Thelonious “Monk” Ellison (Westworld’s Jeffrey Wright) is the outcast of his African-American family – a literary professor and author among two generations of doctors. Prickly to the touch, Monk’s fears about his latest manuscript not selling are exacerbated by the publishing industry hyping black authors who write crack-and-baby-mama-ghetto tales for supposedly progressive white readers. As a joke, he pours his disgust into a ludicrous fake memoir, My Pafology, but it backfires: the first rights offer is for $750,000.

Wright, who carries his character’s contradictory tension between his clenched shoulder blades, milks this imitation game, even as Monk hams it up for a Hollywood filmmaker. But his vicarious charades are the entry point for a forced reunion with a family that includes an ailing mother (Leslie Uggams), dedicated sister (Tracee Ellis Ross), and freefalling brother (Sterling K. Brown). “Enemies see each other better than friends,” the latter tells Monk, and it’s the domestic fault-lines that illuminate American Fiction. This satire stings with insight.

Avatar: The Last Airbender
Netflix

First episodes of lore-laden series are never easy, so it’s a wary pass for the beginning of this live-action adaptation of the beloved animated fantasy series about a mystical child who must reunite a world divided into four elemental nations: air, earth, water, and the domineering fire. Newcomers will probably react more favourably than devotees, as the exiled Aang (Gordon Cormier) goes through chosen one ructions alongside his teenage companions, siblings Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka (Ian Ousley). The digital effects and fight scenes reveal genuine care, but the adolescent angst can be stilted.

Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live
Stan

The third Walking Dead spin-off is the most ambitious yet, bringing back key married characters Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) to the post-apocalyptic society raggedly taking shape after a zombie outbreak. But the scale involved in dividing the pair so that they yearn for each other even as they fell countless undead walkers dilutes the succinct pleasures of 2023’s previous offshoots. Black Panther star Gurira, in particular, gives an unyielding performance that’s compelling, but as a budding epic driven by longing, this Walking Dead iteration staggers too often.

Shōgun
Disney+

Reimagined by the husband-and-wife team of Justin Marks (Counterpart) and novelist Rachel Kondo, this new adaptation of James Clavell’s chunky 1975 bestseller about a stranded British ship’s navigator who finds himself at risk and allied with a warlord in 16th century feudal Japan has a martial clarity. Game of Thrones is an obvious reference point for the samurai machinations, which come with impressive production design, although the alliance between John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) and Lord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) is more thoroughly unfolded than the romantic relationship between Blackthorne and his guide, Mariko (Anna Sawai).

My First Time
YouTube

Produced by the We Are Pride channel, this new online documentary short series ties together memories and experiences from members of Australia’s LGBTQIA+ community as they recall various realisations, breakthrough moments, and turning points. The diverse voices interviewed include playwright Wesley Enoch, veteran trans advocate Katherine Wolfgramme, and drag performer Kween Kong, with the intertwined narratives offering both insight and relatability into sexuality and gender. The aim is to reassure those beginning a similar journey, or their allies, and it succeeds through unadorned honesty and sometimes comical memoirs.

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