Shipwreck Hunters Australia, S2
August 27, streaming on Disney Plus
Every summer, I spend a lot of time lolling in the sparkling waters of Coogee beach, thinking about how lucky I am.
But WA’s waters are not all gently lapping waves and white sand. In fact, it is dubbed the “treasure coast” because of the hidden reefs and treacherous seas that are believed to be the final resting place of more than 1600 shipwrecks.
There’s something so fascinating about shipwrecks and the glimpses they provide into our State’s past. The first season of this original series made headlines when it discovered the 111-year-old Finnish-owned sailing ship Glenbank; now it’s back for six more missions, including in the Mid West, Gascoyne, South West and Goldfields-Esperance regions.
It’s helmed by shipwreck hunters Ryan Chatfield, Johnny Debnam, Nush Freedman, Andre Rerekura, and Ash Sutton, and the first episode sees the team become “obsessed” with the Rodondo — a 73m steamship full of cargo and 200 people on their way to gold rush WA, which hit a remote reef near Salisbury Island off the Esperance coast and sank 130 years ago.
The shipwreck hunters use witness accounts, historical records, and cutting-edge imaging technology to look for the wreck in the very sharky, very wild waters, but they also work hard to tell the human side, delving into the experiences of the captain and the survivors, including some fascinating revelations about what the two children aboard went on to do with their lives. It’s a fascinating way to bring WA’s maritime history to life.
In this season, they also visit the infamous Abrolhos Islands in pursuit of the grand Ridderschap van Holland, a flagship of the mighty Dutch East India Trading Company which vanished without a trace, laden with silver coins and with a crew of 300 men.
They then head to the South West to search for a supposedly cursed sailing ship which sank in a storm in 1902, and investigate whether a rare and valuable infant Buddha statue from the Ming Dynasty, found in the red soil of Shark Bay, could have come from a 600-year-old shipwreck.
It’s clear shipwreck hunting can be a frustrating and often fruitless exercise, and while we can’t reveal any spoilers, get ready for some surprising twists and extraordinary discoveries along the way. Bon voyage!
KPop Demon Hunters
Streaming now on Netflix
If you’ve missed it, can I suggest you retreat immediately to your couch to watch this animated film, if only to participate in the cultural zeitgeist? The story of fictional K-pop trio Huntr/x is smashing records left and right; its anthem Golden is No.1 on music charts around the world. It’s so popular, cinemas across the world — including WA this weekend — are holding special singalong cinema screenings.
I admit when my almost nine-year-old daughter mentioned the title, I was perturbed. But the movie, which revolves around the all-girl pop group whose mission to keep the world safe from evil spirits is under threat from a demonic K-pop boy band, is a lot of colourful fun; sometimes very silly, yet traversing some heartfelt themes.
Not to mention it is positively stacked with bangers. Huntr/x are voiced by by seasoned K-pop songwriter Kim Eun-jae (better known as Ejae), Korean-American singer Audrey Nuna and songwriter-rapper Rei Ami. More than one school mum friend has confessed to listening to the soundtrack even after dropping the kids at school.
The numbers are impressive: KPop Demon Hunters has rocketed to 180 million views since its June 20 release, to become Netflix’s most-watched animated film of all time. It’s also the streamer’s second-most popular English-language movie ever, after 2021’s Red Notice (watch your back, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson). Five out of the top 10 singles on the ARIA charts last week were from the soundtrack.
Go ahead and make yourself viewer No.180,000,001.
The Thursday Murder Club
August 28, streaming on Netflix
Based on the bestselling novel by Richard Osman, this is “a whodunit with teeth — false ones, of course”. It follows a group of friends in a retirement home who gather to solve murders for fun but get caught up in a real case. The cast includes such nobodies as Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley and Celia Imrie (!!).
The Voice US, S27
August 25, streaming on 7Plus
If you can’t get enough of this singing comp, the latest season of the American version is about to drop, with Adam Levine, John Legend, Michael Buble,…
