Settle in with Sundance

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This article was published 31/10/2020 (1778 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Welcome to Don’t Sleep on This, a semi-regular series in which we offer up (spoiler-free) recommendations of the shows you should be watching.

Feel as if you’ve scrolled through everything Netflix has to offer? Prime’s menu seeming a little… sub-prime?

Winnipeggers are, essentially, about to be locked down under code red pandemic restrictions Monday and Manitobans elsewhere are being encouraged ever more strongly to stay home, so it’s the perfect time to check out streaming service Sundance Now, which offers a seven-day free trial.

It’s available as a stand-alone app, but also as an additional channel if you subscribe to Prime.

The offerings skew European, with lots of British shows, as well as the de rigueur Nordic noir, but they’re not all the obscure indie fare one might expect. The channel offers some solidly crowd-pleasing series along with the prestige offerings.

 

If you like Downton Abbey…

The Restaurant

No. of seasons: 3

Most Nordic shows that make their way to North America seem to be crime-based series featuring brooding detectives and wintry settings, so The Restaurant, a period piece that’s a sprawling family epic, is a nice change of pace.

This addictive Swedish drama starts just as the Second World War is ending, and follows the Löwander family and their employees at their swank but dated Stockholm restaurant.

Like Downton Abbey, a lot of the conflict in the storylines revolves around class, especially the budding romance between beautiful Nina Löwander and the restaurant’s young sous chef, Calle Svensson, who hails from decidedly less elevated circumstances. And as in Downton, much of the drama is small and domestic — sibling rivalry, squabbles over kitchen hierarchy, infighting over whether the resto should book newfangled jazz acts — but no less effective for that. It also tackles bigger societal issues, such as abortion, addiction, immigration and the labour movement.

As the show progresses, each season jumps ahead in time; it’s handsomely shot and the period costumes, especially for the chic Nina, are divine. It’s got romance, melodrama and, of course, lots of food (though perhaps more herring than most people enjoy).

 

If you like true crime…

Des

No. of seasons: 1

Despite the familiar, first-name-basis title, you won’t know notorious British serial killer Dennis (Des) Nilsen any better after watching all three episodes of this miniseries. In fact, it’s the rare true-crime title that could actually stand to be expanded a few more episodes, as there’s a lot to dig into with the story of Nilsen, who was convicted of the murder of six young men and the attempted murder of two more, but who claimed to have killed up to 15.

Nilsen’s crimes took place in London in the ’80s, when massive unemployment saw many people become homeless. His victims were mostly gay men who were “sleeping rough” and were easily enticed to his flat, where he plied them with alcohol and then strangled and/or drowned them. He dressed the bodies and placed them in chairs in his sitting room, before eventually disposing of them.

The predictably excellent David Tennant plays Des as a blank-eyed, clearly intelligent but oddly tetchy fellow, utterly matter-of-fact about his nefarious deeds. The stellar cast also includes Daniel Mays (Line of Duty) as the dogged inspector haunted by his inability to name all the victims, and Jason Watkins (The Crown) as biographer Brian Masters, who enters into a queasy bargain with the killer. (The series is based on his book, Killing for Company.)

More exploration of Nilsen’s background wouldn’t go amiss, and a deeper dive into the societal circumstances — homophobia among them — that allowed him to kill with such impunity, and for his victims to remain unclaimed by family or friends, would be welcome, but Des is still compelling television.

Note: the details of Nilsen’s crimes are horrendous; this show is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach.

 

 

If you like The Good Wife…

The Split

No. of seasons: 2

Written by Abi Morgan (The Hour, The Iron Lady), this entertaining British dramedy stars the peerless Nicola Walker (River, Last Tango in Halifax) as Hannah Stern, a high-powered divorce lawyer who has left the family firm, where her mother and sister still work, for a bigger, more corporate law office.

The Split blends case-of-the-week intrigue — Hannah deals with thorny divorces for high-profile clients and the intricacies of the legal wranglings are fascinating — with domestic drama that includes infidelity, weddings, family business and bankruptcy.

The cast is wonderful, especially Stephen Mangan (Episodes) as Hannah’s husband and stage actress Deborah Findlay as her mother, a hard-headed lawyer who still hasn’t recovered from her husband leaving her.

In the grand tradition of English TV, Season 1 is just six episodes — totally bingeable if you only have a seven-day free trial.

 

 

If you hate long commitments…

The State of the Union

No. of seasons: 1

This utterly charming bite-sized series sees the team behind the film High Fidelity (writer Nick Hornby, director Stephen Frears) reunited for a two-hander about marriage that’s acerbic, witty and bittersweet. It’s easily consumed in one gulp — there are 10 episodes, each just 10 minutes long — but it’s so satisfying, you’ll want want to mete it out in small doses.

Tom and Louise (Chris O’Dowd and Rosamund Pike) meet once at a week at the pub across the street from their marriage therapist’s office to have a quick pint (him) and dry white (her) before entering the lion’s den.

It’s all talk, talk, talk as the couple poke at old wounds, bickering and bantering and assessing blame; they both know exactly where the other’s weak spot is.

O’Dowd, as a rumpled, unemployed music writer, is reliably delightful, but it’s Pike who’s the real revelation here. She tends toward chilly reserve (Gone Girl) but her Louise, a gerontologist, is warm and rueful.

It’s very Hornby-esque but not laddish — the viewer’s allegiances will shift in each episode, as O’Dowd and Pike create flawed, not-always-likable characters, whose spiky but loving interaction will ring true to anyone who’s been in a long-term relationship.

 

If you like nighttime soap operas…

The sudsy Australian drama Bad Mothers kicks off — shades of Desperate Housewives — with a murdered queen bee mum, Charlotte (Melissa George). The immaculately pantsuited head of the Bedford Mothers Club is found dead at the foot of the stairs in her opulent suburban home, and the prime suspect is the husband of her best friend, Sarah (Tess Haubrich), a star chef.

The Desperate Housewives comparisons don’t end there, as the series delves into the secrets suburban moms hide under their coiffed and put-together veneers. Affairs, back-stabbing, child care and lots and lots of day drinking are the backdrop for Sarah’s investigation of who really killed Charlotte. The actresses have an easy, believable chemistry and the characters’ clothes and houses are enviable.

It’s frothy, distracting fun that’s just the ticket in this time of climbing COVID numbers and constant worry.

 

jill.wilson@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @dedaumier