What To Watch TV Reviews: The Lady, Survivor, Paul McCartney doco and the new Scrubs

The Lady

Monday, streaming on Binge

From the makers of The Crown comes this four-part series, a “partly fictionalised” account of the very real but very strange story of Jane Andrews, the former royal dresser who went from being assistant and confidant to Sarah Ferguson, the ex-Duchess of York, to convicted murderer.

Many may have forgotten this wild tale, but it was everywhere in the British press after Andrews’ arrest in 2000, the press dubbing her “the fatal attraction killer” after her conviction the following year for stabbing her partner — she was later sent to jail for 14 years (in a wild twist, she briefly escaped in 2009).

Andrews’ story was the stuff of tabloid dreams — it certainly makes for an excellent jumping-off point for this exploration of gender and class, and one woman’s struggles to define herself in a world that didn’t always welcome her.

Mia McKenna-Bruce plays the woman from the working-class town of Grimsby in the north of England who answers an ad in The Lady for a personal dresser. She and her family are shocked when a letter arrives from Buckingham Palace inviting her to attend an interview for the assistant dresser role to Fergie (played by Game Of Thrones star Natalie Dormer).

Hers is a rags-to-riches story, though without the fairytale ending. She went on to move in upper-class circles thanks to her association with Ferguson, but her life spiralled after she was let go, leading to her eventual arrest for the murder of her partner, Thomas Cressman (Ed Speleers).

“When Jane Andrews was tried for the murder of Thomas Cressman in 2001 it made headlines around the world,” series writer Debbie O’Malley explains.

“But behind those headlines lay a much more complex, painful and thought-provoking story — an exploration of female ambition and human frailty and a devastating chain of events that ended in the taking of a man’s life . . .

“This story, tied up with our national preoccupation with class and our ongoing obsession with the royal family, feels every bit as relevant now as it did 20 years ago.”

Mark your diaries — this one is getting lots of chatter.

Australian Survivor

Monday, 7.30pm, Ten

Survivor fans will have their first opportunity to see whether David “The Golden God” Genet has what it takes to steer the ship when Survivor: Redemption hits screens this week. This new series sees returning players, including fan faves Harry Hills and Brooke Jowett, battle alongside newbies for the chance to be crowned Sole Survivor. This gets off to a cracking start, with Genet proving a capable replacement for JLP (once the initial shock of seeing him wears off). Worth a look.

Todd Sampson’s Why?

Tuesday, 8.30pm, ABC

Todd Sampson continues to nip at the heels of Louis Theroux as ABC’s documentarian of choice with the release of this series, which sees the Gruen regular exploring some truly wild stories. He’s parking his judgment and looking at the motivations of people who hold some unconventional lifestyles and beliefs. In ep one he meets a man who has fathered 164 kids and counting — enough said, really. If you’re a Sampson stan, don’t miss this one.

Scrubs

Thursday, streaming on Disney Plus

Beyond excited to dip into this reboot-that’s-not-a-reboot. As creators keep saying, technically it’s season 10 and a continuation of the Bill Lawrence series, which finished in 2010. Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke, John C. McGinley and Judy Reyes are all back, alongside a new crop of interns. It will be fascinating to see how medicine has moved on since the show first burst onto screens in 2001. If you loved Braff and Faison’s recent podcast series, you won’t want to miss this.

Final Siren: Inside The AFL

Friday, streaming on Prime Video

With this year’s AFL season about to kick off, there’s no better time to take a deep dive into the sport than via this well-crafted four-part doco series. It borrows from other in-depth looks at sporting codes (F1, golf, tennis — they’ve all had a look-in recently), zeroing in on key figures to paint a picture of the 2025 series. Fremantle’s Nat Fyfe, Dayne Zorko, Marcus Bontempelli, Max Gawn, Toby Greene and rising stars Touk Miller and Cam Rayner have interesting things to say. One for fans.

Paul McCartney: Man On The Run

Friday, streaming on Prime Video

I grew up listening to Paul McCartney and Wings, their music providing a soundtrack to my Eighties childhood. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to hear about the band’s formation and Paul’s journey to solo success from the man himself through this excellent and highly personal doco. We never actually see Paul in this (he speaks off-camera), his story post-Beatles told through incredible never-before-seen archival footage. A fascinating portrait of a man who refused to be pigeonholed by his past.