What I’ve Been Watching: Namila Benson

Namila Benson, host of ABC’s The Art Of… is a fan of Restoration Australia and would secretly love to appear in Fisk.

What shows are on your must-see TV list lately?
NB: I love the storytelling on Restoration Australia. Anthony Burke’s so knowledgeable and passionate about houses, history and design and it comes through in such rich and engaging ways. He presents with such ease.Loved watching Wendy Mocke’s Bad Ancestors which was part of the 2023 Fresh Blood projects on ABC. Wendy’s brilliant and the joy for me is seeing another PNG woman on TV. I just wish there was more than three eps! Now when it comes to must-see TV, every evening before I go to bed I watch at least a couple of videos from the CountryLifeVlog channel. These vlogs are a beautiful form of meditation and escapism for me. Best of all – there’s no dialogue, which is a dream in my overly verbal life! The videos take us to Azerbaijan and focus on the farmstead lifestyle of an older couple who live off the land. We get the most calming and charming insight into their lives; their gorgeous home, their combined food prep, cooking, farming and sometimes, family. The landscape is stunning and the vlogs are beautifully shot by their son. It’s part lifestyle and part-cooking and the food is so healthy, abundant and exquisite plus there’s an array of gorgeous animals who make guest appearances throughout. A strange choice but one of the best channels I’ve come across on YouTube, where their videos get millions of views. A good friend recommended it to me when I was feeling totally overstimulated with work, family and life and from that first video, I was hooked. I now pass it onto others!

Which guilty pleasure show are you reluctant to admit watching?
NB: Oh look, reluctance where?? Because I will very loudly proclaim my deep love for Sex and the City. Problematic show today on so many levels but it’s not that deep for me; I just genuinely love me some great fashion and footwear. SATC is a show that makes me feel so grateful about no longer navigating the chaos of the dating world and happily, I can live vicariously through each of the show’s characters. If I’m ever asked about the character I most relate to, I’d say Miranda.

When you settle down for a night on the couch, what are your must-haves?
NB: Almond and apricot cheese, crackers, chips (any flavour), olives, fruit and a cuppa. What makes it complete is snuggling next to my hubby and kids, under any number of cosy mink blankets we’ve collected over the years.

What show would you secretly love to appear on?
NB: Honestly, Fisk. I love the show’s lowkey humour and the cast are so good! Kitty’s got a beautifully expressive face when it comes to conveying inane and odd moments that happen throughout the course of an average day and I laugh every time I watch her / the show. I’m not usually someone who actively watches comedy shows because the expectation of laughter makes me feel uneasy at times but I do love the way some of Fisk’s funniest moments sneak up on you unexpectedly.

What can we expect to see on The Art Of and what has been your highlight so far?
NB: Our Series Producer, Emma Watts, sums up the program beautifully by saying, “It’s a show that answers life’s big questions through art.” You’ll see artists – including a number of household names – speaking to a range of themes and emotions that reflect the human condition. Each episode carries a different theme and we ask a burning question that we attempt to resolve by the end of the half hour. Whether it’s The Art Of… Sex (Why does sex make me uncomfortable?); Rage (Is rage a blessing or a curse?); Masculinity (hosted by Courtney Act); Starting over; Heartbreak (Can art help me get over an ex?), Food (hosted by Matt Preston) and more, we speak with artists to get their take on how they approach and work through these topics and emotions. We also get a sense of the work created from impacts of these themes in their lives.

It’s a cliché but too many highlights to name! I did particularly love talking Heartbreak with singer/songwriter, Emma Donovan; doing a Confession for the first time ever with artist, Richard Lewer; being on-set for a couple getting it on alongside actor and Intimacy Coordinator, Michala Banas and talking Rage with hip hop artist, Barkaa, comic, Nazeem Hussain and acclaimed writer, Christos Tsiolkas. With each of these creatives, I felt like I learned something new about them and they poked my brain in wonderful ways.

The Art Of: Masculinity screens 9:30pm Tuesday on ABC.