A satisfying and surprising comedy

• Jason (Rafe Spall) teaches English as a second language and Nikki (Esther Smith) works at a call centre. They’ve been trying to get pregnant and when they can’t afford another round of IVF, they decide to apply to adopt a child. A tender, funny, perceptive and beautifully calibrated comedy, Trying (Apple TV+) is about a loving couple negotiating life’s bumps. Creator Andy Wolton surrounds them with a delightfully oddball community of family and friends, and Imelda Staunton is a delight as the social worker who becomes the couple’s champion. Three eight-part seasons are available, with a fourth due this month.

• Set mainly in Belfast, The Lovers (Binge) is an uneasy rom-com that clicks. Janet (Roisin Gallagher) is a prickly and sometimes self-destructive supermarket staffer. Seamus (Johnny Flynn, Ripley’s Dickie Greenleaf) is a smooth, slightly self-satisfied political journalist and TV host with a glamorous life and a gorgeous actress girlfriend (Alice Eve). When Seamus literally falls into Janet’s life, sparks fly. There are elements of Notting Hill and Starstruck in the celebrity-commoner relationship written by playwright David Ireland (Ulster American). However, the gritty setting and at times genuinely unsettling union achieve an edgier tone.

A bold exploration of sexuality

• An accomplished eight-part anthology series, Erotic Stories (SBS On Demand) focuses on love and lust, featuring characters who don’t customarily attract such treatment on mainstream TV. The homegrown series radiates vitality as it presents intimate encounters involving straight and gay, young and older, and Indigenous characters. United in their desire to explore intimate stories of human connection, episodes vary in style and subject matter. Among the familiar faces are Catherine McClements, Kate Box and Rarriwuy Hick, while Joel Lago is magnetic in Alistair Baldwin’s “Bound” episode.

A thoughtful domestic drama

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• English treasure Harriet Walter (Killing Eve, Succession) shines as a grumpy grandmother forced to leave her home and join her adult daughter and family in Queensland in The End (Binge, Foxtel Now). It’s not a happy reunion, with the strained relationship between Edie and Kate (Frances O’Connor) painfully apparent. In addition to festering resentments, the women clash about their views of life: Kate is a doctor specialising in palliative care while her mother insists on her right to die. Writer Samantha Strauss examines differing views on euthanasia, suicide and dying with dignity, as well as celebrating the value of finding something to live for. Never didactic, the drama opens into a portrait of family life encompassing three generations, each facing its own challenges.

A feelgood period drama

• Luscious-looking food, sumptuous period recreation and Sarah Lancashire: perfect ingredients. In Julia (Binge, Foxtel Now), Lancashire (Happy Valley) plays unlikely American TV sensation Julia Child, a woman who doesn’t fit the mould. Credited with changing the way Americans eat by introducing them to the joys of omelettes and chocolate souffles, Child is portrayed as a spirited ambassador for French cooking and an irresistible life force. The series casts a keen eye on the social attitudes of the early ’60s, particularly in relation to women and people of colour, as well as the priorities that shaped the early days of television.

An acclaimed documentary

• Navalny (DocPlay), Daniel Roher’s profile of the Russian lawyer, opposition leader and anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny now exists as a eulogy as well as a profile in courage. Winner of 2023 Oscar for Best Documentary, it opens with its subject refusing to contemplate the nature of his legacy in the event of his death, as he goes on to detail an attempt to poison him. With his movie-star looks, facility with social media and refusal to be intimidated, he posed a threat to Putin, who reportedly refused to utter his name. This portrait keeps that name in the public consciousness following his tragic death.

An engaging teen drama

• The fish-out-of-water conceit is infused with fresh energy in Surviving Summer (Netflix). When rebellious New York teenager Summer Torres (Sky Katz) is sent to live with family friends in a fictional town on Victoria’s Surf Coast, the resentful teenager sees herself as an exile at the end of the earth. But she soon discovers surfing and finds her tribe in a richly layered series focusing on the trials of adolescence and featuring a vibrant cast and striking surfing scenes.

A rewarding adaptation of a popular book

• The 10-part adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Daisy Jones & the Six (Prime) follows the rise of a California rock band in the ’70s, juxtaposing that heady period with the musicians’ reflections on it 20 years on. Yes, it’s a tale of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, but it’s also an insightful account of group dynamics: the egos, jealousies and rivalries; the differing ambitions and romantic entanglements; the pressures of fame and creativity. Riley Keough is electrifying as the gangly, gifted, mercurial singer-songwriter of the title and Sam Claflin is perfectly cast as the band’s charismatic front-man. Reid’s book was reportedly inspired by Fleetwood Mac and the series delivers a pitch-perfect evocation of the West Coast music scene and a suitably catchy soundtrack by Tom Howe (Ted Lasso, Shrinking).

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