Our household was recently felled by a particularly nasty lurgy. One by one we succumbed until it was my turn to take to my bed, Victorian lady-style, where I daintily coughed into a hanky in a darkened room while my worried family gathered on the other side of the door talking in hushed tones with the visiting physician. Jokes! As IF that happened.
No, what actually transpired was this: I disappeared under a doona to rot in bed while watching episodes of this deliciously bonkers new doco series, while my family got steadily more annoyed that nothing was getting done around the house. Here’s the thing: I wasn’t so sick that I couldn’t have done the odd domestic task. The truth is: I didn’t want to — because I simply couldn’t tear myself away from watching this spectacularly nutty four-part series from the makers of Tiger King.
It tells the story of an American woman (they’re always American) called Tonia Haddix, whose obsession with raising chimpanzees as “children” (she calls them “humanzees”, because of COURSE she does) sees her life spiral dramatically out of control. This story truly has it all: a celebrity chimp named Tonka, a clown-turned-documentary-director, a court case, ethical ambiguity, a fugitive on the run — heck, even British actor Alan Cummings! To tell you even a skerrick more about what transpires would be to entirely ruin the fun. Trust me: you won’t be resuming normal household duties until you’ve binged every last second of thi.