I know, technically, we have long weekends for reasons other than... TV. But I'm just grateful for the additional, government-supported couch time.
Especially when they come at a time when there's so. much. good. television.
To help you sort through the never-ending options, I've rounded up the three best new TV shows that you should definitely watch this weekend.
Happy viewing!
Image: Netflix.
In BEEF, Ali Wong and Steven Yeun go head-to-head in the aftermath of a road rage incident between their characters, self-made entrepreneur Amy and failing contractor Danny.
They're living very different lives but are equally miserable, so their new feud sparks something new and exciting in their lives... and a way to channel their anger, of course.
Across 10 episodes, BEEF alternates between the two protagonists and the ever-increasing stakes of their, um, beef, that unravels their lives and relationships.
The revenge acts themselves are very funny: think truly evil bathroom behaviour and very sweary graffiti. But I promise it's also not just a season of people yelling.
BEEF is really clever, with some serious laughs as well as deeply moving moments.
It's brilliant.
All 10 episodes of BEEF are streaming on Netflix from March 6.
Image: Binge.
Dreamland is based on the 2018 BAFTA-winning short of the same name: it's a comedy-drama about secrets, lies, loves and aspirations within a family of four sisters.
Eldest sister Trish (Freema Agyeman) is pregnant for the third time, and she's literally manifesting a baby girl with a 'mani-festival', with the support of her sisters Clare and Leila, mum and nana host a 'mani-festival'.
But in her first TV role, Lily Allen stars as fourth sister Mel, whose unexpected reappearance threatens to destabilise the entire family.
It's a surprisingly funny, joyful watch at points — the relationship between youngest sister Leila and their nan is both beautiful and hilarious — but also full of betrayal, complications and resentments.
Each episode is a perfect 20-25 minutes long, so you can tick this one off pretty quickly – and there are definitely plenty of hints that a season two may happen. I've got all my fingers crossed.
All six episodes of Dreamland are streaming on Binge from April 6.
Image: Prime Video.
Naomi Alderman’s 2016 bestseller The Power is, so I'm told, an incredible read. It's a sci-fi thriller where women develop the ability to release electricity from their fingers, leading them to become the more powerful sex.
I haven't read the book, but everything I've consumed says the TV show — a new Prime Video sci-fi drama starring Toni Collette — sticks very, very close to the source material.
And I am devouring the series, which begins as teenage girls all over the world discover that electricity is literally in their hands.
It follows a series of characters — from Allie in the US, who discovers her power with the aid of an internal voice that encourages her to kill her abusive foster father, to Nigerian journalist Tunde, who uses a female colleague's early knowledge of the powers to kick-start his own career.
The pace in the first couple of episodes is slow, but the characters are interesting enough (Allie, especially) that I was happy to stick around for it to pick up.
Obviously, we know that having women in power would not create an instant utopia — the main message here is about power (it's quite literally the title) after all. But there is still something incredible in imagining what it would be like to not live in the slightly heightened state of awareness or caution that is just so, so normal to women. Until it all turns into a slightly different type of s**t, of course.
The first four episodes of The Power are streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes weekly on Fridays.
Chelsea McLaughlin is Mamamia's Senior Entertainment Writer and co-host of The Spill. For more pop culture takes, recommendations and sarcasm, you can follow her on Instagram.
Feature image: Netflix/Binge/Prime Video.
