Loveday Writing

I wanted to take a different approach with this year’s blog post. I’ve been reviewing TV shows and web series for seven years now, the shows and web series are listed below:

1. After the Verdict
2. Aftertaste
3. Almost Family
4. Amazing Grace
5. Bad Mothers
6. Bite Club
7. Charmed (Reboot)
8. Doctor Doctor
9. Fisk
10. Five Bedrooms
11. Harrow
12. Here Come the Habibs
13. House Husbands
14. How to Stay Married
15. Hyde & Seek
16. Love Child
17. Lucy & DiC (web series)
18. Minx
19. Mr. Black
20. Ms. Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries
21. My Life Is Murder
22. Playing for Keeps
23. RFDS
24. Sando
25. Scrubs: Interns (web series)
26. Seachange (Reboot)
27. Sisters
28. Speechless
29. Squinters
30. Street Smart
31. Summer Love
32. The Good Place
33. The Good Place Presents: The Selection (web series)
34. The Newsreader
35. The Secret Daughter
36. The Time Traveler’s Wife
37. The Wrong Girl
38. Upload

Before addressing the Previews edition, I wanted to address these TV shows and web series I’ve already reviewed/been reviewing.

After the Verdict is one of the newest shows I’ve reviewed, with its first season airing last year. I haven’t heard any news on whether it’s been renewed for a second season and it wasn’t included in this year’s Previews edition.

I reviewed the second season of Aftertaste last year, however it wasn’t included in this year’s Previews edition and there’s been no news on whether it’s been renewed.

U.S. series, Almost Family (which is a remake of the Australian series, Sisters), was cancelled after one season. Sisters was also cancelled after airing one season.

Amazing Grace was cancelled after one season.

Bad Mothers aired their first and so far only season in 2019, there’s been no news of its renewal or cancellation, however since it has been four years since the first season aired, it’s unlikely that there will be another one. The same can be said for Bite Club, with one season of the show airing in 2018 with no news of its renewal or cancellation, but no episodes haven’t aired since either.

The Charmed (Reboot) aired its fourth and final season last year and Doctor Doctor also concluded, albeit the year before the Charmed (Reboot).

I reviewed Fisk’s second season at the end of last year, however there’s been no news of whether it’s been renewed for a third season, and it wasn’t included in the Previews edition.

Five Bedrooms was renewed for a fourth season in May last year and was included in the Previews edition, but only a paragraph was devoted to it:

“Without a doubt, this is one of TV’s most underrated dramas. A lot has changed since the original five friends moved in together, but as season four begins, a lot is still the same. Share-house life is still all about who does which chores, who gets the best room, and we still-still!-don’t know what’s going on with Heather (Doris Younane) and Ben’s (Stephen Peacocke) romance. Come on guys – sort yourselves out!”

This paragraph really didn’t provide many hints or details on what the fourth season would focus on, other than a hint at a focus on Heather and Ben’s relationship, which ended in the previous season, after Ben cheated on Heather with his ex-wife. However, I am looking forward to reviewing the fourth season when it eventually airs.

Harrow aired its third season in 2021 and there’s been no episodes or news of its renewal or cancellation since.

Here Come the Habibs was cancelled after airing two seasons and House Husbands was cancelled after airing five seasons. How to Stay Married was cancelled after airing three seasons, Hyde & Seek was cancelled after airing one season, and Love Child was cancelled after airing four seasons.

Interestingly, U.S. series, Minx, was renewed for a second season by HBO Max in May last year, only to be cancelled as the second season was in production, in December. Thankfully, it was picked up by Starz last month, shortly after the second season’s production had wrapped. Minx wasn’t included in the Previews edition, however the first season is available to watch in Australia on Stan, and I’m looking forward to reviewing the second season when it’s eventually released.

Mr. Black aired one season in 2019 and no episodes have aired since, and there’s also been no news of the show’s cancellation or renewal. I reviewed Ms. Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries’ second season last year, however there’s been no news on whether it’s been renewed and it wasn’t included in the Previews edition. I also reviewed the third season of My Life Is Murder last year and there’s also been no news of whether it’s been renewed for a fourth season, and it wasn’t included in the Previews edition. Playing for Keeps was cancelled after airing two seasons.

RFDS was included in the Previews edition, however only a couple of paragraphs were devoted to what was in store for its second season and it was mostly information that was already known, such as the show’s premise and its returning cast (which is the majority of the first season’s cast). The only hint of what is in store for the second season is that the returning characters “will face more personal challenges than ever before.”

Sando was cancelled after airing one season in 2018 and the Seachange (Reboot) aired one season, with no news of its renewal or cancellation, but also no new episodes since 2019. U.S. series, Speechless, was cancelled after airing three seasons, and Squinters aired two seasons but hasn’t aired any episodes since, and there’s been no news of its renewal or cancellation. Street Smart was cancelled after airing one season.

Summer Love is one of the newest shows I’ve reviewed and it wasn’t mentioned in the Previews edition. This show was unique as it was an anthology series and because of this, I’d be surprised if it was renewed for a second season. U.S. series, The Good Place, ended after airing four seasons.

The Newsreader was renewed in March last year and was included in the Previews edition. There were only a couple of paragraphs dedicated to it, with one paragraph summarising the first season, however the second paragraph provided details on what’s in store for the second season:

“Season two sees the ‘golden couple of news’ in the media spotlight, being asked if there’s a wedding on the way. Their relationship drama plays out against the backdrop of the Hoddle Street shooting, the Black Monday stock market crash, and the 1987 federal election.”

Unlike the Five Bedrooms and RFDS paragraphs, this one actually provided solid details of what’s in store for the second season, and I’m looking forward to reviewing it when it eventually airs on the ABC.

The Secret Daughter was cancelled after airing two seasons. The Time Traveler’s Wife was cancelled after airing only one season last year, which was a shame as I felt it had so much potential.  While there’s been no official cancellation or renewal of The Wrong Girl, as one of its stars, Craig McLachlan, was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women, including one of The Wrong Girl co-stars, Christi Whelan Browne, and it’s been over five years since the second season aired, it’s highly unlikely to return.

Upload was renewed for a third season in May last year, however it wasn’t included in the Previews edition.

I’ve reviewed three web series so far: Lucy and DiC, Scrubs: Interns, and The Good Place Presents: The Selection. There will be a second season of Lucy and DiC that will be released at some point but I’m not sure when, however, Scrubs: Interns and The Good Place Presents: The Selection were one-off web series, and the original series that they were spin-offs of have ended.

In terms of new shows in the Previews edition, I found 11 shows that I’m interested in seeing, possibly for reviewing:

1. Mother and Son
2. Warnie
3. The Claremont Murders
4. Bay of Fires
5. Heat
6. Paper Dolls
7. Human Error
8. While the Men are Away
9. The Messenger
10. Safe Home
11. In Limbo

Mother and Son, which will air on the ABC, is a reboot. The original version of Mother and Son aired from 1984 until 1994, with the reboot, Matt Okine and Denise Scott are taking on the roles made famous by Garry McDonald and Ruth Cracknell, respectively. Judging by the Previews edition stating that in the show, journalist Arthur, “moves in with his mother, Maggie, after his marriage break down”, it looks like the reboot will possibly not be all that different in its premise and characters than the original series.

Warnie, a two-part drama that will air on the Nine Network, will take viewers back to Shane Warne’s early days and show the many ups and downs of his career. The Previews edition stated that the work started on the two-part drama shortly after Warne’s death and in collaboration with his family, however the edition also stated that despite this, the show wouldn’t sugar coat over his flaws that “made him so relatable”.

The Claremont Murders is a drama that will air on the Seven Network and is based on the real-life investigation into the disappearance of three young women: Sarah Spiers, Jane Rimmer, and Ciara Glennon in Perth in 1996 and 1997.

Bay of Fires is a crime thriller that will air on the ABC and will star Marta Dusseldorp as Stella, a single mother who finds herself in a remote part of Tasmania and her presence “will trigger an unsettling series of events.”

Heat is a drama that will air on Network 10 and the Previews edition actually provided a bit of an in-depth description of the show’s premise:

“When two families head off on a summer holiday together, things are already tense – all seem to have secrets they’d rather not reveal and all are worried the time together could explode. But what explodes instead is the tinder-dry countryside around them as a bushfire traps them, with only the slimmest chance of survival.”

Paper Dolls is another drama that will air on Network 10 and will focus on the formation of a girl band, Indigo, via a TV reality show in 2000. The show takes inspiration from the formation of the girl band, Bardot, with one of its former members, Belinda Chapple, on the show’s creative team.

Human Error is a crime drama that will air on the Nine Network that is also inspired by real-life events. The crime drama follows detective “Holly O’Rourke in a murder investigation that will upend her entire life.”

While the Men are Away, an SBS comedy drama, is a “fresh take on the WWII era…and centres on members of the Women’s Land Army in 1940s rural Australia.”

The Messenger is an ABC drama that will focus on Ed Kennedy, who starts “receiving messages from the universe that steer him to the right place at the right time to make things better, is he hearing from God? Or is there a darker agenda?”

Safe Home is an SBS drama that will focus on Phoebe who is on a “promising path to being a top lawyer. But when she decides to leave it all behind to pursue work at a family violence legal centre, she finds out not everyone is as they seem.”

Finally, In Limbo, an ABC comedy, will focus on Charlie dealing with the sudden death of his best friend and the grief that comes with it, which includes continuing to interact with his bestie, even if he’s a ghost now.

In all honesty, I was again disappointed with the Previews edition this year due to the small paragraphs dedicated to shows not really providing a lot of insight of what is in store, as well as the constantly big focus on reality shows. However, like always, I am looking forward to seeing and reviewing new seasons of the shows I’ve reviewed, as well as checking out and reviewing new shows.