Reviews

'Bad Boy Billionaires India', 'Emily in Paris': Four things to stream now

Whether you've got three hours to spare or eight, these are the best shows to spend it watching

18 October 2020 - 00:00
By , tymon smith AND Tymon Smith
Lily Collins as the title character in 'Emily in Paris'.
Image: Supplied Lily Collins as the title character in 'Emily in Paris'.

IF YOU HAVE 3 HOURS ...

Watch: Bad Boy Billionaires India

There were meant to be four episodes in this docuseries examining the extravagant lifestyles, dodgy practices and questionable ethics of some of India's filthy rich, but court cases and legal threats have muddied the waters.

Netflix has released three episodes dealing with the rise and fall of "King of Good Times" liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, dodgy diamond dealer Nirav Modi and Subrata Roy, the head of the Sahara conglomerate, who's fighting charges for his involvement in a massive Ponzi scheme to defraud millions of India's poor.

They're not nice men but there's something intriguing about their nefarious and depressing King Midas stories.

Where to stream it: Netflix

IF YOU HAVE 3.5 HOURS ...

Watch: Journey of an African Colony

As Nigeria celebrates 60 years of independence, Olasupo Shasore, historian, writer and former attorney general and commissioner for justice in Lagos State, takes us on an epic, bloody and greed-filled journey through the turbulent history of the country.

Going back to the early history of the area and its slave trade and colonial past, it's a powerful reminder of the terrible circumstances out of which the country was born that offers a fascinating insight into its little-known history in the company of an engaging and insightful guide.

Where to stream it: Netflix

IF YOU HAVE 5 HOURS ...

Watch: Emily in Paris

Created by Sex and the City's Darren Star, this horribly out-of-touch show is something to watch for sheer gobsmacking disbelief at its shallow vision of Paris as seen by its Midwestern American protagonist (Lily Collins), who lands her dream job working for a pharmaceutical PR firm in the city of love.

After absorbing its lazy excuse of a story and begrudgingly admiring its dreamy evocations of a Paris that no-one believes exists anymore — do yourself a favour and read the bitter, hilarious reviews of the show by French critics which will provide far more real laughs than the show itself.

Where to stream it: Netflix

IF YOU HAVE 8 HOURS ...

Watch: On Becoming a God in Central Florida

Kirsten Dunst stars in this dark comic drama about a working-class Florida water park employee who wangles her way up the ranks of a multimillion-dollar pyramid scheme to take revenge for the destruction its promises of easy money and American Dream riches have wreaked on her family. Set in the 1990s, it's a smart period drama whose themes are depressingly relevant now. Dunst excels at navigating narrative territory that surprises in its twists and turns but manages to maintain its relevance to our universal anxieties.

Where to stream it: Showmax