Gretel Killeen and Jacqui Lambie will be paired with everyday Australians as they are sent to experience the hardship and heartache of why people have fled those war-torn areas, and challenge some Australians’ preconceived notions in a country with some of the most draconian asylum seeker policies.

WORKING CLASS BOY

(Seven — Monday, October 1 at 8.30pm, then 7Plus)

If Australia is on a bit of Jimmy Barnes high right now after he stunned the AFL Grand Final on Saturday, people can chase it down with Working Class Boy, a documentary that charts how a young Glaswegian named James Swan became rocker Jimmy Barnes.

Based on his best-selling memoir, the film will touch on the highs and lows of his journey, marked by alcohol abuse, poverty, domestic violence and fame. It will feature solos and duets with his kids, Mahalia Barnes and David Campbell and brother-in-law Diesel (including “Flame Trees”) while telling the remarkable story of how Jimmy Barnes came to be still standing today.

MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE S3

(Amazon Prime Video — Friday, October 5)

Based on Philip K. Dick’s novel of the same name, The Man in the High Castle is set in an alternate reality where the Nazis and Imperial Japan won World War II, with America divided between German and Japanese control. In this world, resistance fighters come across news reels which show a universe with the “real” outcome of WWII.

Now going into season three, having now established the conceit, the series has started to shift from being a character-driven exploration of this strange place to more traditional sci-fi fare, preoccupied with jumping between timelines and passing through worlds.

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