In a very musical episode, Lin-Manuel Miranda breaks with history in the Disney Plus release of his broadway hit 'Hamilton', and Fiona pays tribute to the extraordinary scores of Ennio Morricone (and the flicks you can hear them on SBS On Demand). Fiona and Ben also review brand new sci fi drama series 'War of the Worlds' and give their take on streaming titles 'Disclosure' and 'America to Me'.

This week on The Playlist, Fiona and Ben ask if Australia is really ready for another round of 'Big Brother', we finally make it to a film festival - albeit virtual - with the Sydney Film Festival, we look back at 'Gladiator' and 'Westworld' in What Have We Been Watching and offer up SBS On Demand picks from the 'Sydney Film Festival Selects' collection and preview a new season of 'Filthy Rich and Homeless'.

This week Fiona and Ben recall the documentaries about racial inequality that have had the most impact upon them (13th, Burn Motherfucker, Burn!, I Am Not Your Negro, LA 92). Elsewhere in the episode, they review new releases The Great and Love Life, and they each recommend something form eh SBS On Demand catalogue, for everyone still spending extended periods at home.    

This week Fiona and Ben uncover series using humour to approach the difficult subject of death and grief including the new Amazon Prime series 'Upload' and returning series 'After Life' and 'Dead to Me', take a look at new releases 'Bad Education' and 'Trying' in What We’ve Been Watching, offer a tribute to Fred Willard and Lynn Shelton and offer up iso-picks 'Election' and 'ZeroZeroZero' on SBS On Demand.

This week on The Playlist, the hit 2018 Irish novel turned iso-phenomenon 'Normal People', Fiona gets physical (from a distance) with 'PE with Kids' online sensation the ‘Body Coach’ himself Joe Wicks, we give 'Alien', 'The Shining' and 'Unorthodox' a spin in What We’ve Been Watching and offer up our iso-picks for SBS On Demand.

In this week's The Playlist, Hugo Weaving speaks about his starring role in the new Australian digital release film 'Hearts and Bones' about the painful legacy of war, and Mindy Kaling embraces her inner teenage girl in 'Never Have I Ever' on Netflix. We also catch up with 'The Last Dance', 'Hollywood' and 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' in What We’ve Been Watching and come up with a couple of SBS On Demand iso-picks.

In another Iso-Playlist, Fiona Zooms across the ditch for a chat with Wellington Paranormal's Karen O'Leary (Officer O'Leary), who is having a very busy lockdown, as the much-memed face of the New Zealand Police Force's Public Service Announcements, in addition to her day job as an early childhood teacher. Elsewhere in the episode: Ben and Fiona review the lively '70s chronicle of the leading lights of the feminist movement (and their foes), Mrs America.

And we're back! After adjusting to working from home, Fiona and Ben decide to swap the pyjamas for work wear (from the waist-up at least), fire up the video call and run through an extended iso edition of What We've Been Watching. They also talk impacts on cinemas and the industry, discuss virus movies & TV and do a round up of Fiona's latest interviews.

We don't know what to do with ourselves when the best picture actually wins the Best Picture Oscar. It's bold new territory for Fiona and Ben as they regroup after an historic 92nd Academy Awards telecast. Join them as they discuss the winners, losers, and importantly, how much of the outcome they predicted. 

As the Oscar competition heats up Fiona and Ben make their predictions as to what will win ahead of next week’s awards, Fiona talks to Richard Stanley, director of the new Nicolas Cage sci fi horror flick 'Color Out Of Space', on the popularity of H.P. Lovecraft and his attempts to revisit 'The Island of Doctor Moreau', and they unpack the latest season of Nine's ratings bonanza 'Married At First Sight'.

Ben and Fiona are back to talk 'Little Women', and 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood', both of which have been overlooked in the Best Director category of the Oscars. Fiona then interviews Marielle Heller, director of the latter, about celebrating the legacy of a childhood icon, and about the industry's bias against movies directed by women in awards season ("I guess I can't ignore how blatant this is").  

Ben and Fiona return from holidays to spend their first day back at work watching and recapping the 77th Golden Globes ceremony. They analyse the hits and misses of the lengthy broadcast, still agree to disagree about 'Joker', and make a case for SBS to adopt as the network tagline, director Bong Joon-ho's impassioned ode to the subtitle. 

As we count down the days remaining in 2019, join Ben, Fiona, and special guest John, as they count down their favourite movies and TV shows the year. They laugh, they disagree, and they realise there's not as much crossover on their lists as they expected (*especially when they make up their own rules about what constitutes the 'best' in a 'best of' list). Fiona is joined by special guest, Celine Sciamma, director of 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire', which is in cinemas on Boxing Day and whish...

Fiona and Ben are back in The Playlist studio after a break, to review  Disney+ and its launch juggernaut The Mandolorian. FIona has been watching Knives Out, and Ben has been previewing Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over. FIona catches up with legendary British actor Timothy Spall, in Australia for the release of Mrs Lowry & Son. 

Is Apple's brand new streaming service a game changer? While Fiona takes a well deserved break, SBS Channel Manager Ben Nguyen is joined by SBS Viceland Channel Manager John Beohm to check out the platform and review all the new shows: Jennifer Aniston & Reese Witherspoon in 'Morning Wars' (AKA 'The Morning Show'), Jason Mamoa in 'See', alternate history 'For All Mankind' and millennial literary comedy 'Dickinson'.

'Brittany Runs A Marathon' is a a welcome twist on the 'nottie to hottie' trope in a lot of female-focussed comedies. Star Jillian Bell and the filme's writer-director Paul Downs Colaizzo sit down with Fiona to talk about the marathon of making the film, and watching it take off around the world. (Fiona is flying solo while Ben is away on the French Riviera. He'll be back on deck next ep). 

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...

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.