TV for Sunday, August 2
AMERICA’S GREAT DIVIDE
New Miniseries ★★★½
8.30pm, SBS
Like a condensed, American Road to Now, this two-parter analyses the deepening chasm in voter sentiment, starting at the lead-up to the Obama presidency. Commentators from both camps and from the media offer background and context to tellingly pivotal events. This first part tracks Democrat missteps and the Republican fightback and observes how a shock jock and an Alaskan candidate first harnessed the powerful combination of fear and social media.
SHETLAND
New series ★★★
7.40pm, ABC
All the thrills of the fourth season’s secret-service case in Norway are over and television’s most reserved detectives, Perez (Douglas Henshall) and Tosh (Alison O’Donnell), are back in their starkly beautiful hometown on the Scottish coast. There’s barely time to bemoan their dull domestic problems before a severed hand is washed ashore, prompting a slow and dogged investigation that’s at times a little too faithful to the tedious reality. Quaint colloquialisms (“daft as a door brush”) add a dollop of charm.
AUSTRALIAN NINJA WARRIOR
★★½
7pm, Nine
As with Netflix’s Floor is Lava, it can be strangely mesmerising watching numerous attempts of the same tricky obstacle course. The difference here is that emotional investment is strongly encouraged. In tonight’s heat, eight who’ve made it to previous grand finals vie for the remaining 16 semi-final places, with the two fastest attempting the dreaded Power Tower. Prominent personalities include that of an Irish cattle truck driver from Townsville, a Victorian granddad and a Koori Ninja from WA.