The Playlist

Series creator and show runner Marc Cherry joins Fiona to talk all things 'Why Women Kill', as we get set for the premiere of season two on SBS and On Demand in January. We talk 'Desperate Housewives', the origins of his love of froth and drama, and he many that ways his late mother continues to inspire him. A must listen for fans of 'Why Women Kill', of great TV writing, and 'The Golden Girls'. Catch season one of 'Why Women Kill' at SBS On Demand. 

We're back with a companion to 'La Fortuna', SBS Australia's sweeping 6-part adventure-drama, written and directed by Oscar-winning Chilean-Spanish director, Alejandro Amenábar. The story spans two continents, and stars Stanley Tucci as a treasure hunter with a dubious moral compass, whose actions provoke a high profile international maritime legal case about the right to claim historical artefacts. Alejandro Amenábar joins Fiona to talk about making the switch from film to TV, and bringing La Fortuna to the screen. It's a fascinating companion to the series, which is now streaming in full at SBS On Demand. 

We're back with a companion to 'Muhammad Ali', an epic 4-part documentary biography of one of the best-known men of the 20th century. Fiona is joined by Sarah Burns and David McMahon, co-directors, co-producers, and writers of the epic series which screens across SBS this month, and will stream at SBS On Demand. It's a fascinating conversation about how they and co-director Ken Burns approached the task of telling the definitive story of the three-time heavyweight boxing champion who, at the height of his fame, took American life — the racism, the religious biases, the role of celebrities, the role of sports in society — and refashioned it in his own image.

It's the end of an era as we break into Ben's last day at SBS to record his final episode of 'The Playlist'. We're not crying, you're crying. Instead, we're breaking into song as we celebrate movie musicals. Ben's also been watching 'Loki' and does his best to explain the plot (a trouper to the end). Then when we can't avoid the subject of his leaving any longer, Ben reflects back on the shows he's most proud of helping to get on screen, in his role as SBS and SBS Viceland Channel Manager.

French cinema great Julie Delpy joins us on this week's show to talk about her latest film, 'My Zoe'. which offers a unique take on motherhood than we're used to seeing on screen. Then Ben and Fiona convene the Jean Smart Appreciation Society, on the strength of Mare of Easttown and Hacks. Then they share what they've been watching at SBS On Demand.

In this episode we take a walk down the New York City catwalk with Ewan McGregor in Netflix's series on fashion designer 'Halston', take a trip on 'The Underground Railroad' in Barry Jenkins' adaptation of the 2016 novel for Amazon, and binge on the final season of Aidy Bryant's 'Shrill' on SBS On Demand.

This episode, Fiona and Ben are dissecting a very different Oscars ceremony this year, picking out the highlights and lowlights, evaluating the winners and losers, and asking if the Academy Awards continue to matter? Plus Fiona has an interview with Andra Day, the Oscar-nominated star of 'The United States vs. Billie Holiday'. And Fiona and Ben offer up their SBS On Demand Picks: 'See What You Made Me Do' and a new season of 'The Handmaid's Tale'.

This episode we're in a technologically designated mood for love, as we discuss a trio of shows imagining the next step in relationships - 'Made For Love' (Stan/HBO Max), along with 'Soulmates' (Amazon Prime/AMC) and 'The One' (Netflix). Fiona also speaks to Harry Macqueen the director of a new melancholy relationship road movie starring Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth - 'Supernova'. And we offer up our SBS On Demand Picks: 'Deadwater Fell' and 'Support the Girls'.

Zack Snyder's fans demanded that his vision be set free from meddling studio execs and the gun-for-hire director who replaced him on 'Justice League', and Warner Bros. listened. Was it worth it? And Fiona and Ben descend down a dark path of exposing institutional corruption, in the Oscar-nominated investigative documentary 'Collective', the second season of true crime series 'Exposed: The Ghost Train Fire', the hit British police procedural 'Line of Duty', and 'Infernal Affairs' among other must-see Hong Kong flicks available on SBS On Demand.

With Oscar nominations around the corner, we take a look at awards season as it hits full swing including the recent Golden Globes, and with Harry and Meghan's royal sit down interview with Oprah capturing the world we look at what the recent trend of celeb exposes says about our fascination with fame. And in What Have You Been Watching we dissect the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe foray into the small screen - in what is very much a celebration of the small screen - in 'Wandavision'.

Today we're joined by the one and only Mads Mikkelsen, who jumps on a Zoom call with Fiona, to talk about his star turn as a day-drinking teacher in Thomas Vinterberg's Another Round. How much is too much when you play drunk on screen? How did the team overcome a personal tragedy to pick up and carry on with the film's production? What does he recall of making 'Unit One' - a 2000s detective series that's just dropped at SBS On Demand, and what does he watch in his downtime? This one's a must-listen to all the Mads Mikkelsen completists out there. Don't miss it.

In our first The Playlist for the year, we take a look at 'Minari' - the story of a Korean migrant family attempting to start afresh in rural Arkansas - which is attracting plenty of awards season buzz - and Fiona speaks with the film's writer/director Lee Isaac Chung. We also think back on the year that was, and what's exciting us for the year ahead.

Fiona speaks to Brandon Cronenberg, the writer/director of new sci fi horror flick 'Possessor' starring Andrea Riseborough and Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ben takes a look at the new season of The Crown with Olivia Colman and Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher, as Prince Charles finds his Princess and lives happily ever after (maybe?), and in a very special wedding edition of What Have You Been Watching, Fiona and Ben compare notes on their favourite wedding movies.

Fiona speaks to the stars of Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino's ('Call Me By Your Name') first foray into television 'We Are Who We Are', we chat about political coverage in the media including the ABC's flagship current affairs program '4 Corners' which made waves with its recent report "Inside the Canberra Bubble", Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant tell one another big little lies in new drama 'The Undoing' and we offer some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content picks for what to watch on SBS On Demand.

Fiona speaks to director Jeremy Sims about his new Aussie flick 'Rams' with Sam Neill and Michael Caton, a remake of the Icelandic hit, we catch up on 'Leap of Faith', a documentary going behind the making of William Friedkin's 'The Exorcist', and check out Anya Taylor-Joy as a woman making waves in the male-dominated 1960s chess world in 'The Queen's Gambit'.

Sacha Baron Cohen and Eddie Redmayne fight for their right to protest in Aaron Sorkin's film of the 1960s true story 'The Trial of the Chicago 7', we get Fiona's reaction to 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm' and discuss upcoming documentary 'AKA Jane Roe' and give the lowdown on the latest season of the Coen Brothers television adaptation 'Fargo'.

For a second year running, Ben is joined (remotely) by John Beohm, to re-enact the spectacle of the 2020 Primetime Emmy Awards complete with hazmat suits, hotel phones ringing, Jennifer Aniston putting out garbage fires, Canadian bubbles, and an alpaca.

Our minds are very much on U.S. politics this week, given that Americans will head to the polls for the 2020 presidential election in less than 50 days. We're joined by documentary filmmaker Nanette Burstein, who talks to Fiona about making a landmark biography of Hillary Rodham Clinton. Nothing was off limits during the 35-hours spent interviewing Hillary about her life as a feminist trailblazer and polarising figure in US political life - or when Nanette asked Bill Clinton to open up about confessing all to Hillary about his affair with Monica Lewinsky. You won't want to miss this interview. Elsewhere in this episode, we preview the new season of The Good Fight, Ben has been (re)watching The West Wing, and Fiona has high hopes for Regina King's One Night In Miami.

With 'Hungry Ghosts' now streaming at SBS On Demand, we take a deep dive into the show, with a special guest who offers exclusive insight into the writing process. Vietnamese-Australian writer Jeremy Nguyen joins us from his lockdown abode in Melbourne, to talk us through the experience of drawing upon his own family's experiences, to inform the story.

The horrors of 1950s America become all too real in the new HBO series 'Lovecraft Country', prompting a deep dive into recent HBO dramas 'Perry Mason' and 'Watchmen'; a tribute to Chadwick Boseman in 'Get On Up'; and a look at Netflix health and wellness exposé '(Un)Well' and SBS On Demand's 'Sydney Super Tunnel'.

Fiona gives us the highlights of this year's curfewed Melbourne International Film Festival - MIFF 68 1/2 - and talks with Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn, the creators of the real life drama 'The Salisbury Poisonings', we talk Netflix's 'Indian Matchmaking' and click play on 'Guerrilla' and 'Burning' on SBS On Demand.

A first time filmmaker spooks Emily Mortimer, Robin Nevin and Bella Heathcote in new Australian horror flick 'Relic', Fiona pays tribute to Olivia de Havilland's starring role in 'The Heiress', a community is threatened by an invisible contagion in 'The Salisbury Poisonings', and we press play on '102 Minutes That Changed America' and 'Cold War' on SBS On Demand.

This week, SBS Viceland Channel Manager John Beohm takes us to task with the launch of UK comedy hit 'Taskmaster', Paul Hogan gets meta in 'The Very Excellent Mr Dundee', Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti follow the groundhog in 'Palm Springs', Alexander Hamilton has a cameo in 'John Adams', and we press play on our SBS On Demand picks.

In a very musical episode, Lin-Manuel Miranda breaks with history in the Disney Plus release of his broadway hit 'Hamilton', and Fiona pays tribute to the extraordinary scores of Ennio Morricone (and the flicks you can hear them on SBS On Demand). Fiona and Ben also review brand new sci fi drama series 'War of the Worlds' and give their take on streaming titles 'Disclosure' and 'America to Me'.

This week, Fiona speaks with Rove McManus about his passion for art and hosting Australian first 'Life Drawing Live', Fiona and Ben take a look at two very different films on Vietnam - Spike Lee's 'Da 5 Bloods' and Jakeb Anhvu's 'One Hundred Years of Happiness' - as well as offering some SBS On Demand picks.

This week on The Playlist, Fiona and Ben ask if Australia is really ready for another round of 'Big Brother', we finally make it to a film festival - albeit virtual - with the Sydney Film Festival, we look back at 'Gladiator' and 'Westworld' in What Have We Been Watching and offer up SBS On Demand picks from the 'Sydney Film Festival Selects' collection and preview a new season of 'Filthy Rich and Homeless'.

This week Fiona and Ben recall the documentaries about racial inequality that have had the most impact upon them (13th, Burn Motherfucker, Burn!, I Am Not Your Negro, LA 92). Elsewhere in the episode, they review new releases The Great and Love Life, and they each recommend something from the SBS On Demand catalogue, for everyone still spending extended periods at home.

This week Fiona and Ben uncover series using humour to approach the difficult subject of death and grief including the new Amazon Prime series 'Upload' and returning series 'After Life' and 'Dead to Me', take a look at new releases 'Bad Education' and 'Trying' in What We've Been Watching, offer a tribute to Fred Willard and Lynn Shelton and offer up iso-picks 'Election' and 'ZeroZeroZero' on SBS On Demand.

This week on The Playlist, the hit 2018 Irish novel turned iso-phenomenon 'Normal People', Fiona gets physical (from a distance) with 'PE with Kids' online sensation the ‘Body Coach' himself Joe Wicks, we give 'Alien', 'The Shining' and 'Unorthodox' a spin in What We've Been Watching and offer up our iso-picks for SBS On Demand.

In this week's The Playlist, Hugo Weaving speaks about his starring role in the new Australian digital release film 'Hearts and Bones' about the painful legacy of war, and Mindy Kaling embraces her inner teenage girl in 'Never Have I Ever' on Netflix. We also catch up with 'The Last Dance', 'Hollywood' and 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' in What We've Been Watching and come up with a couple of SBS On Demand iso-picks.

In another Iso-Playlist, Fiona Zooms across the ditch for a chat with Wellington Paranormal's Karen O'Leary (Officer O'Leary), who is having a very busy lockdown, as the much-memed face of the New Zealand Police Force's Public Service Announcements, in addition to her day job as an early childhood teacher. Elsewhere in the episode: Ben and Fiona review the lively '70s chronicle of the leading lights of the feminist movement (and their foes), Mrs America.

And we're back! After adjusting to working from home, Fiona and Ben decide to swap the pyjamas for work wear (from the waist-up at least), fire up the video call and run through an extended iso edition of What We've Been Watching. They also talk impacts on cinemas and the industry, discuss virus movies & TV and do a round up of Fiona's latest interviews.

We don't know what to do with ourselves when the best picture actually wins the Best Picture Oscar. It's bold new territory for Fiona and Ben as they regroup after an historic 92nd Academy Awards telecast. Join them as they discuss the winners, losers, and importantly, how much of the outcome they predicted.

As the Oscar competition heats up Fiona and Ben make their predictions as to what will win ahead of next week's awards, Fiona talks to Richard Stanley, director of the new Nicolas Cage sci fi horror flick 'Color Out Of Space', on the popularity of H.P. Lovecraft and his attempts to revisit 'The Island of Doctor Moreau', and they unpack the latest season of Nine's ratings bonanza 'Married At First Sight'.

Ben and Fiona are back to talk 'Little Women', and 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood', both of which have been overlooked in the Best Director category of the Oscars. Fiona then interviews Marielle Heller, director of the latter, about celebrating the legacy of a childhood icon, and about the industry's bias against movies directed by women in awards season ("I guess I can't ignore how blatant this is").

Ben and Fiona return from holidays to spend their first day back at work watching and recapping the 77th Golden Globes ceremony. They analyse the hits and misses of the lengthy broadcast, still agree to disagree about 'Joker', and make a case for SBS to adopt as the network tagline, director Bong Joon-ho's impassioned ode to the subtitle.

As we count down the days remaining in 2019, join Ben, Fiona, and special guest John, as they count down their favourite movies and TV shows the year. They laugh, they disagree, and they realise there's not as much crossover on their lists as they expected (*especially when they make up their own rules about what constitutes the 'best' in a 'best of' list). Fiona is joined by special guest, Celine Sciamma, director of 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire', which is in cinemas on Boxing Day and which also - spoiler - rates pretty highly on Fiona's best of 2019 movies list. Fiona also reviews the full list of Boxing Day releases, as Ben and John reveal what they'll be watching over summer. It's a big episode to cap off a big year. Happy holidays to all and see you again in 2020.

Fiona and Ben are back in The Playlist studio after a break, to review Disney+ and its launch juggernaut The Mandolorian. FIona has been watching Knives Out, and Ben has been previewing Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over. FIona catches up with legendary British actor Timothy Spall, in Australia for the release of Mrs Lowry & Son.

Is Apple's brand new streaming service a game changer? While Fiona takes a well deserved break, SBS Channel Manager Ben Nguyen is joined by SBS Viceland Channel Manager John Beohm to check out the platform and review all the new shows: Jennifer Aniston & Reese Witherspoon in 'Morning Wars' (AKA 'The Morning Show'), Jason Mamoa in 'See', alternate history 'For All Mankind' and millennial literary comedy 'Dickinson'.

'Brittany Runs A Marathon' is a a welcome twist on the 'nottie to hottie' trope in a lot of female-focussed comedies. Star Jillian Bell and the filme's writer-director Paul Downs Colaizzo sit down with Fiona to talk about the marathon of making the film, and watching it take off around the world. (Fiona is flying solo while Ben is away on the French Riviera. He'll be back on deck next ep).

Ron Howard calls into the The Playlist studio from the Rome Film Festival, to talk about his new documentary, 'Pavarotti', about the life and loves of Luciano Pavarotti. Elsewhere he tells Fiona about what he has been watching (in what little time he has to spare whilst making three movies simultaneously), and why, as a director, he feels compelled to make a conscious effort to mix up his movie choices.

Renée Zellweger joins us on this week's show, to talk about how she transformed herself into Hollywood icon Judy Garland, for the film 'Judy'. In her chat with Fiona, Zellweger discusses what she hopes the film will reveal about Garland's legacy, not least the high price she paid for becoming a Movie Star during the dawning Golden Age of Hollywood. In this episode we welcome back special guest host John Beohm (SBS Viceland channel manager) to sit in for Ben (who is away at a TV content market, finding great shows to bring to SBS in the future), and talk about the revelation that is 'Years and Years', a very relatable dystopic family drama that is coming to SBS in November.