What to Watch: Troppo returns, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder lands on screens & new show starring Asher Keddie

Troppo Friday, 8.30pm, ABC and iView Fans of Aussie noir will be cheering the return of Troppo, a detective drama full of bitter ex-cops, punky women with mysterious pasts and laconic north Queensland locals. And crocs. Don’t forget the crocs. At the start of the new season we are reunited with private investigator Ted Conkaffey and his offsider, Amanda Pharrell, who is still recovering from the trauma of being wrongly accused of murder. Conkaffey, meanwhile is caught up in the estrangement from his own family. Which is forefront on his mind when Pharrell excitedly tells him there has been a new murder in town — the kind of case they’ve been waiting for. A man and a woman have been discovered dead in a tent, seemingly burnt to death. The bloke is the owner of a local retreat for estranged families. Just as Pharrell and Conkaffey are discussing whether they should investigate the case, the girlfriend of the murdered man’s son turns up and asks them to clear her boyfriend’s name as she is concerned he will be blamed for his father’s murder. How convenient. There are a few clunky moments in episode one that we can only hope is in aid of getting the story going so we can settle into the mystery. There are a few eye-roll moments where the writers seem happy to let threads dangle in the wind (or should that be stagnate in the humidity?), Conkaffey punching a few coppers in broad daylight with no apparent consequence seems like a weird choice. And some of the dialogue is a little clunky, but there are also flashes of something great — in particular from the two leads — that has us invested. American Thomas Jane is brilliant as Conkaffey, and brings a grizzled wariness to the role. He bounces well off Nicole Chamoun who plays Pharrell, and the scenes featuring these two are by far the strongest. This may be a slight problem, because they are so good that when they are not on screen it can feel a little flat by comparison. That said, the locations are great, the mystery is compelling, there is plenty of guts and gore if you’re into that sort of thing. We are also loving watching the two leads settle into their odd couple detective groove. A slow burn of a show but one with plenty of (crocodile) bite. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder Monday, streaming on Stan The best-selling YA novel by Holly Jackson has been turned into a TV series. Young girl Pip Fitz-Amobi becomes convinced that the wrong person was blamed for the murder of a local school girl five years earlier. She starts her own investigation which sees her begin to uncover truths some people would like to remain a secret. Sprint Tuesday, streaming on Netflix It’s an Olympic year and we know what that means — track and field is gearing up for the big race, the 100m. This docuseries from the producers of Formula 1: Drive to Survive and Full Swing, delivers an up close look at some of the fastest people in the world and the incredible mental and physical feats they much reach to compete with the world’s best. Michael Mosley: The Doctor Who Changed Britain Wednesday, 7.35pm, SBS The shock death of Dr Michael Mosley while he was on a Greek holiday has been deeply upsetting for the millions of people who watched his TV shows, read his books and in many cases, changed their lives on the basis of his research. This tribute looks at the out-sized influence of the good doctor. Fake Thursday, streaming on Paramount Plus Asher Keddie and David Wenham star in this new mini-series based on the book of the same name by journalist Stephanie Wood. Wood, a magazine writer, fell victim to a romance scam by a man who promised her the world — but was soon revealed not to be everything he claimed. With performances from two of Australia’s most beloved small screen stars, this promises to be compelling viewing.