Tired of American TV shows, or just America in general? Why not go down under for a bit? There are certainly a lot of hidden gems down there, and it’s most definitely not only Bluey that’s the greatest thing Australian TV has produced in the past 10 or so years!

I’ve tried a lot of Australian movies and TV shows over the years, and while there were a lot that I couldn’t get into at all, either because they just bored me or they were way too cringe (Cleverman, Underbelly, Glitch, Deadloch, Colin from Accounts, Fisk), there are also a lot of incredibly good ones!1 From all the ones I’ve watched lately, there were a few that really stuck out because of the impact they had on me. So if you’re looking for some good shows to watch, consider these:

Please Like Me

It’s been a while since I watched this, and initially I was put off by how cringe this show can be (starting with the premise – a show written by a guy who plays and stars as a fictionalized version of himself? *rolleyes*).

I stopped many shows because the cringe was just too much, but with this one, somehow the characters had enough heart to keep me going. And I have to admit, the show had a few life lessons that stuck with me until today, especially when it comes to love and relationships. It grew into my heart and I really enjoyed it, and I felt like I learned a lot from it. I suppose it’s in the nature of this kinda-coming-of-age story that just teaches life by living. I can’t actually say what the plot of this show was other than having to deal with a family member suffering from depression. It ends with the main character, Josh loosing his mother to suicide after her long history of depression, and trying to deal with this loss while starting over with his life.

Mr. Inbetween

If you believe certain subreddits, then Mr. Inbetween is THE hidden gem, not only in Australian TV but worldwide. The high IMDb rating of 8.7 would only confirm that. With all that hype, the show was certainly not what I expected.

This show is definitely different, which is probably what makes it so good. It’s raw and off-beat while technically it’s just about Ray, a guy who just so happens to be an assassin, trying to live his life – without really much of an overarching plot. We see him hanging out with his friends, being a good father to his daughter, struggling with relationships, and caring for his disabled brother. In between all of that, we sometimes see how his criminal profession affects him and his life. He’s just a guy with a seemingly good heart, but who has to deal with a lot of shit in the two separate lives he lives. The last two episodes of Season 2 were phenomenal and absolutely devastating, when Ray has to deal with the loss of not only his dog having been killed in a shoot-out, but also with losing his brother to a degenerative illness. Having lost a family member to similar (yet different) circumstances, this was so hard to watch. This was by far my favorite season. The third season is good as well, but doesn’t quite live up to that.

Upright

Upright is the first show in this list that actually has a clearly defined plot – Lucky is a 42-year old guy who’s going on a road trip from Sydney to Perth because he wants to bring a piano there. On his way, he runs into the runaway teenager Meg, and they end up driving together. Throughout this road trip, both of their personal traumas unravel more and more, and end in an emotionally devastating finale in which Lucky finally arrives at home after 8 years away, to visit his dying mother. Once again, it was not hard for me to empathize with this since I’ve been through something similar recently.

This show was so beautiful on all levels. It’s utterly gorgeous to watch them drive through Australia’s vast desert landscapes. It has amazing music, since one of these stars is evidentially a gifted musician. And the story, while mostly sad, is beautiful and funny at times. Utterly amazing first season.

The show was planned as a limited series, but got a second season a few years later. I was skeptical whether a second season could live up to the masterpiece that was the first season, but I felt like it was worth it. It has a very different feel to it due to its setting in a different part of the country, but it’s still great, funny, entertaining, and heartwarming, though nowhere near as emotionally mind blowing as the first season was. Worth a watch, and let’s say that once you’ve seen both seasons, you have probably learned a lot about the many facets of Australia.

So ultimately, what do all these shows have in common? All of them deal at some point in their run with losing a family member, whether it is too illness, depression or suicide. In all of these, these losses are portrayed with such raw emotion.

For me, a good TV show, or a good story in general, is something that affects me empathically in some way. Losing a family member is something every person has to go through at some point in their life, and perhaps since I have recently been through such an experience, I shared a lot of the pain and grief that these characters were feeling.

These shows were some of the most memorable Aussie shows I’ve seen, but they were by far not the only ones. Another great show that I would consider easy watching was Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, and two other shows I’ve blogged about were The Newsreader and Farscape. I’m sure there’s more to come, because I feel like the quality of Aussie shows is increasing, in particular having seen how good Upright and Mr. Inbetween were.

And with this, I will hopefully leave you with a few new shows on your watchlist. If you have any other shows you think I’d enjoy based on this list, please let me know!