The Playlist

In another Iso-Playlist, Fiona Zooms across the ditch for a chat with Wellington Paranormal's Karen O'Leary (Officer O'Leary), who is having a very busy lockdown, as the much-memed face of the New Zealand Police Force's Public Service Announcements, in addition to her day job as an early childhood teacher. Elsewhere in the episode: Ben and Fiona review the lively '70s chronicle of the leading lights of the feminist movement (and their foes), Mrs America.

And we're back! After adjusting to working from home, Fiona and Ben decide to swap the pyjamas for work wear (from the waist-up at least), fire up the video call and run through an extended iso edition of What We've Been Watching. They also talk impacts on cinemas and the industry, discuss virus movies & TV and do a round up of Fiona's latest interviews.

We don't know what to do with ourselves when the best picture actually wins the Best Picture Oscar. It's bold new territory for Fiona and Ben as they regroup after an historic 92nd Academy Awards telecast. Join them as they discuss the winners, losers, and importantly, how much of the outcome they predicted.

As the Oscar competition heats up Fiona and Ben make their predictions as to what will win ahead of next week’s awards, Fiona talks to Richard Stanley, director of the new Nicolas Cage sci fi horror flick 'Color Out Of Space', on the popularity of H.P. Lovecraft and his attempts to revisit 'The Island of Doctor Moreau', and they unpack the latest season of Nine's ratings bonanza 'Married At First Sight'.

Ben and Fiona are back to talk 'Little Women', and 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood', both of which have been overlooked in the Best Director category of the Oscars. Fiona then interviews Marielle Heller, director of the latter, about celebrating the legacy of a childhood icon, and about the industry's bias against movies directed by women in awards season ("I guess I can't ignore how blatant this is").

Ben and Fiona return from holidays to spend their first day back at work watching and recapping the 77th Golden Globes ceremony. They analyse the hits and misses of the lengthy broadcast, still agree to disagree about 'Joker', and make a case for SBS to adopt as the network tagline, director Bong Joon-ho's impassioned ode to the subtitle.

As we count down the days remaining in 2019, join Ben, Fiona, and special guest John, as they count down their favourite movies and TV shows the year. They laugh, they disagree, and they realise there's not as much crossover on their lists as they expected (*especially when they make up their own rules about what constitutes the 'best' in a 'best of' list). Fiona is joined by special guest, Celine Sciamma, director of 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire', which is in cinemas on Boxing Day and which also - spoiler - rates pretty highly on Fiona's best of 2019 movies list. Fiona also reviews the full list of Boxing Day releases, as Ben and John reveal what they'll be watching over summer. It's a big episode to cap off a big year. Happy holidays to all and see you again in 2020.

Fiona and Ben are back in The Playlist studio after a break, to review Disney+ and its launch juggernaut The Mandolorian. FIona has been watching Knives Out, and Ben has been previewing Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over. FIona catches up with legendary British actor Timothy Spall, in Australia for the release of Mrs Lowry & Son.

Is Apple's brand new streaming service a game changer? While Fiona takes a well deserved break, SBS Channel Manager Ben Nguyen is joined by SBS Viceland Channel Manager John Beohm to check out the platform and review all the new shows: Jennifer Aniston & Reese Witherspoon in 'Morning Wars' (AKA 'The Morning Show'), Jason Mamoa in 'See', alternate history 'For All Mankind' and millennial literary comedy 'Dickinson'.

'Brittany Runs A Marathon' is a a welcome twist on the 'nottie to hottie' trope in a lot of female-focussed comedies. Star Jillian Bell and the filme's writer-director Paul Downs Colaizzo sit down with Fiona to talk about the marathon of making the film, and watching it take off around the world. (Fiona is flying solo while Ben is away on the French Riviera. He'll be back on deck next ep).