Who – August 24, 2019

THE

It seemstobetheweekforhard-hittingdramasabout

highschoolscandals.FollowingTheHunting(seefeature

onp84)andEuphoria(continuesMon.,Aug.5 at9.30;

FoxShowcase),thisHBOtelemoviecoverssimilarterrain,

depictingthefalloutfroma sexualassaultagainst

Mandy(Barreto),a videoofwhichissharedamongher

classmates.AsMandy,whosememoryoftheincidentis

hazy,triestoprocesstheviolationthathastakenplace,

wealsoseethereactionoffamily,friendsandtheschool

community.Grittyandalltoorealistic. (Airs

Mon., Aug. 5 at 7.30pm; Fox Showcase)

THEROOKIE STARRING:NathanFillion,AlyssaDiaz,EricWinter

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STARRING: Rhianne Barreto

TV

“Not everybody

can relate to being

cops,” Fillion says,

“But people can

certainly relate to

a do-over.”

In The Rookie’s first scene, John Nolan holds

his divorce papers and gets pistol-whipped

by a bank robber. Rough couple of minutes

– but John is played by Fillion, so you can’t

help but be charmed. Fillion became an old-

fashioned TV star across years of Castle, and

the good thing about The Rookie is how

effectively a similar-but-different vehicle has

been conjured to showcase his charisma.

Unlike Castle’s fantasy of sleuthdom, John

joins the LAPD as a fortysomething street

cop, and the reality leaves him gasping for air.

“Personal reinvention via law enforcement”

sounds like a cheap pitch, and other characters

are sceptical of John. His sergeant (Richard

T Jones) thinks he’s a walking midlife crisis

and his training officer, Talia Bishop (Afton

Williamson), thinks he’s a career roadblock.

The other good thing about The Rookie: it

isn’t just Nathan Fillion Solves Crimes. The

pilot establishes his fellow newbies – no-bull

Lucy (Melissa O’Neil) and legacy cop Jackson

(Titus Makin) – as full-fledged characters

with their own talents and struggles. Another

training officer, Angela (Diaz), has a friendly

rivalry with Bishop.

The pilot episode is a grab bag of loopy

Los Angeles criminality: man having a

breakdown on Hollywood Boulevard, missing

child locked in a car mid-heatwave, cop car

copulation. The tone veers, sometimes madly,

between humane cleverness and speechy

solemnity. But this feels like an ensemble

with real potential. At one point, long day

done, the rookie cops flee to a karaoke joint.

LucyandJacksonduetonRihanna– and

Johnjustsitspatiently,enjoyingtheshow

liketherestofus. (Starts Mon.,

Aug. 5 at 8.30pm; Seven)

The34-year-oldhosts

AACTAShorts+ WebFest

at the Factory Theatre,

Sydney (on Fri., Aug. 30

and Sat., Aug. 31) andtells

us about the last ...

... short film she loved

A film called Shiny at

Tropfest a few years ago.

Think stop-motion

animation with tiny

clothes. I’d never seen

anything like it.

... film she cut short by

leaving the cinema

I’ve never left a cinema

mid-film because of the

humiliation I’d endure if

anyone saw me leave early

... time she wore shorts

I attempted to wear shorts

yesterday because I have

no respect for Sydney

winters.I lasted

beforepartsof

turned blue.

... show shebi

watched

A Netflix docus

Killer Ratingsab

crime showho

who allegedly

murders toboo

show’s ratings.

... disastershe

in the kitchen

Every singletim

I put toastinth

toaster, it burn

... movie that

inspired her

Speed. It inspir

me to google

Keanu Reeves

for the next

four hours and

I regret nothing

s

.

Last

JAN FRAN ord

TV

d 20 minutes

fmyleg

nge

seriescalled

boutaTV

stinBrazil

staged

osthis

ehad

me

he

s.

ed

g.