Critic's Choice: Inside No. 9 is an unnerving masterpiece
KINNE TONIGHT Series premiere ★★★
Monday (May 27), 10pm, Ten
In the parlance of the 7mate comic, himself, Troy Kinne is "having a crack" at a weekly late-night spot with a fresh assemblage of pre-recorded sketches that riff off the hypotheticals mates might ponder over pots. "Inappropriate moments in which to genuinely choke on your drink" is one that works nicely. A product of Ten's Pilot Week, this promises belly laughs at the madness of modern life. He closes tonight with an Uber-inspired rap.
INSIDE NO. 9 ★★★★★
Tuesday (May 28), 9.45pm, ABC Comedy
Sheridan Smith (Cleaning Up) gives an incredible performance as a woman whose life seems inexplicably fragmented in this haunting piece of theatre from the League of Gentleman duo, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, both of whom also appear. When the pieces slot together in the final scene, it's clear what a masterpiece this is. Like Smith's confused protagonist, it's hard to know what's coming inside these unnerving No. 9s.
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? ★★★
Tuesday (May 28), 7.30pm, SBS
How wonderful for singer Casey Donovan to discover her ancestral roots at an age much tenderer than many of her fellow genealogical travellers. She is a curious explorer, walking the parallel but polar opposite paths of her Irish maternal forbears and her Indigenous paternal ones. Hers is a powerful journey of reconnection with a culture almost foreign to her, where she finds a strong long-ago woman to sing her home.
PAY TV 26 MAY
MAGNUM PI New series ★★★
Sunday 26 May 8.30pm, Fox8
Can you even be Magnum PI if you don't have an enormous, glossy, porn star 'tache? It's certainly difficult to take Jay Hernandez seriously in the role in this otherwise appealing reboot. He's charming enough, and he's certainly good-looking, but he just feels a little slight. Elsewhere, though, there's fun to be had: Rick and TC are well cast, Mr Higgins is now a formidable Ms, and the action is deliciously ludicrous. Even more importantly - like the original – this doesn't take itself too seriously. MH