Review: Golden Boy is a sparkling light of New Zealand comedy

Some of New Zealand’s best comedians unite in Golden Boy to bring us a fun, breezy sitcom that will brighten any bad day.  I’m binge-watching Golden Boy after a morning at the dentist. My face is numb. I’m sliding mandarin pieces between the teeth I’m allowed to use. I want to be cheered up, and … Read more

Have You Been Paying Attention’s Hayley Sproull on the move from studio to lounge

How do you move your news-stuffed, comedian-packed game show to Zoom? Sam Brooks talked to Hayley Sproull, host of Have You Been Paying Attention?, to find out. Over the last five weeks we’ve all become a lot more comfortable seeing inside the homes of our colleagues, politicians and epidemiologists. And while television has always been … Read more

The Great Kiwi Bake Off Power Rankings: Spongey balls to blow your socks off

The Great Kiwi Bake Off is back for a second season, and all is right with the world again. Tara Ward serves up the power rankings for week one. Welcome back, my flaky pastry cherubs, to another glorious season of The Great Kiwi Bake Off. Please take my sweaty hand as we enter the moist marquee … Read more

Kel Knight taught me to powerwalk: my night in the Have You Been Paying Attention audience

Josie Adams is in tonight’s episode of Have You Been Paying Attention. Specifically, she is in the audience. When you watch Have You Been Paying Attention? tonight, please consider the bladders of audience members watching it live. They offer beverages, but my God it’s a dangerous offer. As I found out last night, bathroom breaks … Read more

The big winners on television in 2018

2018 was quite the year, and TV was no exceptions. Sam Brooks is here to round up the year. What went down, who won what, and who came out smiling? Killing Eve From my assessment of the show back in July: “Eight spine-cracking episodes down, I’m willing to call Killing Eve not just the best show of … Read more

‘Why wasn’t I told this when I was diagnosed?’ Hayley Sproull on living with PCOS

Today, Cystic Sisters, a documentary about women living with PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) is released on TVNZ on Demand. Comedian, actor and Great Kiwi Bake Off host Hayley Sproull, the documentary’s presenter, looks back on her experience with the disease. From as early as I can remember, I’ve always had a moustache. I used to … Read more

“I’m the Mary Berry”: Great Kiwi Bake-Off hosts Hayley Sproull and Madeleine Sami

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

Meet the women who’ll be stealing scenes on Jono and Ben this year

Jono and Ben is back for another season, and they’re refreshing their comedic stable with some new faces, most of them women. Let’s meet them! Jono and Ben is more than just a showcase for the titular dudes who front the show. It also has a legacy of being a springboard for some of our most talented … Read more