Tara Ward watches Netflix’s new reality shows The Circle and Next in Fashion, and discovers that gentle TV can still be gripping TV. Breaking news, friends: Netflix has the magic sauce on how to do reality right. Its latest reality shows The Circle and Next in Fashion are wildly different to each other – The Circle is a … Read more
Why do they never swim? How much do they drink? And more of your burning questions about Love Island UK, answered at last by Tara Ward. According to Love Island UK, the journey to true love is paved with blue skies, beautiful people and a thousand pairs of budgie smugglers. Nothing makes sense about sending … Read more
Tara Ward wades bravely into one of the thorniest January questions: how late is too late to greet someone with a cheery ‘Happy New Year’? New Zealand’s breakfast TV shows returned to our screens last Monday, with their jubilant hosts throwing out “Happy New Year” wishes like an early morning lolly scramble of festive tidings. … Read more
On the 20th day of 2020, New Zealand’s current affairs shows finally came back to work. Or did they? Tara Ward tuned in to the first episodes of Breakfast, The AM Show, The Project NZ and Seven Sharp to find out just what the New Year would bring. Breakfast The Breakfast team were bloody stoked to be back. The … Read more
Tara Ward breaks down the full line-up for The X-Factor UK: Celebrity and we promise you’ll recognise at least a few of them. What makes everything better in this rancid world of ours? Not trees, not cooler temperatures, not an unexpected Briscoes ‘Monday Madness Sale’. It’s celebrities. Celebrities make the world go round, and nobody … Read more
Tara Ward takes a deep dive into some of the most outrageous, cliched and batshit made-for-TV movies hiding away on ThreeNow. Sometimes things are so bad, they’re good. At Christmas I ate a lot of ham that was probably past its due date, but did I regret it? Once the cramps stopped, not one bit. … Read more
Tara Ward pays tribute to the one true constant in New Zealand television: The Shortland Street Christmas cliffhanger. If you’re going to watch one episode of Shortland Street, make it the annual cliffhanger. Each year our beloved New Zealand soap makes sure we step into summer with a big bang, bigger than Waverley’s hair in … Read more
The gentle godfather of nature returns in Seven Worlds: One Planet on TVNZ 1 tonight, and you best have your tissues at the ready. “Never has it been a more precious time to reveal the life on our seven continents,” Sir David Attenborough says at the beginning of his new documentary series Seven Worlds: One … Read more
Summer reissue: Starz released a promo photo for season five of Outlander, and the world shifted on its axis. And finally, Jamie Fraser’s wig is actually perfect, writes Tara Ward. This post was originally published on April 18, 2019. We’re crossing live to the 18th Century, where Outlander hero Jamie Fraser has been survived some terrible things. … Read more
Just when you thought The Great Kiwi Bake Off was over, a bunch of celebrities took over the tent to raise money for charity. Tara Ward ranks their performance, poo biscuits and all. Sound the klaxon, wrap yourself in puff pastry and dive into the jelly lake of your wildest dreams, because the best gift … Read more
Stuck for something good to watch this Christmas? We’ve picked the television highlights (and lowlights, depending on your love of talking dogs) for everyone this festive period. Nothing says ‘summer’ and ‘Christmas’ like barricading yourself in a dark room and watching a bunch of strangers do made-up things on a screen. But what are the … Read more
With the arrival of season three of the Emmy award-winning Amazon show The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, Tara Ward explains her topsy-turvy love affair with the show’s infuriating heroine. When season one of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel burst onto our screens in 2017, it was love at first sight. After years of watching nightmarish shows about … Read more
Another British drama, another moody small town with more murders than actual people – but what makes a truly great one? Drama masterchef Tara Ward has the recipe down. Nothing beats a good crime drama for a binge watch, and nobody does it better than the British. Whether it’s award-winning shows like Broadchurch, Luther and … Read more
Before Britain’s Got Talent: Champions hits our screens tonight, let’s take a fond look back at some of the show’s weirdest and most wonderful acts. Place your hands on your Golden Buzzer, because Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions kicks off this weekend. Champions is BGT bigger and better than it’s been before, an international extravaganza featuring … Read more
Tara Ward remembers the book that made every school project sing. If you went school in New Zealand during the ‘80s and ‘90s, there’s one book you’ll remember. The deep blue cover will be etched into your memory, the hand sketched drawings seared onto your emotional core. It was The Lettering Book, a wondrous volume of … Read more
Looking for the best of our local film content? Look no further than TVNZ OnDemand. Tara Ward catches up on the service’s New Zealand movie selection. Put down your atlas and wave goodbye to old mate Google, because the best way to learn about New Zealand is to chuck on the gogglebox and take a … Read more
It’s the British reality show that sees singles meet their potential partner on the dance floor, but what is it about Flirty Dancing that makes it such a heartwarming watch? Tara Ward finds out. What in the sweet soft shoe shuffle is it? Flirty Dancing is Britain’s latest television sensation. It’s a reality show about two … Read more
Hidden in the deep bowels of the internet is an episode of television too good to be true: Tipping Point Lucky Stars, featuring the geniuses of The Chase. Tara Ward watches the crossover episode of your TV dreams. The world is filled with unexpected joys, and discovering the episode of Tipping Point: Lucky Stars featuring the … Read more
Tara Ward reviews Goodnight Kiwi, a new series that features well-known New Zealanders reading bedtime stories to kids. It’s strange to think that New Zealand television wasn’t always the 24-hour, infomercial-tastic extravangza that it is today. Back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, our televisions used to go dark every night at about eleven o’clock, a … Read more
Premiering tonight on TVNZ DUKE, Tara Ward explores the salty depths of Spiky Gold Hunters. Spiky Gold Hunter is Country Calendar for hard arses. DUKE’s new documentary series follows six Kiwis as they search the Foveaux Strait for kina, a job with great financial reward but huge risk. These divers work in some of the … Read more
Ahead of TVNZ1’s new wildlife documentary Serengeti, Tara Ward presents the best animals that make up the juiciest drama on the plains. If you love nature docos filled with argy-bargy and love triangles, jealous siblings and power struggles, then TVNZ’s new wildlife documentary series Serengeti is a dream come true. The brainchild of ex-Spice Girls … Read more
Tara Ward reviews one of AppleTV’s flagship shows, Dickinson, a dishy romp through the teenage years of Emily Dickinson. “This is such bullshit,” a young Emily Dickinson says in the opening scenes of Dickinson. It’s four in the morning sometime in the mid 1800s, and Emily’s precious writing time has been rudely interrupted by an order to … Read more
Survivor Australia: Champions V Contenders is back and better than ever. We take a closer look at the famous and not-so-famous Aussies vying to become Sole Survivor. There’s nothing more heartwarming than watching a bunch of Australians sit around a campfire while they metaphorically stab each other in the back, so it’s happy news that Survivor … Read more
The Great Kiwi Bake Off is back for a second season, and all is right with the world again. Tara Ward serves up the power rankings for week one. Welcome back, my flaky pastry cherubs, to another glorious season of The Great Kiwi Bake Off. Please take my sweaty hand as we enter the moist marquee … Read more
With Apple TV and Disney+ launching in November, we have more viewing options than ever before. Tara Ward takes a closer look at the myriad of TV streaming services available. We’re spoiled for TV choice these days, and with Apple TV and Disney+ launching in New Zealand next month, our viewing horizons just got a … Read more
With its snow-capped mountain, black sand beaches and rich arts culture, Taranaki is a region absolutely bursting with hidden gems. We’ve put together a list of all you need to know before you explore this stunning part of our backyard this summer. If you’ve got friends or relatives visiting Aotearoa, top of their list should … Read more
Informed via telegram that Netflix has released a full trailer for the new season of The Crown, Tara Ward puts on her best pillbox hat and white gloves to find out what round three will bring. The good Lorde told us we’ll never be royals, so the first full trailer for the new season of … Read more
Hold on to your sponge nubbins, New Zealand’s loveliest reality show Great Kiwi Bake Off is back for a second serving. Before the show’s return on November 3, Tara Ward takes a sneak peek at 2019’s contestants. Lay me down on a soft bed of whipped cream and swab my forehead with a sausage roll, because Great … Read more
Something’s crowning this Christmas, and it isn’t King Richard of Aldovia in his favourite tiara. Tara Ward looks at what Netflix’s new movie A Christmas Prince: A Royal Baby could mean for us all. Yesterday Netflix announced they’re about to give birth to the third instalment in the legendary series A Christmas Prince, and I don’t know … Read more