Pop Culture

‘She doesn’t want to own what came out of her mouth’: Michelle Blanchard on the Real Housewives racism scandal

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This morning, an hour after news of a Real Housewives racism scandal broke, Duncan Greive spoke with Michelle Blanchard on the phone from the US about the episode. “This flat champagne, it’s driving me nuts,” says Michelle Blanchard, from an airline lounge in New York. She’s drinking in the afternoon, an hour away from boarding a flight … Read more

The story behind the racist explosion on next week’s Real Housewives of Auckland

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The Spinoff was granted an exclusive preview of next week’s racism-scarred episode of The Real Housewives of Auckland on Friday. Here Duncan Greive discusses the shocking moment, and the fallout within and without of the episode. This morning the Herald on Sunday reports that one cast member of Real Housewives of Auckland calls another cast member “n*****” … Read more

‘What fresh hell is this?’ – A field guide to the popstar pulp of Scream Queens

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With the new season arriving express from the US to Lightbox next week, Alex Casey tells you why you need to get up to speed with sorority slasher Scream Queens. What’s the story? Welcome to Wallace University campus: where everyone’s getting killed and the cops don’t matter. Exactly 20 years after the death of a … Read more

Monitor: A list of TV to movie adaptations that don’t absolutely suck

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Recent TV-to-film flubs such as Ab Fab: The Movie and David Brent: Life on the Road have proved that the transition is not always easy. Aaron Yap rounds up the television shows that have managed to make it to the big screen without stuffing it up.  Ricky Gervais should have put David Brent to rest … Read more

The Real Podcast of Housewives, Episode Five – Holy Moses we got a sponsor!

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In the fifth episode of our Real Housewives of Auckland podcast, Jane, Duncan and Alex throw on their ponchos and pop some bottles to discuss New Zealand’s greatest reality show. We are back again, as sure as Anne’s casual racism, to dissect another week on The Real Housewives of Auckland. This week the women holidayed … Read more

How many more awards can Maggie Smith win? A handy guide to Lightbox at the Emmys

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With the Primetime Emmy Awards coming up, here are the many, many Lightbox shows that have earned themselves nominations, along with our winning predictions. Spoiler alert: Maggie Smith always wins. Transparent What’s it about? First of all, the name is a pun. It’s important that you know this. Here’s what we made of Transparent way back … Read more

The Real Housewives of Auckland Power Rankings – The Champagne Lady gets a spray tan and says a bad thing

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This is Auckland, where new money meets old. Alex Casey is going to try and laugh at The Real Housewives of Auckland through her weekly power rankings – because if we can’t laugh then all we have is the void. Click here for previous instalments. 1) This tiny sophisticated gent Just when you thought The Real Housewives couldn’t get … Read more

Please, tell me more about how you hate The Real Housewives

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Columnist Martin Van Beynen got very angry about The Real Housewives of Auckland last week. Alex Casey tries to figure out why.  Martin Van Beynen, the thought leader behind smash hit opinions like “Kiwi women swear too much” and “Dangerous times for older white males with opinions” has done it again. This time he’s steamed about … Read more

DUKE has a new sports chat show and man oh man is it bad

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Madeleine Chapman tunes into DUKE to watch their new sport chat show Short & Wide, and amazingly doesn’t find a particularly comfortable place for women.  When TVNZ announced their new male-skewed channel, DUKE, at the start of this year, it was unsurprisingly met with disdain. But programmers were quick to note that it wasn’t a channel for … Read more

Shortland Street Power Rankings: Blue wins Ferndale’s saddest trophy

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Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including Dom’s arson, black mould from hell and a haunted dolly. 1) Blue rocks his way around Ferndale “Change yourself, change the world. Rock on, people.” Holy Moses, this powerful life-affirming message had such insight and clarity that it could have come from Gandhi, Mandela or Angela Stone. … Read more

Throwback Thursday: Why Dale Cooper of Twin Peaks is still my TV hero

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With the reboot just around the corner, Pete Douglas revisits the surreal early 90s classic Twin Peaks and the role that made Kyle McLachlan a TV star.     When I first came across Twin Peaks, I was drawn in by its creepy weirdness and bizarre vision of small town American life.   What the … Read more

The story behind that amazing Rihanna death metal logo

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A Rihanna logo inspired by death metal bands featured prominently at the VMAs this year. David Farrier followed some rabbit holes to locate the designer behind the whole thing. One of the best things that happened at this year’s VMAs was this: Rihanna has always been pretty amazing, but seeing her name in the style of … Read more

The Real Podcast of Housewives, Episode Four – What’s a wang dang doodle anyway?

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In the fourth episode of our Real Housewives of Auckland podcast, a very red-faced Jane, Duncan and Alex lock themselves in a haunted elevator to discuss New Zealand’s greatest reality show. Crashing in like Lea behind the wheel of a VW Golf, the #realpod team return for week four to chew over everything Real Housewives. It … Read more

The Real Housewives of Auckland Power Rankings, Episode Four – One cock ring to rule them all

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This is Auckland, where new money meets old. Alex Casey is going to try and laugh at The Real Housewives of Auckland through her weekly power rankings – because if we can’t laugh then all we have is the void. Click here for previous instalments. Holy shit. Between this episode and The Waitangi Dildo, 2016 is shaping up to … Read more

Kumail Nanjiani on delving deep into The X-Files Files

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David Farrier recently spoke to Rhys Darby about appearing on his favourite show The X-Files. He follows up by chatting to perhaps an even bigger fan, and fellow X-Files guest star, Kumail Nanjiani. Kumail Nanjiani hosts one of my favourite podcasts, The X-Files Files. I think I love it because it’s done with so much passion and love. For … Read more

Shortland Street Power Rankings: Leanne communicates with the other side

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Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including Rachel’s Kitchen Nightmare, ghost boobs and Chris Warner via Skype.  1) Harry is the change you want to see in the world Harry had a cracker of a week. He saved Rachel from a watery grave and, if that wasn’t exciting enough, was named captain … Read more

Plight of the content creators: how NZ is stifling the next generation of TV talent

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Looking for the next New Zealand breakout star? Don’t bother switching on your television, says writer and director Chaz Harris.   Over a decade ago, I was working at Miramax Films in London. One of my colleagues, an acquisitions executive, was preparing to leave for the Berlin Film Festival. I asked him if he went to … Read more

Hosking Week: The complete history of Mike Hosking’s on-again, off-again relationship with Taylor Swift

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In the stunning close to Hosking Week, Pete Douglas goes on a desperate, seemingly fruitless, but ultimately cathartic search for The Hosk’s true feelings about pop icon Taylor Swift. Click here for the rest of our Hosking Week coverage. Anyone who has ever listened to or watched Mike Hosking in action will know that Mike loves … Read more

Newspapers and glass rectal tubes? The unofficial Call the Midwife antenatal class

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Forget Mummy bloggers, Tara Ward collates all you need to know about pregnancy and childbirth from the 1950’s nuns of Call the Midwife. Call the Midwife follows a group of 1950’s nurse midwives in the East End of London, who spend every episode pretending they’re not shitting themselves at the thought of being responsible for bringing … Read more

Hosking Week: How a magical prince called Mike saved our kingdom’s privacy

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For today’s short memories, Mike Hosking is but a beloved national icon, speaking truths and setting fashion trends. But not so long ago, he fought a bitter, brutal war to change privacy laws in New Zealand forever. Click here for the rest of our Hosking Week content.  Once upon a time there was a man … Read more

Coming to Lightbox in September: The return of Transparent and Scream Queens

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Inside the Lightbox is a sponsored feature where we hand pick shows from the Lightbox catalogue that you might like to watch. Here are the best additions coming in September. Transparent (Season 3 arrives Sep 24) Maura’s back for a third season in perhaps the most talked about show in recent years. As well as riding … Read more

Hosking Week: A comprehensive look at Toni Street trying to speak on Seven Sharp

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Mike Hosking loves to talk all the time, that’s no secret. But Mike Hosking’s favourite time to talk is when Toni Street is talking. Liam Fernandez compiled the best back-and-forths from Seven Sharp. It’s Hosking Week, a full five days of nothing but appreciation for Mike Hosking and all he’s given this great nation. From his origins … Read more

The Real Podcast of Housewives, Episode Three – The gathering of the terribles

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In the third episode of our Real Housewives of Auckland podcast, Jane, Duncan and Alex hold a pussy party of their own to discuss New Zealand’s greatest reality show.  Big runts and little runts alike assembled at The Pussy Palace this week, draped in furs and drenched in imported French champagne. The #realpod team are … Read more

Wow: Kiwi Living is woke now

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After accusing Kiwi Living of ‘lifestyle shaming‘, Duncan Greive returns to TV One’s magazine show and finds a vision of New Zealand much closer to reality. Last year’s debut of Kiwi Living felt like a kind of television dystopia: the kind of witlessly aspirational brand-soaked programming Leigh Hart had been parodying on The Late Night Big … Read more

The Real Housewives of Auckland Power Rankings, Episode Three – An interview with a vampire

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This is Auckland, where new money meets old. Alex Casey is going to try and laugh at The Real Housewives of Auckland through her weekly power rankings – because if we can’t laugh then all we have is the void. Click here for the first and second instalments. 1) Anne Batley-Burton, Queen of Everything This week we felt Anne’s … Read more

Hosking Week: NZ Fashion legend Colin Mathura-Jeffree reviews the jackets of Mike’s Minute

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Bridging the vast gap between Fashion Week and Hosking Week, we asked the icon Colin Mathura-Jeffree to critique some of Mike Hosking’s boldest looks* from Mike’s Minute.  This isn’t bad. The lapels are a bit ’70s, you know, and then we’ve got the, the pocket flower which is internally in the pocket square. I can … Read more