Ethan Sills talks to Matt Letscher, star of The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow, about playing the villain and what it’s really like to wear a superhero costume all day. Superhero shows are unavoidable these days. With basically every American network and streaming service trying to launch their own brand, and comic book adaptations continuing … Read more
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
With Dance Moms supervillian Abby Lee Miller heading to the slammer for income fraud, Tara Ward puts her on trial for a few more crimes. Abby Lee Miller reckons “when a parent opens their mouth, they are ruining their child”. It’s advice to live by, and the reason why all parents should be locked in a … Read more
Tara Ward breaks down the most memorable disguises from spy drama The Americans. If you like your drama with more layers than a hot lasagne, then serve yourself up a giant slice of The Americans. Set in 1980s Washington DC, Elizabeth and Philip Jennings are your typical American family: two well-mannered children, a beautiful home … Read more
Tara Ward drops her shortbread in fright as a brand new trailer for Outlander season three arrives out of nowhere. Praise be to all things mythical and bagpipey, for the latest Outlander preview dropped yesterday like a hot bannock onto a dusty floor. The fevered sighs of malnourished Outlander fans reverberated around the world, much … Read more
Aaron Yap reviews Pamela Adlon’s Better Things, the semi-autobiographical exploration of Hollywood and parenthood co-written by Louis C.K. There’s a terrific bit in the new Louis C.K. special where he admonishes “the way people talk about their mothers”. He recalls an after-match interview with a football player who scored a bunch of goals. “My mum … Read more
Longtime Hugh Laurie fan Pete Douglas counts the reasons why the Chance actor and Spice World star remains one of the greats of our time. How is it the second week of April already? I feel like I have only just digested my Christmas pudding, taken the decorations down from the tree, experienced the empty … Read more
With the two-part miniseries now available exclusively on Lightbox, Alex Casey tells you why you need to take a trip to the scary island of And Then There Were None. What’s the story? Imagine… if you were invited out to a mysterious island with a bunch of people you didn’t really know, who slowly started … Read more
With The Mindy Project season five coming to an end today, Alex Casey rounds up some reckons from the dramatic finale. Contains spoilers and delicious food. The Mindy Project remains one of my most reliable sitcoms these days, maintaining my affections where New Girl lost it years ago. It’s a love letter to the modern rom-com, … Read more
Inside the Lightbox is a sponsored feature where we look for shows you might like to watch from their catalogue. This week, we figure out how you can fill the void before the next season of Vikings with help from the show’s newest star. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s that … Read more
Longtime Kim Possible fan Pete Douglas blows the cover on his favourite spy television shows of all time. Back in the mid-2000’s my wife and I went on our OE, and had the bizarre idea of living in Cork, Ireland for a year rather than the usual London jaunt. We were cool, we were different, we were … Read more
Alex Casey interviews No Activity’s Darren Gilshenan about wearing wet church pants, missing out on Margot Robbie and making something out of nothing. No Activity is a difficult show to describe, and one even harder to recommend. So I’ll just say this: it’s really fucking funny. A low-budget Australian comedy first commissioned by the online … Read more
In New Zealand to promote the return of Suits to Lightbox, Rick Hoffman revealed the secrets of mudding, catchphrases, and his mysterious assistant Norma to Madeleine Chapman. The first ever episode of The AM Show aired on Monday morning, and its first ever studio guest was actor Rick Hoffman – aka the man we love to … Read more
We’ve assembled some Valentine’s gift inspiration from the only thing you can rely on in this cruel life: the television. Forgot about Valentine’s Day? Short on time and money to pull off the romantic gesture of your dreams? Never fear, for the path to hell is paved with good intentions and the longest running TV … Read more
Hungry for a gripping new spy series? Try The Honourable Woman, says Aaron Yap – a spy drama worthy of John le Carré with a breathtaking central performance by Maggie Gyllenhaal. For spy junkies who’re feeling empty after motoring through all available episodes of Homeland and The Americans, Hugo Blick’s eight-part miniseries The Honourable Woman … Read more
Inside the Lightbox is a sponsored segment where we peruse the extensive Lightbox catalogue for shows you might like to watch. This time, we round up the sizzling new content coming this February. LIVE ON LIGHTBOX NOW Pushing Daisies (S1-2) Pushing Daises knew about everything cute before it was cute. Bushy eyebrows. Zooey Deschanel dresses. … Read more
The ’00s are rightly remembered as a golden age for the hour-long teen-centric drama, thanks to The OC and Gilmore Girls. But Duncan Greive says Veronica Mars is the very best. The kids of Neptune High dress like absolute idiots. Platinum blonde hair feathered at every extremity, tartan bootcut pants, all the earth tones on Earth … Read more
People keep saying The Path is a TV show about Scientology. Hayden Donnell sets out to demolish these false prophets and their suppressive allegations. Last weekend I snuck into Scientology’s new headquarters in Auckland. During my two hours inside, I was infused with new depths of knowledge about the perils of psychiatry, the drugs enslaving us … Read more
Before the return of Suits to Lightbox tonight, Tara Ward spends a day embodying the spirit of the slick, emotionally unavailable lawyer Harvey Specter. Harvey Specter from Suits is a living legend. Despite putting up more emotional walls than a mansion of Bachelor rejects, his shirts are always well pressed, he has beautiful hair, and he … Read more
Henry Oliver watches the award-winning series Mozart in the Jungle, one of the lighter offerings from an era of often-traumatic Peak TV. Things are getting dark in this Golden Age of Television. ‘Drama’ is now a synonym for existential dread, bloody violence and sexual assault. ‘Comedy’ is now a synonym for existential dread, relationship problems … Read more
Inside the Lightbox is a sponsored segment where we peruse the extensive Lightbox catalogue for shows you might like to watch. This week, Alice Webb-Liddall creates a vision board of shows to help you become the best can be in 2017. Swamp People There’s nothing like a bit of tragic reality television to make you … Read more
Brave scientist and television enthusiast Lucy Zee attempts to solve one of the last remaining mysteries of modern times: at what moment does Elliot in Mr Robot become irresistibly attractive? Originally posted September 22, 2016 There’s no doubt that Mr Robot is one of the most engrossing, trippiest shows of 2016. But apart from the intriguing storyline, … Read more
Sam Heughan is farmer, fugitive and all round Scottish spunkrat Jamie Fraser in fantasy-drama Outlander, the second season of which arrived exclusively to Lightbox on April 10 this year. Longtime fan Tara Ward swallowed her nerves and spoke with Sam ahead of the premiere (please note, contains spoilers from season one). Originally posted March 24, 2016 Last … Read more
Alex Casey wheels out a holiday favourite in the celeb-studded feature-length finale of Extras. Christmas is a time for traditions and rituals, for dredging up old articles about Love Actually and fighting with strangers online about whether the movie is good or bad. Although Hugh Grant dancing to ‘Jump’ is indisputably good, I would like … Read more
Lucy Zee salutes Chanel Oberlin of Scream Queens, the alpha of the comedy-horror series who never wears the same fur twice. The late 90s and early 2000s gave us the best teen films and TV shows of all time: Mean Girls, Clueless, Bring It On, Buffy and Sabrina The Teenage Witch. Sadly, in more recent … Read more
The Spinoff assembled this week to test run the CSI drinking game. This is their story. We are in the throes of the silly season, where the alcohol flows like water and the work functions are awkward enough to make you want to lock yourself away in a manger. But fret not, for there is a … Read more
With Christmas looming, we’ve assembled some of the best (cheapest) gifts you can buy for your TV-obsessed friends and family. It’s that joyous time of year when you realise you need to buy presents for a million people, except you don’t have the money or time to even wash your hair or eat a vegetable. … Read more
With summer upon us, there is no better time to shut all the sunlight out of your room, pull a blanket over your head and watch TV until your eyes hurt. We assemble the best shows on Lightbox that you can binge from pilot to finale. Wolf Hall Binge time: 6 hours, like a perfectly … Read more
Alex Casey rejoices in the return of a humble New Zealand television icon to Mozart in the Jungle, of all places. The other day my beloved colleague Madeleine Chapman regaled me with her joy at seeing the return of fruity fizzy drink ‘Mirinda’ to the shelves of her local Pak ‘n Save. I have to agree. … Read more