A spy thriller by the woman who wrote Fleabag starring the woman who made you cry as Cristina Yang. Why wouldn’t you want to watch that? Sam Brooks reviews. There’s a moment about ten minutes into Killing Eve where Eve (Sandra Oh) and her boss Bill (David Haig) are legitimately, honest-to-God hungover and slogging it through work anyway. It’s … Read more
Four years on from his debut album, Vance Joy talks to Kate Robertson about his new release Nation of Two, as well as songwriting, staying grounded, and what it’s like to be on tour with Taylor Swift. We first heard the now unmissable strum on Vance Joy’s ‘Riptide’ in 2013. In 2017, four years later, APRA … Read more
From schmaltzy ballads to modern takes on classics, Jilly Taipua from Skinny Love Weddings goes through the most requested songs she gets from couples to play on their very special day. You’re getting married. It’s arguably the most important day of your life, so what one song can encapsulate the importance of this particular day, the … Read more
Alex Casey reads through the complaints against Naked Attraction, the very rude show that aired on TVNZ last year. Everybody knows that absolutely nobody has genitals. In fact, nobody has ever been naked. Before birth we are prepped with an in-utero uniform of jorts and a high vis vest, gifted to every growing foetus from … Read more
Look at him. Just look at him. This is amazing. Former New Zealand cricket player Chris Zinzan Harris is going to be on Dancing With the Stars. To me, an avowed fan of both the legendary all-rounder and the harmlessly stupid celebrity dancing show, this could just about be the greatest thing that has ever … Read more
The Americans is not only one of the best shows on TV right now (with the fifth season dropping on Lightbox this week), it’s an education tool. Tara Ward studied the show and came away with tips on how to decipher if your real-life neighbours are also real-life spies. If you’re looking for an intelligent drama … Read more
Bringing back an awesome show from 20 or 30 years ago may seem like the answer to all our modern TV problems, but is it really? Today, Calum Henderson examines the case for bringing back a true crime masterclass. Mike Bungay QC was a New Zealand lawyer so famous they gave him his own TV … Read more
Jogai Bhatt talks to Broods’ Georgia Nott on her all-female produced solo project The Venus Project, gender representation in the music industry, and why this time she’s gone for a more stripped back sound. Georgia Nott will be familiar to most as one-half of synth-pop sibling-duo Broods. With their signature sounds making waves globally and … 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, the team wash up in a MAFS-free world. Luckily, our favourite celebrity couple Zac Franich and Erin Simpson (Zarin) are marking their three month anniversary by moving in together. … Read more
Alex Casey and Sam Brooks round up the new content coming to Lightbox this month, including the highly anticipated return of The Handmaid’s Tale, Russian spies in wigs and Helen Mirren’s career-defining role! The Handmaid’s Tale S2 (April 26) The last we saw of Offred and the gals, a cute way of characterising a group of women … Read more
Wikipedia has it on its list of the worst sitcoms of all time. But how bad is it? Sam Brooks watched the first episode of Melody Rules to find out if the notorious Kiwi comedy has been unfairly maligned. The answer is yes, but also no. For those of you who are not in the know about … Read more
Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s new album Sex & Food is prompting RNZ’s Melody Thomas to think about the apocalypse. She asks the band’s founder and frontman Ruban Nielson if that’s what he intended. Sad lyrics over happy music. Gloomy cover art on a joyous album. Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Ruban Nielson is fond of things that seem contradictory, but … Read more
Over the past two years a movement of Dunedin bands have played sold out gigs in all the major centres, riding a wave of hype unseen since the glory days of Flying Nun. Don Rowe kicks off his shoes and gets into the thick of it. On a peerless afternoon in late January, 250 people … Read more
Aldous Harding and Nadia Reid are at the forefront of a folk scene that is revolutionising how NZ music is seen overseas. Recently both also made the shortlist for this year’s Taite Awards, but Gareth Shute argues they’re just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to local folk success stories. At the end … Read more
Alex Casey introduces Raised by Wolves, a coming-of-age sitcom created by UK feminist firebrand Caitlin Moran. What’s the story? Raised by Wolves is a semi-biographical retelling of the childhoods of Caitlin and Caroline Moran, set on an estate in the working class city of Wolverhampton. Join Germaine (who I’m assuming is inspired by Caitlin via … Read more
For the greater good of television, three industry heavyweights put their differences aside for the launch of research and advocacy group ThinkTV in New Zealand. Jihee Junn tags along to see what the fuss is all about. It’s not every day you have the heads of New Zealand’s three biggest TV providers on stage at … 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, the team try to put together the pieces after an explosive end to Married at First Sight Australia. Why is Sean suddenly dipped in gold? What were Tracey’s sexy … Read more
Alex Casey watches the final week of Married at First Sight Australia, and comes away with some important lessons for the new season of the New Zealand franchise. It’s been a difficult relationship with Married at First Sight Australia. Late nights have meant I haven’t always been there and, when I made the effort, sometimes the … Read more
Henry Oliver talks to E^ST, a young Australian pop artist whose two recent singles are turning heads around the world. Last week, up and coming Australian pop singer-songwriter E^ST (pronounced ‘East’) released her new single ‘Blowjob’, a confrontational look at the loneliness and emptiness that can result in the mismatched expectations of hook-ups. “I really … Read more
Last night, the Dancing with the Stars NZ Facebook page dropped the first bizarre, post-apocalyptic and surprisingly dance-free promo for the new season. Sam Brooks watched it very closely. 00:01 – White paper blows across a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Is it a metaphor for broadcast TV? The state of affairs when the first people you announce … Read more
Sam Brooks picks out what you should watch this long Easter weekend when you’re too full of chocolate and can reach no further than your trusty remote. Easter is upon us! The four day weekend, or the weekend when you inexplicably can’t buy alcohol on Friday or Sunday in this country, full of chocolate, full … Read more
An exclusive walking tour reveals the true extent of a city’s obsession with visiting pop star Ed Sheeran. Contrary to what an out-of-towner might believe, Ed Sheeran is not the first international pop superstar to ever play a show in Dunedin. In 2004, Busta Rhymes came and played at the Town Hall. In 2006, seven … Read more
The second half of season seven of Suits hits Lightbox tomorrow! But what would it look like… in New Zealand? Like real, flyover country New Zealand. Sam Brooks imagines this beautiful scenario. We all know Suits. It’s the show where lawyers outwit those around them, fall in love, fall in almost-love and wade in the murky waters between … Read more
Henry Oliver talks to JessB about her first EP and how her professional netball career is helping her in the music industry. JessB is a force of focus and energy, the kind of person that seems to, at all times, be moving toward some kind of achievement. A bit over a week ago, Jess (birth … Read more
Anika Moa’s new show Anika Moa: Unleashed launches today at midday on TVNZOnDemand with an interview with National deputy leader Paula Bennett. It’s a perfect showcase for two strong personalities, writes Sam Brooks. Anika Moa is one of the greatest interviewers in our country, and she does it in the skin of an internet troll. … Read more
The Golden Dawn, the Ponsonby pop-up bar that accidentally lasted seven and a half years, closed on Sunday morning. Simon Day and Emily Raftery were there, cameras in hand. Read our interview with The Golden Dawn’s Matthew Crawley and Nick Harrison here. The Spinoff’s music content is brought to you by our friends at Spark. Listen to … Read more
Sam Brooks continues his dig through the NZ on Screen archives and the history of New Zealand drama with 1978’s Radio Waves, a half-hour maybe-comedy about the travails of an Auckland radio station. After watching Close to Home, I was struck by three things. One, how indebted New Zealand drama (and this also extends to … Read more
Candid, considered and confronting, Three’s story of singer Stan Walker’s battle with cancer transcends the famous-person-facing-adversity form, writes Sam Brooks. “I went for a routine check about two months ago – a week later I found out I’ve got cancer. I know I’m gonna beat this …” He pauses. “… And then, nek minute, I … Read more
Samuel Flynn Scott of The Phoenix Foundation goes on assignment for RNZ, immersing himself in a mixture of mediocrity, dazzle and rain. To steal and ruin a good lyric: there is no sun shining on the black clouds hanging over the domain today. It’s wet, it’s bleak. Ed Sheeran is in town and he’s used … Read more