It’s one of New Zealand’s most picturesque locations, but what are the best bits? Piha local Mark Mitchinson, who plays rockstar-turned-radio DJ Terry Huffer in the Lightbox series High Road, takes us on a tour of West Auckland’s famous beach suburb. High Road is a Lightbox Original. Season two of High Road is available to … Read more
Emily Writes picks some kids shows you can watch without wanting to poke your eyes out with a blunt stick. Before I had kids I wasn’t going to let them watch any screens. We didn’t even own a TV when my firstborn came along. He went without TV until he was about two. Then his … Read more
Will & Grace ran for eight seasons at the turn of the century and now it’s been revived for a ninth. Sam Brooks explains why the beloved sitcom remains relevant today. When I heard that Will & Grace was coming back a few years ago, I immediately felt myself tense up. It was nothing to do with … Read more
The biggest meme generator of 2018, the return of a beloved sitcom favourite and a new Lightbox Original are just some of the new titles coming to Lightbox this month. Sam Brooks and Alex Casey run down the highlights. A Star is Born (movie drops 6 Feb) I’ll tell you something, girl, A Star is … Read more
Everybody’s got a jam, and his is Suits. He watches it while he’s making dinner, while he’s in the car, maybe even when he’s on ‘the bog’. Who is it? It’s Adrian, New Zealand’s biggest Suits fan. You can watch all eight seasons of Suits on Lightbox right here – and new episodes drop weekly every Thursday.
Four seasons in, with a fifth along the way, it’s time to look back, and then look even further back. Sam Brooks looks at who’s who on Westside, and who originally played them on Outrageous Fortune. It’s rare to see a local television show that takes place outside of Ferndale create its own artistic canon, but that’s precisely … Read more
Last year, Marvel’s Venom came out and was a huge hit, and you can watch it on Lightbox right now. But the real killer? Eminem’s rap over the credits. Sam Brooks performs an in-depth lyrical analysis of ‘Venom’, the song. First off: I have to declare my love for Venom, the film. It’s a bonkers good time. In … Read more
It’s a scandalous journalism drama, the darkest Marvel film yet, the thirstiest show on television and Queen Diva™ Mariah herself – it’s January on Lightbox. Press (binge from January 2) Is your New Year’s resolution to watch more classy TV? If it is, look no further than Press. If it isn’t, you better watch Press anyway. This six-part BBC series … Read more
The business of news is as dirty as the ink its printed in – or at least that’s what Press thinks. Sam Brooks reviews the news drama from the BBC, which drops on Lightbox today. There are no heroes in Press. Whether you’re Holly Evans (Charlotte Riley), the righteous news editor for the Herald, who chases up corporate cover-ups and … Read more
It can be hard making small-talk with your loved ones over the holidays – which is exactly why television was invented. Sam Brooks shares the best shows to binge on Lightbox over the silly season, no matter your demographic. For the child (outside you): Paw Patrol. Your child has probably seen all of it already, and … Read more
It was the *other* double murder that defined the nineties – the one that wasn’t OJ-related. Coming to Lightbox today is its TV dramatisation: Law and Order True Crime: The Menéndez Murders. But who are all these people? Sam Brooks has the info you need. I was not yet born when Lyle and Erik Menéndez walked on … Read more
The latest episode of Vikings shows that even in the more civilised parts of this world, subtle politicking can still be overcome by a knife straight through the eye. Alex Braae recaps episode twelve of season five of Vikings. One of the affectations that Vikings has always relied on a bit too heavily is the use … Read more
McDreamy’s new show, a mid-aughts mum classic and two of the year’s most fun films – they’re all on Lightbox this month! Plus, what you need to catch before it leaves. Book Club (movie from December 5) 2018 is the year that I embraced the book club, and it has enhanced my life in ways I … Read more
The hairiest show on TV (and online streaming services) is back, and there are legitimate questions to be asked – mainly, why is Ivar such a loser? But while Vikings characters may break our hearts, their beards are forever. The Spinoff’s resident facial hair expert Madeleine Chapman ranks them. You can watch all of Vikings … Read more
Inarguably the best sports drama of all time, Friday Night Lights, dropped in its entirety on Lightbox last week. Sam Brooks on why you should watch it – and the other cult classics you might not know are on the service. Friday Night Lights (S1-5) I’m surprised this show didn’t incorporate some sort of partnership with … Read more
You’ve heard of them. All your cool friends and your coolest aunt watches them – but what the heck are these blonde dramas with subtitles? Sam Brooks is here to school you on the ubiquitous Scandi-drama. Lock the doors, lower the blinds, fire up the smoke machine and put on your heels, because I know … Read more
She’s touched all our lives in some way, but she’s only been able to do that by being a totally-up-for-it chameleon. José Barbosa pays tribute to perhaps New Zealand’s brightest star, Suzanne Paul. It’s an accepted mainstay of one’s working life these days that if you’re not prepared to change jobs several times during your … Read more
Tara Ward recaps the rollicking premiere of Outlander season four, available exclusively on Lightbox. Contains major spoilers. The season premiere of Outlander was, as Queen Oprah would say, a full circle moment. Mostly because Claire Fraser kept wanging on about all the circular things she could think of – her wedding rings, the hangman’s noose, those soft … Read more
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 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
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
A bee-based riff on The Hunger Games, a remake of your favourite problematic 80s film, and The Spinoff’s very own new doco-series. This is what’s new to Lightbox in October! Get It to Te Papa (weekly from October 16) “Get It to Te Papa began in great and abiding failure,” says Hayden Donnell, host of The Spinoff’s … Read more
It’s school holiday time again, and to help us survive the next two weeks of quality time with the fruits of our loins, we must turn to everything that is right and fair about the world: the television. It’s the friend we’ve always needed, in good times and in bad, in sunshine and in rain. … Read more
Chris Warner, House, Shaun Murphy, Meredith Grey, Mindy Lahiri – there are a lot of doctors on our television, but who is the goodest? Madeleine Chapman investigates, and the results may surprise you. The Good Doctor season two drops on Lightbox weekly, starting from today. You can watch the entire first season on Lightbox right … Read more
The Stephen King super-series hits Lightbox in its entirety tonight, and thankfully, it’s come with A Plan and An Answer to all its mysteries. Uther Dean reviews. In the small town of Castle Rock, shit is going down. The head warden of the local prison kills himself. The new warden discovers a haunted, silent man … Read more
This month on Lightbox you can raid the Met Ball with Sandra Bullock, visit Castle Rock with Melanie Lynskey or share some delicious hot tea with four dames. Ocean’s 8 (drops Sep 5) If there was a film that better summed up the feeling of lounging back with a bottle of prosecco, a large bucket … Read more
The pay TV giant has lost customers, it’s making less out of each one, and has cut prices. Yet Duncan Greive reckons their annual result shows they might yet find a way out of the woods. Sky has completed a highly unusual feat in legacy media – reporting an increase in underlying profit, up 2.6% … Read more
Alicia Silverstone was the It Girl of the mid-nineties, and she’s back heading up a new show, American Woman, which drops on Lightbox today. Tara Ward rounds up where she’s been since her yellow plaid days. It feels like a lifetime since Alicia Silverstone burst into our collective consciousness with a string of ‘90s classics like Clueless, Batman … Read more
A ’70s housewife, an exhausted mother, and a law student moonlighting as a call girl: these are just a few of the people coming to Lightbox in August. Better Call Saul (S4 starts August 7, Express) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYl0Bio5E-E The mostly-prequel sometimes-sequel series to Breaking Bad could very easily have been more of the same. There was a … Read more