You saw her in The Favourite and you obviously loved it, but where can you experience Queen (quite literally) Olivia Colman on the small screen? It may be wildly out of line considering she’s won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA and now an Oscar (!!!) but I don’t think it’s greedy to want Olivia Colman to … Read more
It’s one of New Zealand’s most picturesque locations, but what are the best bits? Piha local Mark Mitchinson, who plays rockstar-turned-radio DJ Terry Huffer in the Lightbox series High Road, takes us on a tour of West Auckland’s famous beach suburb. High Road is a Lightbox Original. Season two of High Road is available to … Read more
The rain held off for Six60’s record-smashing show at Western Springs Stadium in central Auckland, an inclusive celebration of Kiwi good times, writes Waveney Russ for RNZ. Last night Six60 attracted the largest crowd of any NZ band ever to Auckland’s Western Springs Stadium, playing to around 50,000 people at the sold-out venue. Sure, Eminem … Read more
To celebrate the launch of New Balance’s 997H – the sneaker built for independents – The Spinoff spoke to Auckland synth pop duo Imugi about their musical influences, independence, growing up, and giving voice to bicultural experiences. We all have those years that define us for the rest of our lives, and for Yery Cho … Read more
Australian band Haiku Hands had a social media smash with their song ‘Not About You’, and they’re performing at Splore this weekend. Sam Brooks talked to them about their writing process, and how they carry their energy from the studio to the stage. The first few moments of ‘Not About You‘ are magnetic, it’s the … Read more
Alex Casey went speed dating with some Heartbreak Island contestants and things got real serious, real fast. Everything around us is slowly sinking. Foot Island. The Tropicana Bar. Even Auckland’s hottie factory The Lula Inn, where I have returned to my favourite booth to do my favourite thing – date a bunch of young, attractive … Read more
Tonight, Pussy Riot perform their show Riot Days as a part of Auckland Fringe. In the lead-up to the performance, Dina Jezdic talked to the collective’s Maria ‘Masha’ Alyokhina. In 2012 Maria ‘Masha’ Alyokhina, member of the Pussy Riot activist collective, was sentenced to two years in prison and sent to a Russian penal colony. Today, Masha … Read more
A new British dramedy proves to us that Anna Paquin has the goods – but the rest of it doesn’t meet her at her level. Sam Brooks reviews TVNZ on Demand’s Flack. The best moment in the premiere episode of Flack happens nearly a quarter of the way into the episode. Anna Paquin, playing PR-slash-crisis-manager … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the third week on Married at First Sight Australia, with special thanks to Nando’s. The real Married at First Sight Australia experts are back recap a truly diseased week on the good show. There were waxed buttholes, there was a cheating scandal, there were many, many chicken pox. Sam and … Read more
She’s the tsunami taking the world over – and you better get on the wave before you get dragged under. Sam Brooks tells you why you love Lizzo. The love “I toss my hair back, check my nails, baby how you feeling? Feeling good as hell!” It’s the refrain that was heard the world over … Read more
There’s a cyclone sitting off the coast and we’re already feeling its tendrils. From Six60 to Splore, Western Springs to Tapapakanga Regional Park, which shows will suffer worst this weekend? Update 11am Friday: NIWA weatherman Ben Noll has scant good news as we barrel towards the weekend, saying while for now there are only smatterings … Read more
When reality show mutant Heartbreak Island launched last year, people lost their collective minds. But why? I’m basically a reality-TV virgin, but when Heartbreak Island aired last year, I was obliged to watch at least one episode because my brother was involved. There was no other reason I would, at that point, have cast my eyes upon … Read more
Sam Brooks talks to ASHY about her brilliant new single ‘Temporary Crush’, the hustle of being self-managed, and her hopes for 2019. I ran into ASHY’s music completely by accident. Every week I do a trawl through a few new music playlists to make sure that I, as someone who writes opinions about music far … Read more
The new local black comedy Fresh Eggs premieres on TVNZ2 tonight. Sam Brooks talks to the creators about what makes it so different. Fresh Eggs doesn’t look or feel like anything else on New Zealand televsion right now – or ever. The show, about two city-dwellers who move to the countryside after some life upheavals, has a … Read more
Waveney Russ is impressed by an outstanding performance from Marlon Williams and the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra at Villa Maria in Auckland. This review was first published on RNZ Music. I’ve always wanted to have the patience, depth of character and intellect to enjoy a night out at the orchestra, but before tonight I had yet … Read more
Simon Day was at the last night of the tumultuous 20th anniversary tour of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. She was meant to be late. She was supposed to be sick. She’s meant to be a “diva”. Lauryn Hill’s relationship with her live audiences has been complicated for a long time. When you’re the last … Read more
The Bachelor NZ royal couple Art and Matilda are having a baby. Here is Alex Casey’s unsolicited gift to them. I thought my days of crying at the dairy were over, but alas. As the man behind the counter grabbed his scissors, cut off the plastic twine and tore back the wrapping on his stack … Read more
First published on RNZ, ethnomusicologist Kirsten Zemke weighs in what fans should do with the music of alleged bad men. American rapper R Kelly has been the subject of sexual abuse allegations for a number of years, for Michael Jackson it’s been decades. Both have remained popular and celebrated artists. Two new documentaries, Surviving R Kelly and Leaving Neverland feature the … Read more
Talented women guitarists are not in short supply, so why aren’t they anywhere to be seen on lists ranking our guitar greats? Who is currently regarded as the greatest guitarist of all time? It’s a hard question to answer but plenty have tried. In the last decade, a plethora of lists have sought to rank … Read more
With a new season of the much-loved drama Cold Feet beginning next week on TVNZ on Demand, Tara Ward takes a trip down memory lane to remind us all why it remains such an iconic show. 2003 was a shit year for television heroines. I spent the year in a chronic state of dehydration, first … Read more
This week the Auckland radio station 95bFM celebrates its 50th anniversary. Russell Brown looks back at the station’s history, the hurdles it’s overcome, and why it thrived. To understand what 95bFM is celebrating this week, it’s useful to look at what New Zealand was like in 1969 when a group of University of Auckland students … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the second week on Married at First Sight Australia, with special thanks to Nando’s. Your friendly podmates zip up their Australia onesies and dive into the tumultuous second week of Married at First Sight Australia. This week we met the last of our hopeful newlyweds, including a 29-year-old virgin, a … Read more
Our reality TV experts at The Real Pod are obsessed with Married at First Sight Australia. Let us count the ways. Married at First Sight Australia has been on New Zealand screens for two weeks now, and it’s already difficult to imagine a world without it. Three’s four-night-a-week, 90-minute episode extravaganza has already delivered raging … Read more
It’s Valentine’s Day, so why not pay homage to the New Zealand icon herself, Xena: Warrior Princess (the first three seasons drop on Lightbox tomorrow). Sam Rutledge writes a love letter to the woman herself. Question: was anyone who was alive in the 90s in New Zealand ever NOT watching Xena? I was only born in the … Read more
Emily Writes picks some kids shows you can watch without wanting to poke your eyes out with a blunt stick. Before I had kids I wasn’t going to let them watch any screens. We didn’t even own a TV when my firstborn came along. He went without TV until he was about two. Then his … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week on Married at First Sight Australia, with special thanks to Nando’s. Join us as we recap the first explosive week on Married at First Sight Australia, objectively the greatest show on Earth. Jules and Cam are the love story of a generation, Jessika and Cyrell have the scariest … Read more
New Zealand’s first celebrity builder, John “Cocksy” Cocks, died yesterday. Tara Ward takes a look back on some of his finest television moments. There was only one celebrity builder who ruled our screens at the turn of the millennium. It was John “Cocksy” Cocks, and we knew him best as the unassuming expert builder in … Read more
It’s nominated for a bunch of Oscars, it’s the most memed film of last year, and you can finally watch it from the comfort of your living room via Lightbox now. Superfans Alex Casey and Sam Brooks discuss why A Star is Born is the best film ever made. A Star is Born is available on … Read more
Last night The Spinoff deployed a specialist squad of millennials to the 90s nostalgia fest So Pop. This is their story. It was late last year that several copies of a magazine called So Pop arrived at The Spinoff office, complete with splashy 90s fonts, band profiles from B*Witched to Blue, and even a pull … Read more