New to View: May 10 – 16

A weekly guide to what’s new of note on air and online

SUNDAY

McMillion$ | Prime, 8.30

Part one of six about a McDonalds scam. “Unlike the usual true crime fare which makes entertainment out of the horrific, McMillions is flashy and trashy and just satisfying enough to leave you wanting more. Much like a McDonald’s burger then.” — NZ Herald.

Hairy Bikers: Route 66 | Living, 8.30

“The boys are back but it’s more thin gruel than rich gravy … Si King and Dave Myers didn’t get where they are today without wielding the occasional cliché, and where they are is travelling from Illinois to Missouri on the first leg of their journey through nine states of America in Hairy Bikers: Route 66. The culinary mains were mouthwatering: wet beef sandwiches in Chicago and rib tips in the suburbs to apple pie on the road and stuffed cabbage in St Louis. The analytical side-orders: not so much.” — The Telegraph.

White Dragon | Prime, 9.40

Part one of eight. “White Dragon boasts a visually striking setting and a commanding central presence in John Simm, but this neon noir is hobbled by a mystery that doesn’t hook and a reliance on its Hong Kong backdrop that arguably borders on cultural exploitation.” — Rotten Tomatoes.

MONDAY

I Know This Much is True | Neon/SoHo, 8.30

“HBO’s six-part adaptation of Wally Lamb’s 1998 bestselling, Oprah-endorsed novel. The limited series, in which Mark Ruffalo plays twin brothers Dominick and Thomas Birdsey — the former full of barely-contained rage over a disastrous life, the latter a paranoid schizophrenic — is so relentlessly, almost proudly, miserable at every possible turn that, after a while, I began looking at the project as an unexpected form of public service. Hard as it was to get through each hour — let alone the 79-minute finale — I would depart its world each time and feel a little bit better about the current state of my own life. And that’s in the middle of a pandemic quarantine!” — Rolling Stone.

TUESDAY

Father Brown | BBC UKTV, 8.30

In season eight, the charismatic ’50s village priest investigates the murder of an eccentric beekeeper, uncovers the hidden motivations behind a deadly art exhibition, and steps in when Mrs McCarthy’s family reunion is threatened by a fortune-teller’s predictions. The BBC daytime drama has been renewed for a ninth season that will screen next year.

Rob Riggle Global Investigator | Discovery Channel, 9.25

“History lessons can be as stale as day-old bread or brought to life using humour, wit, shock, and surprise. Discovery viewers are all about the mysteries of the planet and are brought into the journeys via several engaging hosts. Now, Rob Riggle, who we know from The Daily Show and SNL, has a self-deprecating, about-face in his comedic style. And using this, he has taken his past Shark Week cred and parlayed it into a fun globe-trotting adventure, sure to win fans of all ages.” — Monsters & Critics.