Superhero satire to chef drama: Here are the TV series returning now
Jeremy Allen White is back in the kitchen for The Bear season three. (Disney+)
The thing about TV is that it just keeps coming out! Add in the disruption of the WGA/SAG strikes last year and the fact that Australia gets some shows late for some reason, and it can be hard to keep track of when your fave shows are back on the box.
Which is why we've put together a list of shows that are back for a returning season. Happy watching!
Warning: We're talking about returning seasons, so there will be spoilers if you're not up to date.
The Bear season three — Disney+
Yes chef, The Bear is back!
After this frankly perfect show swept this year's Emmy Awards, chefs Carmy (the increasingly jacked "sexy rat" Jeremy Allen White) and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri, who stole the show/our hearts) and the rest of our lovable gang of misfits have returned to the kitchen for season three, to no doubt leave us stressed, moved and hungry.
The first season of the unexpected FX hit saw fancy-pants chef Carmy leave the world of fine dining to return to his late brother’s Chicago sandwich shop, where he whipped its staff, including his "cousin" Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), into shape and worked through some culinary-based trauma.
There was a fair amount of grief, addiction, money woes and Italian beef for all. Plus a sweat-inducing penultimate episode shot in one 18-minute take.
In the second season, Richie found his purpose and learned to love T-Swift, and we were introduced to the source/mother sauce of Carmy’s anxiety through a Christmas episode to end all Christmas episodes. (Turns out Jamie Lee Curtis, playing Carmy’s unhinged mum Donna, is still that girl). The season ended with the team finally opening a fine dining establishment to replace their sandwich shop (though the head chef got stuck in a fridge and ruined his romantic life).
In this new season, we get to find out whether The Bear (both the name of the restaurant and the show) can live up to all the hype, starting in episode one with an insight into Carmy's relentless desire for excellence. We see the many high and low points in his career to date (see: gratuitous shots of food; and returning guest stars Olivia Colman and Joel McHale), from New York to Copenhagen to Chicago, all set to a score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
This season, which just debuted in full on Disney+, is already a visual feast and will have plenty for fans of the show to chew on, whether it's the series' acting, distinct style, music choices or how seamlessly it shifts from scenes of heartache to comedy.
But do not expect a Carmy/Sydney romance, you losers, haven't you ever heard of platonic friendships between very attractive co-workers? Live a little.
– Hannah Reich
Stuff The British Stole season two — iview
In case you hadn't heard, in their hard-partying coloniser days, the British stole a bunch of rare and important stuff from around the world to fill their museums.
Some things have stayed in those museums, but others have turned up in far-flung places, and presenter Marc Fennell is gonna find out how they got there. It's been a long two-year wait for this second season of Stuff The British Stole and boy, is it worth your while.
Straight off the bat, Fennell recruits comedic legend Stephen Fry to help him figure out how the Greek Elgin Marble sculptures ended up in the British museum and chats to people on both sides of the keep 'em/give 'em back argument (for the record, Stephen is very much in the give them back to Greece camp).
Those who gasped at last season's incredible journey of the Koh I Noor diamond will be rapt that Stuff The British Stole is going back for a second bite at the Royal jewels. This time it's to track the story of the largest gem-quality diamond ever found: the Cullinan diamond.
Originally discovered in South Africa, it was smashed into pieces so the British Royal family could set it into crowns, including the one that Camilla wore during King Charles III's coronation. The emotions in this episode are recent and raw, so you might want to factor in some breathing/screaming into a pillow time after this one.
But perhaps the most affecting episode concerns an artefact a little closer to home; the mummified remains of a seven-year-old child that, until very recently, were sitting in a Sydney museum. Fennell travels all the way to Egypt to find out how this eerie mummy could have landed on Australian shores.
Fennell is very adept at making you learn things without even realising it's happening and, with his frequent jaunts all over the world, season two could almost double as a travel show. Just remember not to take any souvenirs back with you.
– Velvet Winter
The Boys season four — Prime
For two years, fans of The Boys have been frothing for the latest season, after creator Eric Kripke held back the premiere in solidarity with the WGA strikes.
Well, the writers have resolved their issues and Boys fans have been blessed with the first half of the season (The Boys is one of the few shows clinging to weekly ep drops and, considering the harshness of the content, it's probably a good idea to space them out.)
In case you don't know, The Boys is set in a universe where superheroes exist and most of them are under the control of corrupt and Disney-esque (the satire isn't subtle) Vought Industries. Only rag-tag resistance group The Boys have the power to stop the most evil of Vought's plans.
Season four picks up where season three left off, with megalomaniac 'supe' Homelander (Antony Starr) entirely in charge of Vought Industries and facing a sham murder trial for literally lasering a dude's head off in broad daylight in front of dozens of his fans (they clapped).
Starlight, aka Annie January (Erin Moriarty), is reluctantly stepping up as the face of the resistance, and Boys boss Butcher (Karl Urban) is living on borrowed time after over-indulging on Temp V last season.
In the penultimate season (Kripke confirmed that season five will be the last), the Homelander vs The Boys arc is coming to a head.
Homelander, who is now totally unhinged, uncontrollable and in disbelief over his own grey hairs, is determined to orchestrate a world where supes openly rule. He's trying to pass the populist mindset onto his superpowered son Ryan, but the troubled teen is having second thoughts.
No matter, because Homelander has two new playthings to help him achieve his grand plan. First is Firecracker (Valorie Curry), a conspiracy theory mouthpiece that might as well be far-right US politician Marjorie Taylor Greene in a red wig, and Sister Sage (Susan Heyward), the smartest person alive who appears to want to help Homelander enslave humans just to see if she can (#justsmartgirlthings).
Every season of The Boys is dark, but this season is DARK, eerily mirroring real life events so you end up pondering if our world is this bad as the credits roll.
As usual, the star of the show is Antony Starr as Homelander. We somehow keep learning more horrible things about this monster, to the point where every twitch of his face is enough to make you want to run for the hills.
It's still up in the air if the show will follow the gruesome ending of the graphic novels but, even if it doesn't, you can bet it’s going to be bleak.
– Velvet Winter
Abbott Elementary season three — Disney+
After a delay in production due to the writers' and actors' strikes last year — and then a cruel hint of a season three drop in February that turned out to only be for the US — Abbott Elementary is finally back in session.
All our favourite characters have returned to this disadvantaged, mostly Black Philadelphia public primary school, with its crumbling building and meagre resources. Yet the teachers still show up every day with jaded quips, love and commitment to their students and laugh-out-loud jokes coming thick and fast.
They are still being filmed by a mysterious camera crew, who were invited into the school by chaotic principal Ava (the hysterical Janelle James) in season one to boost her online profile. Their presence provides lots of opportunities for the teachers to break the fourth wall, and to give the interviews that we have come to know and love.
As a reminder, at the end of season two our main gal and grade two teacher Janine Teagues (show creator, Emmy Award winner and verified queen Quinta Brunson) decided she needed to get to know herself better first, and not pursue a relationship with deadpan heartthrob and first grade teacher Gregory Eddie (fashion icon and Emmy nominee Tyler James Williams). The rejection prompted much shouting at the screen and universal heartbreak as Gregory's enormous, expressive eyes filled with pain.
But don't expect just another school day in season three. We come back five months into the year — the time-jump is justified with a funny side-plot about the in-house camera crew getting robbed in the back streets of Philly and losing all their gear — and things are radically different.
Most notably, Janine is no longer working at Abbott Elementary, trading her pastel-coloured flowing skirts for a grey pants suit and a job with the school district!!!!!! She is also trying out swearing for the first time.
The double ep that kicks off the season then goes back to the start of the term and shows us how we got here, mostly through hidden-camera footage. Turns out Ava installed the cameras when she decided to become a serious and present principal after studying education over the holidays (don't worry, her commitment is short-lived). Oh and, of course, there's more wrenching will-they-won't-they for Gregory and Janine.
Of course, no celebrity cameo compares to the truly thrilling appearance of Ayo Edebiri in season two as Janine's sister, but this season we not only have characters played by Keegan-Michael Key and TikTok star Sabrina Brier, we have appearances from drag queen legends Shea Coulée and Symone, Bradley Cooper, Questlove and a very sweet and cute cameo from three, real-life Philadelphia Eagles football players (including Taylor Swift's brother-in-law).
We do only get 14 episodes in this season, but you can comfort yourself with the knowledge that a fourth school year at Abbott has already been confirmed.