Mercado on TV: Back to the Rafters is safe and familiar…all it needs to be

Back to the Rafters (Amazon Prime) reveals what has happened to Australian drama in the eight years since Packed To The Rafters ended. The Rafters are now shorter (6 episodes instead of 22), streaming instead of airing (but still being made by Seven) and a bit more diverse (with HaiHa Lee and Aaron L. McGrath joining the cast).

Back to the Rafters is set in both the city and the country, familiar territory for writer Bevan Lee who also created the similar Always Greener. All the cast are back except for Jessica Marais but replacement Georgina Haig is good and sounds uncannily like the original Rachel.

Although younger sister Ruby (Willow Speers) is now an Aussie Greta Thunberg, the show neatly sidesteps anything too political while still making some interesting observations. Back to the Rafters is safe and familiar and that’s all it needs to be, because any more reality and Carbo (George Houvardas) would be a looney anti-vaxxer.

It has taken us a long time in Australia to realise the value of reunions. The Brady Bunch has never stopped with the comebacks and it must have set a record for switching genres, what with a cartoon, a variety hour, a drama, three telemovies, two big-screen movies and reality.

Now comes Dragging The Classics: The Brady Bunch (Paramount+) in which former cast members return alongside contestants from RuPaul’s Drag Race to recreate an episode. It is bonkers but thanks to green screen, it looks like it was shot on the original sets. And in case you hadn’t noticed, drag is taking over television.

In Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem (Binge), RuPaul drag queen Jackie Cox dresses up as Lisa Rinna and runs into cop Billie Reed (played by the real Lisa Rinna) who then runs into Kristin Di Mera (Eileen Davidson). Since both actresses are also Real Housewives of Beverly Hills castmates, their big scene together sends up the connection.

In the great tradition of La Cage Aux Folles, Kinky Boots and Priscilla, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (Amazon Prime) is the latest drag musical. Its young drag queen (Max Harwood) gets some great mentoring from fabulous characters played by Sarah Lancashire, Richard E. Grant, Shobna Gulati and Sharon Horgan.

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is gorgeous to look at and its toe-tapping soundtrack is original. Cinderella (Amazon Prime) may have a new feminist twist, but its soundtrack is a lazy jukebox mash-up. Thank goodness they have their own drag queen with Billy Porter from Pose playing the Fairy Godfather.

See also: Read more Mercado on TV columns here

See also: Amazon Prime Video confirms new Back to the Rafters