Why Rebecca Gibney's new Kiwi musical comedy Happiness is a pure delight

The quick and very easily bingeable series has only six 20-odd-minute episodes, but they are 20-odd minutes of pure joy every time.

Tauranga's own Broadway expat Charlie (Harry McNaughton) has returned home to his seaside town after a little trouble during his production of Cats. His mum Gaye (Rebecca Gibney, seemingly having the time of her life) is one of the key figures in the local amateur theatre scene, and the whole town is buzzing to have their big star back.

Gaye manages to reel Charlie back into the fold of Pizazz - their theatre company - under the guise of connecting him with their local visa expert to ensure his travel troubles are sorted and he can make it back to the US. Of course, said visa expert is the local travel agent who moonlights as the stage director for Pizazz.

Soon enough, Charlie is coming on board as a consultant while Pizazz prepares for their first ever original musical, which is inspired by the women of Troy, namely Cassandra and Helen.

There's some joyful and clever mirroring going on between the Greek myth that informs the musical and the interpersonal dynamics between the cast and crew, a real treat for those who know their classics.

The original music created for Happiness is actually quite decent, but just daggy enough to be believable as amateur theatre.

The series can easily be knocked over in a day and you'll be left itching for season two, which has reportedly already been given the green light.

Sarah Snook and Dakota Fanning are spellbinding in this new drama that tackles everything from parental guilt, to crime, to deception and more.

All Her Fault sees Snook's Marissa arrive at what she believes is a fellow school mum's home to pick up her young son Milo from his playdate. But she's horrified to learn that the woman at the address has no idea who she or Milo are. That's the opening scene of this eight-episode series - which was filmed in Melbourne thanks to Snook's producing efforts, despite being set in Chicago (and based on an Irish book). You're immediately dropped into the terror of learning a child is missing and gathering the pieces as to what has gone wrong.

It becomes clear quite quickly that this was no mere communication mix-up; someone had deliberately taken Milo from school, and tricked his mother into believing he was safely on a playdate with another boy and his parents.

While some of the plot twists and reveals can be a little outrageous and schlocky (especially towards the end of the series when some of the homegrown actors particularly struggle with the American accent), there's a lot to really enjoy about All Her Fault. The acting from most of the lead cast is top-notch and many of the themes explored land effectively.

At its heart this is a series about the unfair pressures of motherhood, from judgement by other mothers (and family members), to the unequal division of parenting tasks, to the loss of one's own drives and independent life outside of mothering. The kidnapping and murder plotlines are also intriguing and captivating, but not a strong as the motherhood side of things.

The impressive cast also includes Jake Lacy, Michael Pena, Sophia Lillis, Abby Elliott, Jay Ellis and Daniel Monks.

When a series can boast 'from the creator of Breaking Bad', you know it's at least worth giving a shot.

We can happily report that Pluribus, Vince Gilligan's new series, is definitely worth your time.

The series, which has episodes dropping weekly, kicks off in a very Contact-esque manner, with a bunch of astronomers getting excited about some sort of space communication. The longer they look into these sounds, and the more people that are reeled in, the more they learn, until suddenly, everything goes awry.

Soon enough people all over the planet are suddenly seizing before regaining consciousness in some sort of hive mind situation.

Or almost everyone - romantasy author Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn, Better Call Saul) is somehow immune from this affliction, and has to watch in horror as everyone around her, including her partner Helen, suddenly loses their individuality, and in many cases, their lives.

In a matter of minutes Carol has effectively become the only truly living person in the US, the only one capable of individual thought and rebellion.

The production quality in Pluribus is sky-high, and the scope is reminiscent of Netflix series Three Body Problem. It's a remarkable way to kick off a new series, and definitely worth investing your time into.

If the quality of the first two episodes continues throughout the run of the season, we are all in for a huge treat.

What's decidedly not worth your time? All's Fair, the latest series from prolific creator Ryan Murphy.

Murphy has gathered quite a collection of actors that he reuses in his series, and All's Fair - which posits itself as some sort of feminist legal drama but could not be further from its alleged goal - has a bunch of them.

The series is led by our own Naomi Watts, Kim Kardashian (who is far from the worst thing about this show), Niecy Nash, Glenn Close, Teyana Taylor and Sarah Paulson, and follows two lawyers and their investigator who break off from a prestigious law firm to run their own boutique firm, taking on cases that appeal to them.

It's basically impossible to find anything good about this show, but some things are particularly poor, including: cinematography (much of the show is shot like a roundtable podcast); costuming (nothing takes you out of being immersed in a show more quickly than costuming no one would ever wear in a corporate setting); ridiculous character names (Allura, Liberty, Emerald); and especially dialogue (laden with exposition, as though the creators expect people are viewing this show while actively scrolling on their phone and can only follow the plot if everything is spelled out for them like they're a toddler).

Avoid like the plague if you don't wish to have your intelligence insulted.

Enjoy a historically-based period drama with Death by Lightning on Netflix. The four-episode miniseries explores the rise US president James Garfield (Michael Shannon) and his and assassination by Charles Giteau (Matthew Macfadyen). Also stars Betty Gilpin, Bradley Whitford and Nick Offerman. Also on Netflix you'll find Guillermo del Toro's big-budget adaptation of Frankenstein, with Aussie Jacob Elordi as the creation and Oscar Isaac as the titular doctor. Over on Disney+ K-Pop fans will rejoice in SEVENTEEN: Our Chapter, a documentary series looking back over 10 years of the group's success. Prime Video has Tyler Perry's Finding Joy, another film from the prolific writer-director-actor-producer. And on AppleTV+ the second season of dramedy series Palm Royale has arrived.