The Playlist

Ron Howard calls into the The Playlist studio from the Rome Film Festival, to talk about his new documentary, 'Pavarotti', about the life and loves of Luciano Pavarotti. Elsewhere he tells Fiona about what he has been watching (in what little time he has to spare whilst making three movies simultaneously), and why, as a director, he feels compelled to make a conscious effort to mix up his movie choices.

Renée Zellweger joins us on this week's show, to talk about how she transformed herself into Hollywood icon Judy Garland, for the film 'Judy'. In her chat with Fiona, Zellweger discusses what she hopes the film will reveal about Garland's legacy, not least the high price she paid for becoming a Movie Star during the dawning Golden Age of Hollywood. In this episode we welcome back special guest host John Beohm (SBS Viceland channel manager) to sit in for Ben (who is away at a TV content market, finding great shows to bring to SBS in the future), and talk about the revelation that is 'Years and Years', a very relatable dystopic family drama that is coming to SBS in November.

In this week's The Playlist, Fiona and Ben discuss Joaquin Phoenix's performance in the controversial new movie 'Joker' and in What We’ve Been Watching we discuss the art of the celebrity interview in 'Between Two Ferns: The Movie' and student politics in 'The Politician'.

In this special edition of The Playlist, SBS Channel Manager Ben Nguyen is joined by guest co-host Viceland Channel Manager John Beohm to dissect the winners and losers from the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards.

In this week's The Playlist, we uncover Chinese true lies in Awkwafina flick 'The Farewell', and in What We’ve Been Watching Fiona spaces out about Brad Pitt’s daddy issues in 'Ad Astra' and Ben races to catch a serial rapist with Toni Collette in Netflix’s 'Unbelievable'.

In a new episode of The Playlist, Bill Hader talks to Fiona about tapping into his dark side in the sequel to 'It', and what he has been watching. Elsewhere, Ben and Fiona are loving the short-run comedy drama 'Shrill' on SBS Viceland and SBS On Demand, and they tell us what they've been watching.

The Playlist is back to recommend movies and TV shows that are worth your time. This week, Fiona and Ben are engrossed in the gripes of the idly rich media moguls, in the second season of 'Succession'. Just for something completely different, they are also taking in the daily dramas of a wannabe homegrown A-lister who keeps getting mistaken for her twin sister, in the local comedy 'That's Not Me'. Plus, they let us in on what they've been watching.

We're back after a lengthy break, to dissect Quentin Tarantino's handling of the contentious matter of Sharon Tate's fate during the swinging sixties. Is the pre-release outrage justifiable? We'll let you know, in as spoiler-free a way as possible. Elsewhere, we talk about what we've been watching during out hiatus.

Lots to discuss this week, as Booksmart opens around Australia, The Last Man On Earth launches on SBS Viceland and SBS On Demand, and Robbie Hood launches to great acclaim. Also, Fiona's been watching a documentary about Alice Guy-Blache, a female filmmaker who needs to be a household name.

It's our 100th episode! Inspired by that magic round number, we're looking at movies you can stream at SBS On Demand, which have achieved the elusive 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. We also look at whether Russell Crowe makes a convincing turn as Roger Ailes in the new weekly drama series about the rise and fall of the Fox News founder, 'The Loudest Voice'.