Alex Casey 
Alex Casey introduces the young subjects in TV3’s new documentary series Reality Trip, including a 25 year-old with the views of a crazed senior citizen. TV3’s new series Reality Trip takes a group of young New Zealand consumers and whisks them around the world, confronting them with the reality of how their favourite products are … Read more
Alex Casey introduces the key witches in American Horror Story: Coven, and breaks down each of their unique powers in the spellbinding horror series. The third season in the skin-crawling anthology series American Horror Story follows modern day witches living together in New Orleans, Louisiana, all residing under one roof at Miss Robichaux’s Academy. There’s a more … Read more
What a sexy week. Actually no, sexy then devastating. Like dropping a delicious gateau into a pile of mud. Or, indeed, dropping a scandal queenie onto a dancefloor on national television. The elimination of Colin Mathura Jeffree has sent shockwaves through the nation, with the social movement #CornrowsforColin truly taking Twitter by force. Goodbye my … Read more
The first ever New Zealand Young Writers Festival was held in Dunedin last month. Alex Casey and Duncan Greive were asked to do a panel discussion about reality television, and it’s place in New Zealand culture. –––– Click here for more from the NZ Young Writers Festival, including an ‘Ask Me Anything’ with Guy Williams … Read more
This afternoon, whilst catching up on last night’s Dancing With the Stars episode, I realised that I hadn’t yet voted for my favourite dancer and all-time person Pam Corkery. I still haven’t got my head around the logistics of the voting system, but I was embodied with nothing more than a pure desire to keep her … Read more
Alex Casey took a time machine taxi to the Westside set, and walked onto a pristine replica of 1970s New Zealand with all the novelty retro trimmings. There is nothing more surreal than sitting on the West family toilet. The bowl itself? Hard plastic and skin-crawlingly orange. Perching next to it is a crocheted toilet paper … Read more
Alex Casey watches the return of Prime’s Celebrity Wife Swap, and recaps the dramatic first episode starring Coolio and Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath. What’s it about? Celebrity Wife Swap USA invites two undeniable has-beens to put their poor wives forward for the most bizarrely, seemingly pointless task of all time. Hopping in a limo to … Read more
Alex Casey remembers her most traumatic childhood television experience – watching videotapes of body horror kids’ show Round the Twist at primary school. My primary school had a reliever teacher called Mr Anchor. He would cycle in from the next town on a rickety bike, absolutely laden with bags of trinkets and musical instruments. If your … Read more
Alex Casey tries to get the scoop on ex-Shortland Street actor Paul Reid’s plans to buy K Rd icon St Kevin’s Arcade, and imagines some of his proposals for the space. The most scandalous rumour in the soap-actor-gone-Rubicon-gone-real-estate-tycoon world this week is that ex-Shortland Street star Paul Reid is looking to purchase St Kevin’s Arcade on … Read more
Alex Casey previews the first episode of Come Dine With Me NZ, and serves up a sample platter of the type of talent you can look forward to meeting. Pull over Road Cops, Come Dine With Me begins on Monday June 15 at 7pm on TV3. The premise? Five New Zealanders take turns to host … Read more
Alex Casey’s second power rankings for Dancing With the Stars NZ, including Maz Quinn’s elimination, Siobhan Marshall’s dog and Shane Cameron’s microwave technique. If there has ever been anything to convince me of the validity of Mercury Retrograde, it’s Dancing With the Stars NZ. Basically, Mercury is seemingly zooming backwards through the zodiac for a few weeks, and … Read more
Please enjoy this excellent episode of Shorty Street Scandal, wherein James Mustapic recaps the past week of Ferndale hijinks. This week? TK doesn’t understand time travel or 3D printing, Wendy has a mid-life crisis and Murray drinks himself stupid: Never far from a strange, misconstrued conspiracy, TK did not take very well to the concept of 3D printing this … Read more
Inside the Lightbox is a sponsored feature where we mine the extensive Lightbox catalogue. This week, we look at five of the best new shows that arrived in May and are coming in June. Community (Season Five, May 1) Legendary showrunner funny man Dan Harmon is back for the fifth season of Community, where we reconvene with … Read more
Alex Casey tells you all you need to know about UnREAL, the Lightbox-exclusive drama set behind the scenes of a dating show that will appeal to Bachelor fans and reality naysayers alike. What’s the story? UnREAL is a comedy-drama set behind the scenes of a Bachelor-style dating show called Everlasting. It’s an easily recognisable setting, … Read more
Alex Casey delivers her first power rankings for Dancing With the Stars NZ, including Pam Corkery’s boob jiggling, Simon Barnett’s spray tan and Shane Cameron’s meat hands. Dancing With the Stars came samba-ing (and Simba-ing, weirdly) back onto our screens this week after a six year hiatus that approximately nobody had noticed. Ten celebrities. Ten … Read more
Please enjoy this excellent episode of Shorty Street Scandal, wherein James Mustapic recaps the past week of Ferndale hijinks. This week? Harry Warner becomes Harriet the Spy, Damo goes Robert Durst and fruit prices go up the wazoo: Harry-et the Spy has been doing some serious leg work in the snoop department. Watching his druggie neighbours (Paul Williams, probably) … Read more
Alex Casey reviews the debut episode of TV3’s new current affairs show 3D, wherein Teina Pora gave his first on-camera interview since his release from prison. After a rough week post-Campbell fallout, TV3 ended on somewhat of a high with their new Sunday current affairs show 3D. With award-winning journalists Samantha Hayes and Duncan Garner at the … Read more
Here is all you need to know about The Lizzie Borden Chronicles before picking up an axe and hacking into the pulpy period drama. What’s the story? The Lizzie Borden Chronicles is a fictionalised account of a fascinating true story. In 1892, Lizzie Borden’s stepmother and father were hacked to death with an axe in their own bed. … Read more
Alex Casey chats to Suzanne Rogers, better known as Maggie Horton from Days of Our Lives, about what it’s like to be on a soap opera for 42 years and counting. It’s a very weird thing to be sitting in your dressing gown in Auckland, waiting on the phone to talk to a soap star in LA … Read more
After today’s news that John Campbell is leaving TV3, Alex Casey recaps the perfectly apt episode of Campbell Live that followed. It happened today. Just as I was lazily photoshopping John Key’s hand to stroke Toni Street’s hair (for another comparably inane story sure to see the light of day soon). “Holy shit,” asked Duncan, “has John … Read more
In response to the news that John Key was dared by an anonymous TVNZ presenter to style her hair (and obliged), Alex Casey speculates as to who shares ombré tips with our country’s PM. Yesterday the news that John Campbell was leaving TV3 shook the internet to its very core, burying all other news deep under … Read more
In light of her new music video and dominance of the entire world, Alex Casey revisits Taylor Swift’s less-celebrated cameo appearance on CSI. All this flat-out commotion about Taylor Swift’s new star-stuffed ‘Bad Blood’ video has distracted us all from her most stellar onscreen performance – her dramatic cameo role on CSI. It’s infinitely more violent than … Read more
Alex Casey talks to the 2015 Billy T Winner Hamish Parkinson about being raised by TV, playing the New World guy, and what he’ll do with the coveted yellow towel. Hamish became a national star a while back, when these New World ads played before every pre-roll on the internet, and the image of a … Read more
Alex Casey enters the lavish world of Empire through a portal of fake Terrence Howard cash, and tells you why should be watching one of the most highest-rating dramas in recent history. Last week I was invited to the TV2 launch of Empire, one of 2015’s most talked-about shows that is finally arriving to hip … Read more
For My Life in TV this week, Alex Casey talks to Madeleine Sami about creating and starring in Super City, starting out on Shortland Street and how she’s still taking an extended gap year. Madeleine Sami is everywhere if you look hard enough. Just after this interview I popped to a film screening and there … Read more
After weeks of power ranking from behind a computer, Alex Casey sits down with The Bachelor NZ‘s Art and Matilda. Together they sit a fool-proof relationship quiz, and talk about their hopes and dreams for the future. It was what dreams are made of: Art and Matilda, together in a room. Bachelor banners. A small … Read more
Alex Casey grapevines through the Dancing With the Stars NZ lineup for 2015 and makes some early predictions. The full cast of Dancing With the Stars was revealed on X Factor NZ last night, exploding from inside a huge disco ball like spray tanned chicks hatching from the egg of their glittery mother, MediaWorks. And what … Read more
Nothing says ‘Sunday night’ like a 41 year-old man stroking the synthetic hair of a naked female mannequin torso wearing a horrific Kiss mask. The man? Noel Fielding. The naked mannequin torso? Liam Messi. Confused? It’s fine. As Noel reassured an audience member, “I’ve got a face, you’ve got a face – it’s all going … Read more
Please enjoy this excellent episode of Shorty Street Scandal, wherein James Mustapic recaps the past week of Ferndale hijinks. This week? The Warners get warned, Pixie lies about poverty and Murray mourns a motorbike mag: After much dilly-dallying around their famed rickety staircase that leads to nowhere, the Warners have finally moved into their new humble $3 million … Read more