What to stream this week: A pretty, pretty good Larry David comedy, plus five more picks

The Seinfeld co-creator returns (with quite a few of his all-star friends) with a comedy that skewers US history. Plus, Colin Farrell is back in the neo-noir detective story Sugar, one of Italy’s biggest TV hits gets a bloody prequel, while Daisy Ridley stars in an Australian zombie film.

Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness ★★★★ (HBO Max)

Larry David, back on TV? Pretty, pretty good. Just two years after Curb Your Enthusiasm’s finale, the Seinfeld co-creator returns to HBO with a sketch comedy series that skewers US history with a simple, effective premise: what if Larry David was there, too?

Across seven episodes of Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness, the 78-year-old causes curmudgeonly chaos through American history, whether playing a founding father or a man on a bus with Rosa Parks.

Scratching an itch for anyone who misses watching Curb’s riches of embarrassment, the sketch show doesn’t mess with its formula for cringe comedy. Turns out petty arguments about queue etiquette or selfish parkers aren’t exclusive to David’s fictionalised life in LA; they work just as well in the Great Depression’s soup kitchens or when a cowboy’s horse takes up too much space.

Much like the long-running series, Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness is largely improvised, leaving its all-star cast to run wild within David and co-creator Jeff Schaffer’s prickly social scenarios.

While HBO requested critics not spoil specifics, most of Curb’s cast and memorable guests pop up across Life, Larry’s skits – with the announced cast including Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Hamm, Isla Fisher, Jane Krakowski and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

The series even opens with an introduction from former president Barack Obama framing its sketches as a celebration of America’s 250th birthday. (He and former first lady Michelle Obama are also co-producers, via Higher Ground.)

“What truly makes America unique is that we’ve always been a work-in-progress. We’re not perfect,” he remarks, while David looks on nearby wearing a powdered wig, posing among models of the founding fathers. “We can be irascible. Petty. Selfish. Cheap. And, let’s face it, some of us will always find something to complain about.”

Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness’ best sketches include America’s heroes in the “some of us” camp. With four or five sketches each episode, the show’s funniest resemble mini Curb episodes, as a pile-up of awkward moments and social transgressions – a stolen scarf, an owed nickel – become the catalysts of major historical successes and failures, ranging from the moon landing to Lincoln’s assassination.

It’s inevitable there are a few duds, largely the sketches that target President Trump and his ilk, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr (whose wife Cheryl Hines, incidentally, is one of the few Curb cast members not to appear). Politics isn’t the problem; these sketches stand out because they’re single-minded, with punchlines amounting to “Trump is bad”. Thankfully, they are few and far between.

Sugar (season two) ★★★ (Apple TV)

Back in 2024, Apple TV’s neo-noir detective story Sugar, starring Colin Farrell as a private investigator in Los Angeles, swung big with its first season’s genre-shifting third-act twist. It hinted at a much stranger, bolder show to come. The show’s suave private investigator, John Sugar? Spoiler: he’s not merely another hard-boiled man who dives too deep into a missing-person case, attempting to make up for his own mysterious troubled past. He’s also, in fact, a blue-skinned alien sent to Earth to observe humanity. (Visually, Sugar’s true form remains fairly humanoid, like a palate-swapped version of Marvel’s Vision.)

Divisive and disorientating, at least Sugar’s meta-mystery was solved: why did Farrell sign onto this sleek but slightly generic neo-noir, where even his character frequently apes and references Old Hollywood classics? Like so many cinephiles, John Sugar was just trying to understand the world through movies – and as he explores Los Angeles’ dark underbelly, he misses a more black-and-white view of humanity.

With season two, showrunner Mark Protosevich (Oldboy, I Am Legend) continues building out this multi-genre world. The twists and tropes are gripping, but Sugar’s real strength is in its surprising depth. Fusing noir’s sunken-eyed moodiness with the sci-fi existentialism of an alien confronted by a strange civilisation, Farrell explores a profound sense of loneliness.

Secret Service ★★ (Stan*)

This far too self-serious UK spy thriller focuses on an MI6 agent (Gemma Arterton) investigating whether Russia has infiltrated the UK government. Can she stop the Kremlin’s advances during the power vacuum caused by the PM’s sudden resignation – and why does her boss (Khalid Abdalla) keep shutting her down? Adapted from UK news anchor Tom Bradby’s novel of the same name, Secret Service could be perfectly watchable, with plenty of intrigue and surprises in its five episodes. But it’s criminally dour, completely forgetting that thrillers need wit to work.

We Bury The Dead ★★★ (Netflix)

Since playing Rey in the 2010 Star Wars trilogy, UK actor Daisy Ridley followed the path of Twilight actors Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson – resisting blockbusters in favour of eclectic, smaller roles. This overlooked Australian zombie film is one of them. Written and directed by Zak Hilditch (These Final Hours, 1922) and set in a post-apocalyptic Tasmania, We Bury The Dead is equal parts mournful and gory, starring Ridley as a woman determined to find her husband’s body even as corpses start rising from the dirt. Horrors interrogating grief may be everywhere, but Ridley’s quiet performance is worth it.

Gomorrah: The Origins ★★★★ (SBS On Demand)

One of Italy’s biggest international TV hits, Gomorrah is an explosive crime drama set in Naples, inspired by creator Roberto Saviano’s tell-all book on the Camorra crime syndicate. A nerve-wracking watch, the five-season series was far more brutal than The Godfather or The Sopranos, as its characters unleashed psychopathic violence on allies, foes and strangers alike. Equally confronting, this prequel series dials back the clock to 1977, following Camorra’s future godfather Pietro as a teenager rising the ranks. Haven’t seen the original series? It’s also on SBS On Demand.

Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story ★★★★

From 1977 to 1998, New Yorkers would call-into The Robin Byrd Show – a late-night public access TV show featuring nude strip-teases from all genders and interviews with performance artists and sex workers. Hosted by Byrd, in a black crochet bikini, the show elevated the former porn star into a cult icon who used her platform to promote sexual freedom and HIV/AIDS awareness. Filled with archival footage that still shocks in 2026, this charming, funny documentary sees Byrd – now in her late 60s – reflect on her legacy, controversies and enduring community.

*Stan is owned by Nine, the publisher of this masthead.

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