TV reviews: Interior Chinatown, Cruel Intentions, Dune: Prophecy and Based On A True Story

Interior Chinatown

Tuesday, streaming on Disney Plus

It takes a lot to genuinely flummox me. After 23 years reviewing TV for a job, there’s very little I haven’t seen on screen, and very few plot twists I can’t see coming. But this show had me stumped. It took me three episodes to figure out what I was watching — and even then I don’t think I got there.

Intrigued?

You should be — this is some seriously head-scratching television . . . in the best possible way.

The series stars Jimmy O. Yang as Willis Wu, a man — and Wikipedia had to confirm this for me, as I couldn’t for the life of me work it out myself — “who is stuck in background roles of a police procedural he works on”.

Wait, what? I thought he was a Chinese waiter!

The episode titles should have given me a hint: “Generic Asian Man”, “Delivery Guy”, “Tech Guy’”. Episode four is titled “Kung Fu Guy”. Starting to see the pattern?

Wu feels stuck in the background of his life (and the TV show he’s supposedly playing an extra in?), but when he witnesses a crime for real (is it real? Who can tell!) things start to take an odd turn for our mysterious protagonist — and we, as viewers, are invited along for the mind-bending ride.

This is produced by Taika Waititi, a man who has made a career out of doing odd things, being an odd guy, and being very, very good at making (oftentimes odd) film and TV — his fingerprints are all over it.

Yang is brilliant, and there are some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments, almost all delivered by Aussie comedian Ronny Chieng, who stars as Willis’ best friend, Fatty Choi.

In short: it’s great. I just wish I could figure out what it’s about. Hurry up and watch so we can work it out together.

Cruel Intentions

Thursday, streaming on Prime Video

Regular readers will know my love for soapy teen drama. The obsession started back with Dawson’s Creek and Veronica Mars and has continued all the way to recent faves like Heartbreak High, The Sex Lives Of College Girls (a new season is on the way this week!) and The Summer I Turned Pretty. I am much too old to be watching any of these series, and yet . . . This show, billed as an update to the 1999 film, is shaping up to be a worthy addition to the canon. There’s an embargo in place, so I can’t tell you much, but know this: if early seasons of The OC or Gossip Girl are your jam, you’ll want to mark your diaries for this one.

Dune: Prophecy

Monday, streaming on Binge

This has been described as “Game Of Thrones in space” — not far off, but there’s more to this beautifully shot prequel than sandworms and political intrigue (though there are both of those things as well).

The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills S14

Wednesday, streaming on Hayu

RHOBH stans: assemble! This season sees Kathy Hilton and Jennifer Tilly joining as friends, as well as a new housewife, Bozoma Saint John. I have no idea who she is, but I am OBSESSED with her name. Will be peeking this one for sure.

Based On A True Story

Thursday, streaming on Binge

Bad Sisters, and now the second season of this equally excellent black comedy: we’re truly spoilt for choice right now. We pick up the story with Ava and Nathan as new parents, desperately trying to return to normal life. But let’s face it: that’s NEVER going to happen. This is seriously good TV.