She’s touched all our lives in some way, but she’s only been able to do that by being a totally-up-for-it chameleon. José Barbosa pays tribute to perhaps New Zealand’s brightest star, Suzanne Paul. It’s an accepted mainstay of one’s working life these days that if you’re not prepared to change jobs several times during your … Read more
Tara Ward recaps the rollicking premiere of Outlander season four, available exclusively on Lightbox. Contains major spoilers. The season premiere of Outlander was, as Queen Oprah would say, a full circle moment. Mostly because Claire Fraser kept wanging on about all the circular things she could think of – her wedding rings, the hangman’s noose, those soft … Read more
In the sixth episode of Project Runway New Zealand, the designers had to make a high-fashion look inspired by wallpaper designs. Henry Oliver ranks the results. Like a headmaster starting the assembly after some school-wide bad exam results, let me say up front how disappointed I am with the designers work this week. Tut tut. Last … Read more
They said he couldn’t do it, but what else are you going to do in seven days? Sam Brooks watched 42 episodes of Outlander in a single week to catch up before the fourth season premiere tonight on Lightbox. One week ago today I sat around The Spinoff’s story-pitching firepit, and said I thought it would … Read more
Meer has been known for her punchy, slick rapping since her duo Cool Tan (then called Heavy) dropped their first EP in 2014. Last year, she kicked off her own solo career and here she talks to Gareth Shute about her new single ‘1953’. There are many reasons why Meer (real name Reem) holds a … Read more
Time travel, a bleak dalliance with the French King, and some dubious flatmates – is Jamie and Claire’s relationship actually worth it? Fictional relationship expert Madeleine Chapman passes judgement. Season Four of Outlander drops weekly on Lightbox from Monday November 5, and you can binge the three previous seasons there as well!
Tune in to a carnival of royal waves and welly wanging. Over the course of four days, the country was host to a group of foreign bludgers. They were swanning around like they owned the place. Sucking up resources like they were brundlefly. And we were the ones funding them.
Your Northern hemisphere favourites are back this month (Outlander and Vikings) but there be gold on these here Lightbox shores too, yarr. The Spinoff staff run through what’s new to Lightbox in the month of November. Outlander (Season 4, weekly every Monday from November 5) Guy Fawkes Night will go off with a bang when the much-loved … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in New Zealand pop culture and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. This week on The Real Pod, we assemble with armfuls of Halloween candy to talk about the past week in reality TV and real life in New Zealand. MAFSNZ is over, so what did we … Read more
In episode six of Get It to Te Papa, a Lightbox Original made by The Spinoff, Hayden Donnell’s journey finally takes him to the national museum. Watch Get It to Te Papa on Lightbox here. If I had to pick one artefact from Get It to Te Papa to be enshrined in our national museum, it … Read more
To you, she’s just Phoebe from Friends. To me, she’s the one of the finest actresses of the small screen, writes Sam Brooks. Lisa Kudrow was the best actor on Friends. Regardless of how you rank the Friends characters (and if you rank Ross anywhere but last, you’re wrong), Kudrow’s performance is unimpeachable. When I watched all ten seasons of … Read more
Polish off your whisk and separate your egg whites because it’s Dessert Week on The Great Kiwi Bake Off. Let’s pray to the gingerbread gods that Harry and Meghan managed to catch this week’s episode, because they’d learn more about Aotearoa in one hour of GKBO than three thousand years of Orc visits and Government House … Read more
In episode five of Get It to Te Papa, a Lightbox Original made by The Spinoff, Hayden Donnell’s odyssey takes him to the front door of New Zealand’s only true living legend: Suzanne Paul. Watch Get It to Te Papa on Lightbox here. On March 2, our TV crew pulled up to a big house on … Read more
Alex Casey celebrates New Zealand’s king of the costume box, Rawdon Christie. Here at The Spinoff, we’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for the mystery man they call Rawdy. Gracing the couch on TVNZ’s Breakfast for four years, he was a beloved early morning oddity who interrogated politicians as sternly as he … Read more
In the fifth episode of Project Runway New Zealand, the designers had to make an avant-garde look inspired by a family-friendly car. Henry Oliver ranks the results. So how do you follow-up the sustainability challenge? With the Holden challenge of course! Last week, my five-year-old daughter asked: “Why do they all have the same car?” This … Read more
Alex Casey delivers her final sermon on season two of Married at First Sight NZ. As the experiment draws to a close, I have one thing to say to Married at First Sight NZ. To borrow an ancient proverb from Ottie, I feel like we’ve all suffered through this experiment together, day by day, for what … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, José Barbosa speaks the gospel of fanny packs. Personally speaking 2018 has been a huge year for me. This year, at both work and home, there’s been new challenges to overcome and big projects to drive to completion. I’ve … Read more
The little-known New Zealand-born novelist Redmond Frankton “Bim” Wallis was on the Greek island of Hydra with the young Canadian. A thinly veiled autobiographical fiction offers an intriguing first-hand account of Cohen on the brink of the international renown that would make him one of the most significant literary and musical figures of the coming decades, write … Read more
In 1999, Elle Hunt’s dad convinced her that New Radical’s ‘You Get What You Give’ was actually by U2. Today, she revisits the life-changing moment she realised he was wrong. The loss of innocence is a hallmark of growing up. In my personal bildungsroman, mine was precipitated by my dad telling me that ‘You Get … Read more
Halloween is coming up, and you’re panicking. We know, and we’re here to help. Costume designer Christopher Stratton has your solutions, both easy and not! As someone whose livelihood is costuming though – I have zero tolerance for boring out of a bag costumes. I also understand that time is a precious, limited resource – … Read more
The last five years have seen Israel Starr develop into one of the leading lights within Aotearoa’s reggae scene. Gareth Shute caught up with him to discuss his new single with Reality Chant, ‘Future Navigator,’ and the astounding popularity of local reggae music. Israel Starr has the kind of grassroots support within the reggae community … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in New Zealand pop culture and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. Call the police, because it’s time for a CHAOS POD this week. Cracking open a couple of ice cold Red Bulls, your friendly Real Pod team dissect all the real news and reality TV that … Read more
In episode four of Get It to Te Papa, a Lightbox Original made by The Spinoff, Hayden Donnell goes on the hunt for Auckland’s infamous winking, come-hithering Giant Santa. Watch Get It to Te Papa on Lightbox here. As we headed in to interview Mayor Phil Goff for this episode, a call came through to our … Read more
It has been announced that Celebrity Treasure Island, the iconic New Zealand reality show that almost killed Mountain Dewer Lana Coc-Kroft, will return next year. Sam Brooks peers into his dollar-store crystal ball to predict the contestants. It’s coming back. The show that introduced us to celebrities… again. The show that almost killed our most … Read more
Alex Casey plucks out the most exciting highlights from TVNZ’s new season line-up. As we slide dramatically into the end of the year like a starved polar bear off a rapidly melting ice cap, it feels like there isn’t a hell of a lot to look forward to in 2019. Psychic Betsey Lewis – who … Read more
An early-morning rave session isn’t everyone’s idea of a good time, but for aficionados there’s no better way to start the day than at the regular Morning People events in Auckland and Wellington. Sarah Pollok went along to find out whether she could become a convert. The electro-funk baseline rocks through your body as you … Read more
From deep within her grave, Alex Casey delivers the power rankings for week four on Married at First Sight NZ. Honestly, liquidate my heart, pour it into a Soda Stream, blast it with ice cold fizz and pour it out in the Adrenalin Forest, because I just can’t take this anymore. We are nearly at … Read more
Julia dropped a metrosexual bombshell on Married at First Sight this week. Dejan Jotanovic goes deep on the implications of this, and what’s behind our society’s relationship to masculinity. Married at First Sight pegs itself as the ultimate experiment. Six couples are forced to not only cope with clashing values and combusting pasts, but the scrutiny … Read more
The slice of heaven that is The Great Kiwi Bake Off was this week awash with sweet and/or salty caramel. Tara Ward ranks the gooey results. It seeped over slices, it poured over pineapple, it oozed over benches and onto floors and threatened to drown us all in a sticky sea of sugar. Drowning in caramel … Read more