Mercado on TV: What’s the best drama after Mare of Easttown wrapped?

Now that Mare of Easttown (Binge) has come to an end, what’s the next big mystery series starring an A-list actress? How about Julianne Moore in Lisey’s Story (Apple TV+)? The J.J. Abrams miniseries is written by Stephen King and he appears to be the only armchair critic to have guessed who the Mare of Easttown killer really was.

Lisey’s Story is a psychological thriller about the widow of a famous author. Lisey (Julianne Moore) is struggling with her family’s mental health issues, with her sisters being played by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Joan Allen, while her dead (and maybe ghost) husband is played by Clive Owen.

Just like Kate Winslet and Guy Pearce reuniting in Mare of Easttown after first doing Mildred Pierce (2011) together, Julianne Moore is back working with Clive Owen after they previously made Children of Men (2006). Lisey’s Story is creepy and trippy stuff and its dreamlike quality should hook you in.

Ms. Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries (Acorn TV) is back for a second series but it’s not on Seven anymore. Acorn TV loves its Aussie dramas, having established itself in the US as the place to see such series as A Place To Call Home, Janet King and 800 Words. Locally, Ms Fisher will sit comfortably at home amongst a British line-up dominated by crime series.

It is impossible to miss that Ms. Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries is set in the eye-popping 1960s. Peregrine Fisher (Geraldine Hakewill) trowels on so much blue eye shadow, she could almost be a drag queen at Les Girls. Fans will overlook that though so long as her heavy petting romance with Detective James Steed (Joel Jackson) continues.

The Weakest Link (Nine) might be struggling, but Foxtel is banking on quiz shows from overseas to anchor a new night of programming. Celebrity Family Feud (Sunday on Arena) has guests like Curtis Stone and Dr Phil, while Match Game (Sunday on Arena) features celebrities like Rosie O’Donnell and Leah Rimini.

Match Game is better known to Aussie viewers as Blankety Blanks and while host Alec Baldwin does a pretty good job, he is no Graham Kennedy (1977). Then again, neither was Daryl Somers (1985) and Shane Bourne (1996) who headlined disastrous revivals after The King. Maybe a new version of Blankety Blanks would have been a better fit for Magda Szubanski?

Viewers might be overwhelmed this Saturday with The Fast and the Furious and 2 Fast 2 Furious on Seven from 7.30pm, and then from 8.30pm on Foxtel Movies Action, while Nine screens Fast & Furious 7 at 8.40pm. Why not watch Australia’s Biggest Singalong (Saturday on SBS) instead and wait for Fast & Furious 9 in cinemas from June 17.

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