Reilly Hodson reviews comedian Paul Williams’ funny-but-not-too-funny debut album, Surf Music. I can’t remember how I first found out about Paul Williams. He doesn’t know me, but I’ve been following his work for at least a year. My fascination with him started with his excellent, Billy T Award-nominated, Comedy Festival show. As a theatre guy … Read more
Gemma Gracewood talks to her sort-of-sister Elisabeth Easther, the host of new TV One series Islands of the Gulf, in which Easther revisits her mother’s trailblazing documentary series. Elisabeth Easther’s brother is married to my sister, so we’ve been “sisters-out-law” since we were riotous teens. I’ve watched Elisabeth go from playing Victoria the dinosaur in … Read more
Our local Bachelor exports have finally made it to the international stage in The Bachelor Winter Games, but at what cost to the nation? For the longest time, I was steaming mad that no network in New Zealand had bought The Bachelor Winter Games for us to all to watch through our fingers with the … Read more
It was one of the most critically acclaimed cult shows of the late-00s, and it’s coming to Lightbox today. Tara Ward runs down Community’s 10 most gloriously wackadoo episodes. If you’re seeking a clever comedy bursting with pop-culture satire and musical parodies, then look no further than the televisual gem Community. When the egotistical Jeff … Read more
In the 25 years since he first appeared on the scene, Beck has left few genres untouched. To help prepare you for ACL, The Spinoff retraces his diverse career in two minutes. In 1993, Beck was living in Los Angeles, working at a video store, playing so-called “anti-folk” music when he was discovered by independent label … Read more
Alex Casey recaps the first political speed date on Seven Sharp, wherein Jeremy Wells wooed Judith Collins in the TVNZ foyer. Last night’s episode of Seven Sharp came with one very big tease: an “intimate liaison” (please lean in hard to French accent there) between Jezza Wells and Judith “Crusher” Collins. With the fifth candidate … Read more
Last night David Farrier took himself to see one of his non-musical heroes, X-Files star David Duchovny, play music. Here’s what happened. There was a moment towards the end of David Duchovny’s concert – his first gig in New Zealand, and his first time in New Zealand – that beautifully summed up the whole night. It … Read more
Political rap/rock supergroup Prophets of Rage are heading to Melbourne’s Download Festival and a sideshow in Auckland (be in to win tickets and flights to that show – and five more Download sideshows – below!). Here are five videos of the ’80s and ’90s powerhouses who have combined forces to form Prophets of Rage, 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 begin warming up for an all-new Dancing With the Stars NZ following the announcement Gilda the Queen and David the Seymour will be joining the cast. We … Read more
Sam Wicks talks to SWIDT rapper Spycc about the Onehunga group’s new EP and life after Stoneyhunga. With two Tui awards, a gang of iTunes chart entries, and a buzz that can’t be bought, Onehunga rap collective SWIDT was rightfully crowned 2017’s number one draft pick. Eager to capitalise on the wins, Spycc, INF and producers … Read more
From Close to Home to Shortland Street to Westside, New Zealand has a long and storied history of brilliant TV. Sam Brooks takes a look at the best local shows that you can stream on Lightbox right now. Cheryl West, the cute boy Jay Ryan played on Go Girls, Rita West, Ofa from Supercity. These are … Read more
With the coffin lid closing on the first season of The Casketeers, Alex Casey looks back at some of the greatest comedy moments from the TVNZ reality show. You haven’t truly lived until you’ve seen a makeup tutorial for a corpse. Francis Tipene is hunched over a casket, Thin Lizzy brush in hand and tongue … Read more
Gareth Shute crunches the numbers on who is the most streamed here and abroad – and asks why the two don’t always match. Until recently, it was difficult to track the progress of New Zealand bands once they left our shores. But now Spotify’s publicly available streaming data gives us a window into how well … Read more
A resurgent New Zealand pro wrestling scene is seeking another shot at TV stardom. Jamie Wall heads to Mt Roskill to watch the return of the Bushwhackers, and the generation they’ve inspired. There’s a girl, aged about 10, sitting a few feet away from me. She’s living and dying on every single thing happening in … Read more
Rock revivalists The D4 have reformed for a final hurrah at Auckland City Limits and the closing of the Kings Arms. To help prepare you for ACL, The Spinoff retraces their career in 106 seconds. It wasn’t until the “New Rock Revolution” of the early-2000s – spearheaded by music magazines like NME and Rolling Stone – … Read more
David Seymour and Gilda Kirkpatrick are confirmed. Now the Spinoff’s Dancing With the Stars pundit attempts to predict the remainder of this year’s celebrity line-up. Watching Australian celebrities debase themselves for cash every night on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! it’s tempting to wish for a New Zealand version. Which Kiwi celebs … Read more
In February, Marlon Williams released the first great New Zealand album of 2018. He talked to Henry Oliver about the heartbreak and honesty that went into making it. “It’s not, but it is,” Marlon Williams said, introducing his song ‘Love is a Terrible Thing’ at a showcase for his new album, Make Way For Love, … Read more
Throw the man a dolphin and buy his $1.9m Point Chevalier house. When we think of ‘public service journalism’ we usually think of holding the government to account and filing lots of OIAs. But public service comes in many forms, and one of the greatest public service television programmes of the 21st century is the … Read more
Season four of classical music comedy Mozart in the Jungle drops tomorrow on Lightbox. Longtime fan of the show Sam Brooks decided to read the book it’s based on and compare the two. Contrary to its title, Mozart in the Jungle is not a television show about the world’s best composer (according to people who know anything about classical … Read more
Don Rowe talks to Auckland rapper Ryan Hendriks about music, travel and performative confrontation in the wake of his first solo album, Old Zealand. Old Zealand, the first solo release by Auckland rapper Ryan Hendriks, is a testament to the quality and diversity of Auckland’s evolving hip-hop scene, and the extended flora and fauna which … 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? We begin by exploring the case for bringing back Heroes with Philip Alpers. The 1990s was a boom decade for New Zealand actors specialising in dramatic reenactments of real … Read more
Simon Barnett’s new show began over the weekend, and within minutes something extraordinary happened. Alex Casey recaps the mayhem. As New Zealand continues to collectively keen, wail and howl at Simon Barnett’s shock resignation from MoreFM 300-odd days from now, we’ve been thrown a glorious, dad bod-shaped bone in Three’s XVenture Family Challenge. The competition puts … Read more
Need some ideas for a crazy romantic gesture this Valentine’s? Tara Ward’s got you covered with some of the best and most outlandish romantic gestures from the streaming screen. Some might say Valentine’s Day is a heaving cesspit of rampant commercialisation, but to them, I say stick a heart-shaped chocolate in your mouth and hush. … Read more
Alex Casey watches Subject: Dad, a show that proves there’s still nothing funnier and sweeter than emails from parents. Everyone thinks their parents are the funniest people in the world, but it’s simply impossible for all of us to be right. If you’ve ever snorted at a weird, over-sharing text message, or gently hidden a … Read more
The Spinoff presents the video premiere of Jonathan Bree’s ‘Valentine’, just in time for a heart-broken Valentine’s Day! ‘Valentine’ director of photography Kermath says: I’m so sick of love songs; they’re so absolutely done. People draw on this falsified world of love through music, trying to make their relationships work as though the instructions are set out … 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 dissect the horror of Troy on Married at First Sight Australia, potentially the worst ever tuna-monster in the history of reality television. We also learn that our … Read more
Hussein Moses talks to Tomorrow People, a sunny reggae band from Wellington who took the top spot on the charts while taking shots at a local music critic. Last week, Wellington band Tomorrow People knocked Ed Sheeran out of the top spot on the NZ top 40 albums chart with a record that takes a … Read more
Alex Casey talks to Hanelle Harris, creator of Baby Mama’s Club, about changing the face of New Zealand television. New Zealand has never seen women like the ones in Baby Mama’s Club before, and it’s about bloody time. The TVNZ web series, created by Hanelle Harris, follows four Māori and Pasifika women in Auckland whose lives … Read more
From Lorde’s whisper-pop to Jack Antonoff’s anti-irony, Elle Hunt dissects how pop music is changing now, after nearly 20 years in a Max Martin sugar rush. Melodrama didn’t win album of the year at the Grammys last month. But it had always been a long shot. The Grammys tend to recognise legacy or commercial success, … Read more