Featuring a New Zealand supergroup, a Spanish superstar, Canadian’s finest super-lesbians (just go with it) and more. International ‘Milionària’ by ROSALÍA Not gonna lie, I’ve had this on repeat all month. ROSALIA continues her reign of triumphant, major-key yet low-key, hits with ‘Millionara’. The song is a tribute to extreme wealth, in the same way … Read more
Claire Duncan chats with experimental sound artist Betty Apple about her upcoming New Zealand tour, and where her work fits within the international noise music scene. My video chat with Betty Apple is postponed multiple times. In lieu of conversation, she sends me a barrage of material: pdfs, video documentation of her shows. It feels … Read more
Sam Brooks reviews the final season of Orange is the New Black and finds a fitting end to the series’ tremendous legacy. Light spoilers for the final season of Orange is the New Black. “It was maybe four percent of my life, but it was enough to change absolutely everything, and I have no idea … Read more
With just one more episode to go until the end of an explosive season of Love Island UK, Alex Casey has already crowned her winner. I’m always worried about being too thirsty. Not in the sexy, online way either, more like the desperately parched man in a terrifying Paul Jennings story I read as a … Read more
Jean Sergent reviews Prime TV’s Manson: The Lost Tapes, a documentary that looks inside the Manson Family and sheds light on the darkest ‘family’ in recent American history. It’s going to be a glut season for Manson Family content, with the 50th anniversary of the Tate Labianca murders in early August. Tom O’Neil’s new book … Read more
Since their first single release in 2015, Leisure has had over 75 million streams and a handful of sold-out international concerts. Jaden Parkes sat down with Josie Adams to talk about the secret of success: leisure time. Leisure is made up of the New Zealand music industry’s shining stars, and its quiet heroes. They’re writers, … Read more
The revolution in Gilead has finally begun, and it’s taking place one batch of muffins at a time. Tara Ward recaps the latest episode of The Handmaid’s Tale. The revolution we’ve waited nine long episodes for is here at last, and how do we know? Muffins. It turns out the network of Marthas’ have a … Read more
Sam Brooks reviews The Boys, dropping today on Amazon Prime, and finds it far from the critique of superhero fantasies he was promised. In the third episode of Amazon Prime’s new superhero series The Boys, newly-official superhero Starlight (Erin Moriarty) has a meeting with corporate to discuss her new outfit, which is decidedly skimpier than … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in reality television and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. Light a candle and say a prayer, for Love Island NZ is no longer coming to our screens in 2020. At least the Celebrity Treasure Island NZ promo is out, and Matty McLean’s shins are in it … Read more
Last night TVNZ2 premiered their own panel show, where comedians riff on news from around the country and the world. Sound familiar? Alex Casey reviews. I could only find one moment when Have You Been Paying Attention NZ took a breath last night. Guest quizmaster Ben Barrington, appearing for a special Shortland Street-themed round, was … Read more
Sam Brooks embarks on a search to watch the much-hyped season four of Veronica Mars. For an update, scroll to the end of the piece to find out where you can watch. The short answer to that question in the headline: You can’t. At least not legally. The new season of Veronica Mars is not on Netflix, … Read more
Ever wanted to buy a sonogram of Quinn’s baby from Glee? How about Dr. House’s bathrobe? Tara Ward shows you how. If you’re a fan of Taika Waititi’s classic Kiwi romantic comedy Eagle and Shark and you’ve a spare hundred bucks rattling around down the back of the couch, then get thee to Screenbid immediately. There are two iconic, … Read more
With less than a week to go until the Love Island UK villa evicts its beautiful tenants, Alex Casey and Tara Ward look back at the season that was. Alex: Did you get my text? Tara: I GOT A TEXT Alex: *Ovie in the background voice* MESSAGE! I can’t believe it has taken us this … Read more
Richard Babor, a general surgeon, explains what’s he learned about cancer prevention during the making of his TVNZ show How Not to Get Cancer. The first memory I have of cancer is when my aunt got diagnosed. I was young, in my teens, but I don’t think I really understood what the word “cancer” meant. … Read more
Sam Brooks reviews the second season of Big Little Lies, which generated as much social media conversation as its first season did critical acclaim, for better and worse. Light spoilers for the second season of Big Little Lies. Big Little Lies felt like the TV phenomenon of 2017. It united three of the most acclaimed actresses of … Read more
Fifteen tracks, 22 guests, one album. The Spinoff Music listens to Ed Sheeran’s No. 6 Collaborations Project and considers why each track really shouldn’t work – and the sometimes surprising reasons why they do. 1. Beautiful People – Khalid Khalid and Ed Sheeran are two of the biggest stars in the world right now – … Read more
Orchestral music performance is an art form, but how do you engage with something you’ve never experienced before? Samiyah Alghamdi and Anna Knox attend NYO Celebrates in Wellington and unpack what they hear. The National Youth Orchestra and the New Zealand Youth Choir were performing as part of the NZSO’s 2019 Podium Series, which was … Read more
Tara Ward reviews Funny As, a series that documents the history of New Zealand comedy, and manages to be a key part of that history in its own right. Kiwi comedy has come a long way since Fred Dagg first fell out of a Land Rover, and new documentary series Funny As: The Story of New Zealand … Read more
Aldous Harding is coming back to New Zealand. In the lead-up to her shows, she spoke to The Spinoff about live TV, maturity, and the weirder interpretations of her songs. Aldous Harding is calling from her home in Wales. Only a couple of minutes in, the call drops. I worry I’ve said something to upset … Read more
Created by future ACT Party leader Richard Prebble after an epic reform bender in the 80s, NZ on Air has just marked its third decade. Duncan Greive relates its history and asks: is the funder still fit for purpose? It’s a time-honoured tradition for NZ on Air to host parties the night before its board … Read more
The fourth season of Queer Eye drops today on Netflix. Sam Brooks reflects on his difficult relationship with the show, and where it sits in mainstream culture. For depressingly many people, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy was an introduction not just to gay culture, but to real-life gay men. A makeover show featuring five gay men … Read more
Heaven is a place on earth, and June is saving the world one ’80s pop hit at a time. Tara Ward recaps season 4, episode 9 of The Handmaid’s Tale. Praise be, for there was a tiny bit of good news in Gilead this week. Aunt Lydia gave Janine a snazzy new eye patch, and … Read more
A children’s television presenter, New Zealand’s first supermodel, and bloody Cocksy! Jordan Hamel pays tribute to the Kiwi icons that helped get him through his life. Adolescence was not a great time for me. Depression, anxiety, sexuality, awkward social interactions, emotional repression, being shit at sports – all the cliched tropes you see in any … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in reality television and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. It’s a wacky, wacky week on The Real Pod this week. But is it wackier than the fact that Gilda Kirkpatrick saw a literal ghost in Jamaica? Wackier than the fact that Hilary Barry visited The Spinoff … Read more
Last night on The Block NZ, something incredible happened: James Reid from The Feelers showed up. Every now and again, something completely unexpected happens on reality television that shakes you awake from your slack-jawed couch coma. It’s that jolt of electricity you get from a ponytail falling off on Dancing With the Stars NZ, or … Read more
Laura Vincent reviews Golden Boy, a new sitcom from Three skewering small town New Zealand and the colourful characters who populate it. From Twin Peaks to all the shows that copied Twin Peaks, small towns have long been fertile ground for television to explore the dynamics of a quirky, close-knit community. New Zealand has an abundance … Read more
A local photographer has posted emails from Warner Brothers NZ requesting they work “unpaid” on Married At First Sight NZ. Update 17 July: Warner Brothers have responded with a comment attached to the bottom of this story. A wedding photographer has posted emails from Warner Brothers NZ on Reddit after the production company requested that … Read more
Sam Brooks reviews Mean Mums, the new sitcom from Three that manages to make putting a great show together look easy. When it premiered as part of Three’s Pilot Week last year, I called Mean Mums the winner of the bunch. Nearly a year later, my enthusiasm for that initial pilot hasn’t dimmed. It was the … Read more
Its rolling slate of cringey jokes and meaningless trivia is a familiar sight wherever there’s a captive audience – but what the hell is Giggle TV? Johnny Crawford looks into the tweet-stealing, wife joke-telling phenomenon. If you’ve spent any time in middle New Zealand in the past half-decade, you’re probably familiar with Giggle TV. Fish … Read more