In episode three of Get It to Te Papa, a Lightbox Original made by The Spinoff, Hayden Donnell starts a valiant campaign to move the country’s most famous sign to Te Papa: the Deka sign in Huntly. Watch Get It to Te Papa on Lightbox here. The first thing most people notice about Huntly is the … Read more
In the fourth episode of Project Runway New Zealand, the designers had to make a sustainable red carpet look. Henry Oliver ranks the results. It’s the sustainability episode! So, let’s begin on a downer: Fashion is, by some estimates, the second biggest polluter by industry after oil. About 80 billion pieces of clothing are consumed globally … 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 are finally reunited… kind of. With Duncan coming and going from the studio as he pleases, we are momentarily joined by Hayden Donnell, host of the Lightbox exclusive … Read more
The new drama from Facebook Watch (yes, that’s a thing) is the small screen’s most delicately rendered and thoughtful tackling of grief since Six Feet Under, writes Sam Brooks. Grief is like a snowflake made of shit – every experience is unique and unpleasant in its own way. When someone dies, the grief radiates outwards … Read more
Twenty years on from the release of his debut album 2b S.Pacific, RNZ Music‘s Sam Wicks speaks to Che Fu about how getting kicked out of Supergroove lit the fire that helped him create his landmark album. In October 1998, BMG New Zealand released the debut solo project from Che-Fu (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Whakatere), an … Read more
It’s competitive out there for high schools these days. It seems like there are a million exams schools claim to prep their kids for in order to propel them to global dominance. But which high school has produced the most number one albums in New Zealand music history? James Dann investigates. High school can be … Read more
In episode two of Get It to Te Papa, a Lightbox Original made by The Spinoff, Hayden Donnell goes in search of the animatronic veges that instilled both delight and horror in ’90s kids across the nation. Watch Get It to Te Papa on Lightbox here. My memories of the Big Fresh Animatronic Fruit and Veges … Read more
Unisex bathrooms, weird homophobia and even weirder visual effects. Sam Rutledge revisits the simultaneously regressive and progressive Ally McBeal. “Men are like gum anyway – after you chew a while they lose their flavour.” Calista Flockhart’s titular Ally McBeal delivers this line in 1997 with all the guts of someone who has had absolutely enough right … Read more
It’s week three on Married at First Sight NZ, and it’s going downhill faster than Ksenia in a minivan. What a tremendous week on the greatest show on Earth. We got our first visit back to the big old brick commitment ceremony heaven in the sky, we got a lot of seaside drama, and we … Read more
Complete with hard tops and soggy bottoms, The Great Kiwi Bake Off premiered on TVNZ2 tonight. Tara Ward has the power rankings. Inside the grounds of a Mediterranean palace fit for Queen Mary Berry lies a pond with a turtle. Next to that turtle is a building disguised as a tent. Inside that tent is … Read more
The second season of Married at First Sight NZ looks to walk queer representation down the aisle of mainstream New Zealand TV. Dejan Jotanovic writes about a significant misstep the series made this week. In episide seven of season two of MAFSNZ, Sam (the influencer) and Tayler (the not-influencer) have their first major bout of on-screen … Read more
It’s been a beloved cultural phenemenon for a few years now, but the Bake-Off finally makes it way to our shores. Hosted by Hayley Sproull and Madeleine Sami, Sam Brooks interviews the pair spearheading the Great Kiwi Bake-Off ahead of its premiere tonight. Straight up: I haven’t watched an episode of the Great British Bake-Off. It sounds like the most … Read more
Today at midday the first two episodes of Get It to Te Papa, a Lightbox Original made by The Spinoff, are released. But first, journalist and presenter Hayden Donnell has a few words for the infamous subject of episode one. STOP PRESS: All 6 episodes of Get It to Te Papa are streaming here, now! … Read more
In the third episode of Project Runway New Zealand, the designers had to make a two-piece look out of scrapped technology. Henry Oliver ranks the results. Project Runway is back, baby! After complaining last week about the lack of quips, the lack of drama, the lack of, y’know, interesting clothes, the good ship fashion began … Read more
Today, British singer-songwriter Jess Glynne released her second album, Always In Between. If you don’t think you’ve heard of her, you probably have. Let us re-introduce you. One part ’90s house queen, one part Florence and/or the Machine and one part Natasha Bedingfield in her prime – Jess Glynne started off as a marketing manager … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in New Zealand pop culture and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. With Duncan holidaying in Fiji, we’re joined once again by noted celebrity influencer JT Muirhead to dissect the week in reality television and real news. And what a week it’s been, with the badger botching … Read more
Alex Casey spends an afternoon with Astar, morning television superstar turned Youtube extraordinaire. Astar is digging through her garden bin with a Scream mask in one hand and a vape wedged under her arm. She emerges, coiffed hair and red lipstick still perfect, clutching a bunch of old twigs. “Halloween,” she explains, holding the foliage … Read more
We’ve lost our Sunshine, our Cassie, and a lot of other girls whose names we can’t remember, but we’ve made it to our top three. Miriam Moore recaps the final episode of this season’s The Bachelor Australia. We begin with Nick doing parkour on an oversized Australian tree, proving it’s not just girls, but also … Read more
It’s week two on Married at First Sight NZ, and several of our couples have lost their rose-tinted glasses already. Green up those boogie board bags, pack your versatile sarongs and make sure you say hi to Cat from The Bachelor Australia: we’re off to bloody Bali this week! With the final weddings taking place … Read more
Alias is mostly remembered as the show that launched Jennifer Garner’s career. But it deserves more kudos for being a genuinely groundbreaking show, writes Sam Brooks. “My name is Sydney. Seven years ago I was recruited by a secret branch of the CIA called SD-6. I was sworn to secrecy, but I couldn’t keep it … Read more
It’s the second episode of Project Runway New Zealand, in which the designers have to make a streetwear look inspired by … Sylvia Park? Henry Oliver ranks the results. In the words of guest judge James Dobson (Jimmy D), can I be really honest… this was a shitshow. The streetwear challenge should have been a gimme for … Read more
By her early twenties, Kaylee Bell had achieved the top honours in local country music – Best Country Album in 2014 and APRA’s Best Country Song in 2015. Before that, she’d set her sights overseas where strong interest pushed her 2017 single ‘Getting Closer’ past 1.5 million streams. She’s just released two new songs and … Read more
Doctor Who is back, baby, with Jodie Whittaker in the title role as the highly anticipated first ever female Doctor. Uther Dean talked to her about the beloved show’s history, and the weight of expectations. In November, Doctor Who turns 55. Before that, the 11th season of the modern revival – and the 37th in … Read more
The Block NZ season seven champs Amy and Stu meet The Spinoff nursing hangovers, but carrying a big cheque. They’ve had just two hours sleep since they took home a huge cheque, but Amy and Stu are glowing. The pair seemed preordained to win the season, reeling off a string of ridiculous scores, culminating in … Read more
It’s our hour-long finale with live music, numerous guests and hot, hot curry. What could possibly go wrong? We’ve arrived at the grand finale of The Spinoff TV! If the last 15 weeks have been a roller coaster, tonight’s episode is the big twisty corkscrew part where all the money falls out of your pocket … Read more
Henry Oliver talks to Anika Moa about humour, vulnerability, family and her new self-titled album. Anika Moa is fucking funny. She’s fucking funny on her newest show Anika Moa Unleashed. She’s fucking funny on Seven Sharp. She was fucking funny on Maori TV and The Herald before that. She’s fucking funny performing for kids. And … Read more
Get It to Te Papa follows journalist Hayden Donnell on an ambitious quest to collect underappreciated Kiwi cultural artefacts and get them into New Zealand’s national museum, Te Papa. Together with his director José Barbosa, Hayden scours the country for artefacts including the Waitangi Dildo, the animatronic fruit and vegetables from defunct supermarket chain Big … Read more
Tonight, Marlon Williams won the 2018 APRA Silver Scroll for his song ‘Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore’. He talked to Henry Oliver about why it’s the best song he’s ever written. The Spinoff: I assume you’re the one who entered ‘Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore’ for a Silver Scroll. Why this song? Marlon … Read more
Two years ago, The Spinoff founder Duncan Greive commanded Hayden Donnell to stop pitching things that should be in Te Papa. Today we announce our new show, Get It to Te Papa, starring Hayden Donnell. Here he tells the story of its genesis. GET A FREE LIGHTBOX TRIAL AND WATCH GET IT TO TE PAPA HERE … Read more