Streaming columnist NICK OVERALL reviews a movie – the story of IVF – that lives up to its name – Joy.

There are some remarkable true stories about medical breakthroughs out there, but the one depicted in Netflix’s new film Joy must be among the most astonishing.

It’s the real-life tale of the world’s first IVF baby, Louise Joy Brown, who was born in 1978.

The British biopic stars Bill Nighy, Thomasin McKenzie and James Norton, who together play the tenacious trio who made IVF a reality.

They’re a pioneering scientist, an ambitious young nurse and a veteran surgeon who faced a huge amount of resistance and backlash from the government, the church and the media in their goal to create the world’s first “test tube baby”.

Since then it’s estimated more than 12 million children have been born using IVF.

Coming in at just under two hours, the film offers a thought-provoking experience about one of the most consequential medical achievements in history coupled with a deeply human story at its centre.

Joy lives up to its title.

FROM The Stand to The Walking Dead to The Last Of Us, tales of post-apocalyptic survival have become a popular staple of modern streaming and this month Stan is trying to bring a new doomsday hit to the platform with Earth Abides.

Unlike the others though, this series looks to a literary classic as its inspiration.

Earth Abides is based on a 1949 novel of the same name by George R Stewart, which became a best seller.

It tells the story of a man named Ish, who after months of isolation discovers the world has fallen into ruin from a plague.

Sounding a bit familiar at this point?

Well, rather than brawling with the undead or leading a resistance, Ish (played by Alexander Ludwig in the show) tries to more peacefully rebuild society by searching for survivors.

The book opts for an intellectual rather than action-packed story, diving deep into how a civilisation emerges from the ashes and how a whole new mythology and religion are born with it.

It will be interesting to see how the TV show approaches this underrated source material.

Earth Abides could go down the thriller route, like its popular counterparts, or it could hold into its more philosophical leanings.

For the sake of creating something original, hopefully it’s the latter.

IN this day and age it feels like a celebrity is “cancelled” on a daily basis.

It seems there’s always one high-profile comedian, actor, politician or otherwise saying something that catches the ire of the mob.

Now a new British mini-series wants to tackle cancel culture head on.

It’s called Douglas Is Cancelled and it stars Hugh Bonneville as a popular news anchor whose career gets turned upside down after he makes a joke at a wedding that causes furore.

The show plays out almost like a horror movie at the moment Douglas’ producer spots the singular Tweet that ignites the disaster he knows is about to unfold.

Then things only go from bad to worse when his co-presenter tries to step in, sharing the post and telling her many followers “don’t believe this. Not my co-presenter.”

What exactly she means is left entirely to others in the Twittersphere to decide.

Douglas himself claims he can’t remember the joke, a line we so often hear from those caught in the centre of these scandals, leaving him in a battle to save not only to save his job but his entire personal life as the public outrage heats up.

This comedy-drama comes from prolific British TV writer Steven Moffat, who’s earned himself a cult following for his long-running work on Doctor Who and Sherlock.

Known for his witty dialogue and addictive central characters, Moffat has gone for an amusing change of pace and protagonist here.

It’s a little slow off the mark but it’s absolutely work sticking around for the ending. Plus with only four episodes it’s an easy one to knock over on a quiet weekend.

All four episodes can be streamed on ABC iView now.