How much Mark Richardson is too much Mark Richardson?

Now that The Block NZ is back, Alex Casey recaps a marathon four hours of Mark Richardson television. Home renovation juggernaut The Block NZ returned this week, bringing with it two incredibly harsh realities. The first is that I’m going to feel very conflicted for the next few months as I wipe the mould off … Read more

‘We’re in a special moment in New Zealand cinematic history’ – Park Road Post’s Cameron Harland on the Wellywood dream

The final in a week-long series chatting to Wellingtonians about what they’re up to in the windy city, Alex Casey talks to Cameron Harland of Park Road Post about New Zealand films, video nostalgia, and the best surf spots in Wellington. “It’s got a real shining vibe, eh” says Cameron Harland, general manager of Park … Read more

Pomegranate Kitchen’s Rebecca Stewart on how food can change the world

Today, as part of a week-long series chatting to Wellingtonians about what they’re up to in the windy city, Alex Casey talks to Rebecca Stewart of Pomegranate Kitchen about social enterprise and doing good in the community, one meal at a time. It’s 8am on a Friday, and it doesn’t take long to start talking … Read more

‘The artist is the original precariat’: Jo Randerson, Tom LaHood and the barbarians coming for Wellington performance

Today, as part of a week-long series chatting to Wellingtonians about what they’re up to in the windy city, Alex Casey talks to Jo Randerson and Thomas LaHood of Barbarian productions about making theatre on the fringe. Here’s the beginning of a comedic Wellington setup for you: a viking and a clown walk into a … Read more

‘When people think Africa, they think safari. I haven’t even been on a safari’

Next in a week-long series chatting to Wellingtonians about what they’re up to in the windy city, Alex Casey talks to fashion entrepreneur Pinaman Owusu-Banahene about bringing Africa to Wellington, growing up in a matriarchy, and the slow death of fast fashion. For someone who once thought fashion was shallow, Pinaman Owusu-Banahene’s iridescent turquoise outfit is an … Read more

Choice Bros: call these brewers anything you want as long as it’s not craft

Next in a week-long series chatting to Wellingtonians about what they’re up to in the windy city, Alex Casey talks to Choice Bros head brewer Kerry Gray about the Wellington brewer scene, stag semen and why his bar will be a haven from Trump.  “Kiwi drinking culture got fucked up because everyone wanted to get fucked up,” says … Read more

The Spinoff invades Wellington!

Before launching into a week-long series exploring all that Wellington has to offer her, Alex Casey reflects on a childhood spent travelling ‘over the hill’. I have a confession: Wellington used to make me sick. Like, literally. Growing up over the ranges in the sleepy, sometimes scary, sometimes fancy cheese shop town of Featherston in … Read more

Chasing mean geezers and little grandmas with Dan the Weatherman

Alex Casey spends the afternoon watching a master at work: the one and only Dan Corbett, TVNZ 1’s enigmatic metereologist. The good thing about Dan Corbett is that you don’t know if he’s talking about the weather, or if he’s tracing the movements of a Cockney gangster on the run. “Here comes the mean geezer,” … Read more

Is The Handmaid’s Tale… a documentary?

Alex Casey delves into the endless relevance of The Handmaid’s Tale, arriving exclusively on Lightbox today.  I first encountered The Handmaid’s Tale during high school English. They were simpler times, when you could buy three full size (!) Moro bars for $2 at the tuck shop, and the world didn’t feel like it was absolutely, 100% … Read more

Vote for your new favourite webseries to get made in TVNZ’s New Blood

With voting for TVNZ’s New Blood webseries competition underway, panelist Alex Casey rounds up the top 10 finalists.  You know how fancy overseas countries have a pilot season, where all the exciting brand new shows battle it out to get picked up by networks? New Zealand has finally put on its grown-up pants with TVNZ’s … Read more

The glory and horror of New Zealand celebs and their weird YouTube channels

Alex Casey peers into the abyss of New Zealand celebrity YouTube channels, and rounds up five of the best. There’s nothing more I love than cracking open the old jar of chocolate chips in the pantry and zoning out on YouTube to someone talking to a camera in their bedroom about their moderately entertaining lives. … Read more

Huge and true: The Handmaid’s Tale is coming exclusively to Lightbox

The Handmaid’s Tale is already the most talked-about new shows of 2017, and it’s coming to our shores exclusively on Lightbox from June 8. Alex Casey tells you why you should be psyched.  Adapted from Margaret Atwood’s terrifying dystopia first imagined in her 1985 novel, The Handmaid’s Tale is a too-real vision of the future. … Read more

Meet Dr. Mary Tompkins, the unsung hero of Shortland Street

For Shortland Street’s 25th anniversary week, Alex Casey interviews the soap’s longest serving extra. In Ferndale, Dr. Mary Tompkins is a god among mortals. She was there when Luke Durville died of a brain bleed. She was on duty when a gunman unleashed hell in the cafeteria during the Christmas party. She treated a pilot after … Read more

The Women Tell All went behind the magic of The Bachelor – for about one second

Alex Casey watches The Bachelor NZ’s ‘Women Tell All’ special, and finds a fittingly tame end to the season.  Will we ever forget the moment that Naz stomped onto The Bachelor NZ’s Women Tell All stage last year, brandishing her manicured fingers like knives and effing and jeffing up a storm? It was better than … Read more

There’s no better time to dive back into Top of the Lake

Alex Casey explains why you should make Top of the Lake your gloomy weekend binge-watch.  Here’s the truth: we should all be screaming about Jane Campion’s masterpiece Top of the Lake all day everyday, because it’s some of the best television to come out of New Zealand ever (apart from this and maybe also this). Filmed … Read more

Eight simple rules for destroying boring stereotypes in the tech industry

Alex Casey reports back from the Techweek’17 ‘Breaking Stereotypes’ panel with a bevy of useful life advice.  The room for the Breaking Stereotypes panel was built to inspire, from the shaggy aqua rug to the bespoke mismatched seats, to the wall art that literally said “inspire”. ‘Twas the middle of Techweek’17, the coffee was steaming, … Read more

‘Where are all the women? We’re here! There’s lots of us!’ : An engineer talks gender diversity in tech

In the midst of Techweek’17, Alex Casey talks to The Next Billion’s Priti Ambani about shining a light on the women in tech. We had only been talking for five minutes, but engineer and company co-founder Priti Ambani had already taken me on a journey into exponential technologies, big data and the future of work. … Read more

Survival tips from Moon TV’s Non Celebrity Traffic Island

Moon TV’s ‘Non Celebrity Traffic Island’ marooned a group of regular folk on a traffic island in Remuera. Here, we share some useful survival tips from the harrowing social experiment.  Being marooned on a reality TV show is hard yakka, just look at Nikki Kaye in Fish Out of Water, or The Bachelorettes fighting over … Read more

Shocking: Anika Moa continues to give no fucks in a Ponsonby cafe

Alex Casey sits down with Anika Moa ahead of her return to television in All Talk With Anika Moa season two. Warning: contains burps, swear words and tangents about flaps.  Interviewing Anika Moa is a little bit like attending a celebrity roast, except she’s the celebrity and you are the one getting mercilessly roasted. She’ll … Read more

A guide to the Psycho references you didn’t peep in Bates Motel

With the penultimate season on Lightbox this week, Alex Casey does a deep dive into Reddit to find all the Psycho references in prequel series Bates Motel.  As the Scary Movie franchise has demonstrated, nothing gets the party started like a pop culture reference, however slight or heavy. Bates Motel, both a prequel to and … Read more

Meet the comedian who tricked America into thinking he was royalty

Alex Casey talks to comedian Ed Gamble about his time impersonating a prince on Almost Royal, and how to catch a catfish.  The BBC America series Almost Royal follows the aristocratic sibling duo Georgie and Poppy Carlton – supposed descendants of the royal family – as they travel to the United States to meet the … Read more

EXCLUSIVE: Jordan Mauger flipped a coin to decide the winner of The Bachelor NZ

In a tell-all appearance on The Real Pod this week, ex-Bachelor Jordan Mauger revealed how he chose the winner of season two, among other confessions including when he really wore the earpiece. Jordan Mauger, star of The Bachelor NZ season two, has revealed to The Spinoff that he flipped a coin to decide who was … Read more