Summer TV viewing

So much TV and so little time. The new year kicks off with this big first episode from TV Gold hosts Andrew Mercado and James Manning. Number of episodes of each show is in brackets.

Run - Binge (6)
Sunny Nights - Stan (8)
Imposter - Paramount+ (4)
Dear Life - Stan (6)
His & Hers - Netflix (6)
Red Eye S2 - Stan (6)
The Night Manager  - Prime (6)
Goolagong - iview (3)
Run Away - Netflix (8)
Plus Andrew on Home & Away cliffhanger and Corriedale

Summer TV viewing
So much TV and so little time. The new year kicks off with this big first episode from TV Gold hosts Andrew Mercado and James Manning. Number of episodes of each show is in brackets.
Run - Binge (6) Sunny Nights - Stan (8) Imposter - Paramount+ (4) Dear Life - Stan (6) His &amp; Hers - Netflix (6) Red Eye S2 - Stan (6) The Night Manager&nbsp; - Prime (6) Goolagong - iview (3) Run Away - Netflix (8) Plus Andrew on Home &amp; Away cliffhanger and Corriedale

Welcome to the TV Gold podcast from Andrew Mercado and James Manning. A podcast for people who love great television.

Hear the latest from the world of TV, radio, entertainment publishing and more in the Mediaweek podcast. This series features regular interviews with the stars, movers and shakers of Australian media industry.

TV Gold

Summer 2026: The Night Manager S2, Goolagong, Dear Life, The Imposter and much more

The Madison (Paramount+, 12 eps)
The Madison is new from Taylor Sheridan and stars Michelle Pfeiffer as Stacy Clyburn, a ritzy New York City philanthropist and the matriarch of the successful Clyburn family. She seems intent to quit city living for the wilds of Montana after an event sees her questioning her life in New York.

Scarpetta (Prime, 8 eps)
Nicole Kidman is forensic pathologist Dr. Kay Scarpetta who returns to her position as Virginia's Chief Medical Examiner, where she investigates a  murder with eerie reminders from her first big case decades ago. Scarpetta works alongside former detective Pete Marino (Bobby Cannavale) and her now husband FBI Agent Benton Wesley (Simon Baker) as they investigate a brutal strangling. Playing Kidman’s sister and Cannavale’s wife is Jamie Lee Curtis as a successful children’s author Dorothy who starts the series sharing a house with Scarpetta.

Vladimir (Netflix, 8 eps)
Who would have thought – two comedies sent in literature classes in small US colleges in two weeks on the TV Gold podcast. (We reviewed Rooster last episode.)
Vladimir follows an unnamed, middle-aged protagonist (Rachel Weisz) who is a writer, professor, wife, and mom. As her life unravels, she becomes obsessed with a captivating new colleague, the eponymous Vladimir (Leo Woodall), at the small liberal arts college where she’s worked for decades. The cast are brilliant including John Slattery who plays the philandering college professor husband of Weisz’s character.

The Madison (Paramount+, 12 eps) The Madison is new from Taylor Sheridan and stars Michelle Pfeiffer as Stacy Clyburn, a ritzy New York City philanthropist and the matriarch of the successful Clyburn family. She seems intent to quit city living for the wilds of Montana after an event sees her questioning her life in New York.
Scarpetta (Prime, 8 eps) Nicole Kidman is forensic pathologist Dr. Kay Scarpetta who returns to her position as Virginia's Chief Medical Examiner, where she investigates a&nbsp; murder with eerie reminders from her first big case decades ago. Scarpetta works alongside former detective Pete Marino (Bobby Cannavale) and her now husband FBI Agent Benton Wesley (Simon Baker) as they investigate a brutal strangling. Playing Kidman&rsquo;s sister and Cannavale&rsquo;s wife is Jamie Lee Curtis as a successful children&rsquo;s author Dorothy who starts the series sharing a house with Scarpetta.
Vladimir (Netflix, 8 eps) Who would have thought &ndash; two comedies sent in literature classes in small US colleges in two weeks on the TV Gold podcast. (We reviewed Rooster last episode.) Vladimir follows an unnamed, middle-aged protagonist (Rachel Weisz) who is a writer, professor, wife, and mom. As her life unravels, she becomes obsessed with a captivating new colleague, the eponymous Vladimir (Leo Woodall), at the small liberal arts college where she&rsquo;s worked for decades. The cast are brilliant including John Slattery who plays the philandering college professor husband of Weisz&rsquo;s character.

The Madison, Scarpetta, Vladimir 

DTF St Louis (HBO Max, 7 eps)
A limited series about a love triangle between three adults experiencing middle-age malaise that leads to one of them ending up dead.
Jason Bateman plays Clark Forrest, a St Louis TV weatherman, who rides a recumbent bicycle everywhere he goes - even to a murder scene apparently which makes him a prime suspect.
David Harbour is sign language interpreter Floyd Smernitch who forms a bond with the weatherman after they narrowly avoid serious injury during an outside broadcast during a storm.
But the real star of the series just could be Linda Cardellini as Floyd’s wife Carol.

Rooster (HBO Max, 10 eps)
A comedy set on a college campus about best-selling author Rooster (Steve Carell) and his complicated relationship with his daughter Katie (Charly Clive). A great supporting cast includes Phil Dunster as Katie’s estranged husband and John C McGinley as the president of Ludlow College. A comedy that delivers plenty of laughs.

Marshals (Paramount+, 13 episodes)
Marshals is the first Yellowstone spinoff featuring characters from the series. Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone son Kayce Dutton (played by Luke Grimes) is facing life after the death of his wife Monica, a Broken Rock native. A former Navy SEAL colleague arrives at his farm and offers him a roll with the US Marshals. What will Kayce do?

Also this TV Gold episode, Andrew Mercado on the rebooted Scrubs (Disney+), and James Manning on the Paul McCartney doco Man on the Run (Prime).

Finally, both hosts look at the final episode of Under Salt Marsh (Binge/Foxtel) and report if the episode that promised so much made sticking with the series worthwhile.

DTF St Louis (HBO Max, 7 eps) A limited series about a love triangle between three adults experiencing middle-age malaise that leads to one of them ending up dead. Jason Bateman plays Clark Forrest, a St Louis TV weatherman, who rides a recumbent bicycle everywhere he goes - even to a murder scene apparently which makes him a prime suspect. David Harbour is sign language interpreter Floyd Smernitch who forms a bond with the weatherman after they narrowly avoid serious injury during an outside broadcast during a storm. But the real star of the series just could be Linda Cardellini as Floyd&rsquo;s wife Carol.
Rooster (HBO Max, 10 eps) A comedy set on a college campus about best-selling author Rooster (Steve Carell) and his complicated relationship with his daughter Katie (Charly Clive). A great supporting cast includes Phil Dunster as Katie&rsquo;s estranged husband and John C McGinley as the president of Ludlow College. A comedy that delivers plenty of laughs.
Marshals (Paramount+, 13 episodes) Marshals is the first Yellowstone spinoff featuring characters from the series. Kevin Costner&rsquo;s Yellowstone son Kayce Dutton (played by Luke Grimes) is facing life after the death of his wife Monica, a Broken Rock native. A former Navy SEAL colleague arrives at his farm and offers him a roll with the US Marshals. What will Kayce do?
Also this TV Gold episode, Andrew Mercado on the rebooted Scrubs (Disney+), and James Manning on the Paul McCartney doco Man on the Run (Prime).
Finally, both hosts look at the final episode of Under Salt Marsh (Binge/Foxtel) and report if the episode that promised so much made sticking with the series worthwhile.

DTF St Louis, Rooster, Marshals, Scrubs, Under Salt Marsh finale

This week on the TV Gold podcast:

The Lady (Binge/Foxtel, 4 episodes)
Produced by Left Bank Pictures (makers of The Crown), the series is a true-crime drama based on the life of Jane Andrews, a working-class woman who became the dresser and confidante to Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, but was later convicted of murdering her partner, Thomas Cressman, in 2000. Brilliant performance from Mia McKenna-Bruce as Jane.

How to Get to Heaven from Belfast (Netflix, 8 episodes)
The dark comedy-crime thriller series was created by Lisa McGee (Derry Girls) and tells the story of three lifelong friends in their late 30s who embark on a chaotic "odyssey" across Ireland to investigate the mysterious death of an estranged childhood friend.

The Walsh Sisters (Stan, 6 episodes)
Set in Dublin, the series follows the chaotic, dysfunctional, yet deeply loyal Walsh family. The story revolves around five sisters—Anna, Rachel, Maggie, Claire, and Helen—as they navigate the complexities of adulthood in their 20s and 30s. Based on characters from the novels of Marian Keyes.

This week on the TV Gold podcast:
The Lady (Binge/Foxtel, 4 episodes) Produced by Left Bank Pictures (makers of The Crown), the series is a true-crime drama based on the life of Jane Andrews, a working-class woman who became the dresser and confidante to Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, but was later convicted of murdering her partner, Thomas Cressman, in 2000. Brilliant performance from Mia McKenna-Bruce as Jane.
How to Get to Heaven from Belfast (Netflix, 8 episodes) The dark comedy-crime thriller series was created by Lisa McGee (Derry Girls) and tells the story of three lifelong friends in their late 30s who embark on a chaotic "odyssey" across Ireland to investigate the mysterious death of an estranged childhood friend.
The Walsh Sisters (Stan, 6 episodes) Set in Dublin, the series follows the chaotic, dysfunctional, yet deeply loyal Walsh family. The story revolves around five sisters&mdash;Anna, Rachel, Maggie, Claire, and Helen&mdash;as they navigate the complexities of adulthood in their 20s and 30s. Based on characters from the novels of Marian Keyes.

Summer 2026: The Night Manager S2, Goolagong, Dear Life, The Imposter and much more

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