Screen Queen TV reviews: The Testaments, Hacks, The Miniature Wife, Mastermind and Malcolm In The Middle

The Testaments

Wednesday, streaming on Disney Plus

The first time I read The Handmaid’s Tale it was the 90s, and I wasn’t much older than the teen protagonists in this spin-off series based on Margaret Atwood’s Booker Prize-winning follow-up.

The world was a very different place back then and Atwood’s 1985 novel described an unimaginably bleak future, almost impossible for optimistic, privileged uni student me to fathom.

Fast forward to 2017: the first season of The Handmaid’s Tale hit screens, still an abstract concept, albeit one a little less foreign, thanks to the election of Donald Trump the year before. Six superb seasons and 66 episodes later (the show finished up last year), I’m now beginning to wonder whether Atwood might just have been the teensiest, tiniest bit prophetic.

On the eve of its follow-up, The Testaments, making its way to screens, we find ourselves in a world where the US has rolled back women’s rights, trans people are being vilified worldwide, the Taliban is back in power in Afghanistan and, oh yeah, the theocratic state of Iran (run by the same types of power-hungry men running the theocratic state of Gilead in the novels) is waging war with America and Israel, who in turn are looking less like “the good guys”, and more like the baddies of Atwood’s dystopian future.

I am choosing to remain optimistic though, because if you’ve read The Testaments, which recounts how Gilead was eventually dismantled, you’ll know all is not lost.

Happier times are coming for June’s (Elisabeth Moss) daughter Hannah (Chase Infiniti), who is central to this next chapter. She’s one of the “precious flower” daughters of Gilead’s commanders, and together they are about to help bring things down from the inside.

The character of Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) is also at the fore (she narrates this time, along with Hannah, and another teen girl from Canada, whose real identity is a secret for now), and together they’ll recount how they set the wheels in motion.

There are some fantastic cameos from characters from the first series, and you’ll be blown away by the superb performances, especially from the young cast.

Five stars for this brilliant series — it’s giving me quiet hope in these troubled times. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum — if you know, you know.

Malcolm In The Middle: Life’s Still Unfair

Friday, streaming on Disney Plus

Over the past few months, my family and I have been watching old Malcolm In The Middle episodes in readiness for this limited four-part spin-off.

We started right back at the beginning and binged all seven seasons of the original series, which means we watched our way through 151 episodes. I have to say, more than 25 years on, it still stacks up.

It will be interesting to check back in with the family after all these years. I’m particularly intrigued to see Bryan Cranston, now better known for playing Walter White in Breaking Bad, return to his comedic roots.

If you’ve got kids at home, I highly recommend a Malcolm rewatch — you won’t be disappointed.

Hacks S5

Friday, streaming on Stan

Deborah (Jean Smart) and Ava (Hannah Einbinder) are back for one last season — and I’m bereft. I absolutely adore this comedy, which over five seasons has only gotten better. This final season sees them both trying to cement Deborah’s legacy after she’s falsely accused of . . . being dead! A bittersweet farewell.

Mastermind S8

Monday, 6pm, SBS

Shout-out to the quiet achiever of prime-time TV! For years, Marc Fennell has been presiding over this consistently great quiz show, where the stakes are low, the questions often obscure, but the vibes always immaculate. This week they’re hosting a special “Family Week”.

The Miniature Wife

Friday, streaming on Stan

Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, but make it a scientist who accidentally shrinks his wife, and have Succession’s Matthew Macfadyen and the always-great Elizabeth Banks take the central roles. Early buzz is building for this psychological comedy/drama — intrigued!