What’s on TV: Godfather of Harlem, Great Australian Bake Off, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK - NEWS.com.au

From 1960s mobsters to 21st century drag queens, feast your eyes on this week’s picks.

GODFATHER OF HARLEM

(Stan — weekly from Tuesday, October 1)

How many of you know the story of Bumpy Johnson, the titular Godfather of Harlem?

By the early 1950s, Johnson ruled over Harlem not just with might but also with a community mindedness. People came to him to solve their problems, and he didn’t make anyone kiss his ring.

He came up as a lieutenant to numbers queen Stephanie St. Clair and was at one point an associate of Lucky Luciano’s.

Then he was sent down on a drugs charge and spent the next decade in Alcatraz.

When he returns to Harlem, he finds it much changed. The streets are now ruled by the Italian mob, specifically the Genovese family, and heroin is overrunning the community.

That tumultuous return is the drama at the centre of a 10-part series called the Godfather of Harlem, starring Forest Whitaker as Johnson.

“Times have changed,” Bumpy’s wife Mayme (Ilfenesh Hadera) says to her husband as they drive through their neighbourhood, pointing out all the shops that have closed.

“I haven’t,” Bumpy relies.

What the Godfather of Harlem is most interested in — change. Set during a momentous period in 20th century American history, Bumpy’s story takes place at a time of great social upheaval so the series is as much about that as it is a gangster story with rivals fighting for turf.

Then you add a figure like Malcolm X into the mix and it becomes a Civil Rights story too.

Godfather of Harlem has great performances from Whitaker and D’Onofrio and the cast also includes Lucy Fry, Nigel Thatch, Vincent D’Onofrio and Giancarlo Esposito. It’s a textured, compelling series and features impressive period production values.

Worth checking out if you’re interested in this era or just like watching men holding guns facing off.

GREAT AUSTRALIAN BAKE OFF S4

(LifeStyle on Foxtel/Foxtel Now — Thursday, October 3 at 8.30pm)

Forget about the confected drama you’ll find on My Kitchen Rules or its ilk, the only confections in Bake Off come from the oven. And it won’t bore you with the contestants’ back stories — does anyone else think they’re so saccharine and tiresome?!

Instead what you get is baked goods — loads and loads of baked goods. Puddings, pies and pastry. Crumbly biscuits and gooey biscuits. Fresh bread. Spiced gingerbread. Towering creations of multilayered cake. Are you salivating yet?

The best thing about Bake Off is that it’s restorative, like a cup of tea. The tension (where there is any) and the stakes come from pulling off something delicious, not from bitching about or at other contestants.

What a relief.

Get all the best drama, movies, lifestyle, news and sport, all in one place. Get Foxtel

RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE UK S1

(Stan — Friday, October 4)

Who says you can only be fabulous in the US? RuPaul is taking Drag Race across the pond to Old Blighty, out to find to the UK’s version of Trixie Mattel, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo or Evie Oddly.

This is the home of mod fashion, so think less houndstooth and more Twiggy. Speaking of Twiggy, she’s confirmed as one of the guest judges, alongside the likes of Maisie Williams, Andrew Garfield and Geri Halliwell.

RuPaul will be joined weekly by Michelle Visage, Alan Carr and Graham Norton.

NEW GIRL S1-S7

(SBS On Demand — from Tuesday, October 1)

New Girl handicapped itself when it promoted its first season with an image of star Zooey Deschanel and the tagline “Adorkable”. Maybe it seemed like a clever portmanteau at the time, but it also undersold the show.

Yes, Jess Day (Deschanel) is a bit of a dork and she is absolutely adorable and definitely someone’s idea of a manic pixie dream girl, but New Girl is much more about the ensemble cast and the endearing friendships between Jess, Schmidt, Nick, Winston and Cece.

All seven seasons will drop on SBS On Demand this week, another chance to move into that enormous loft and hang out with Ferguson and try to work out the rules to that mad drinking game, True American.

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