More than 75 candidates across the country have already succeeded in their local election races, taking office unopposed. Thankfully The Spinoff is committed to saving our democracy. We challenged high-profile default winner, Whanganui mayor Hamish McDouall, to fight for his job in a political debate against local elections editor Hayden Donnell. The Spinoff local election … Read more
The New Zealand Spelling Bee finals have made it to TVNZ 1’s Spellbound. It’s like a 3-hour long penalty shootout where you don’t want anyone to miss, writes Calum Henderson. “Furlow. F-U-R-L-O-W.” This is how I bow out of the finals of the 2016 New Zealand Spelling Bee. It is the third word of the … Read more
With Mastermind returning to our screens this week for the first time in over 25 years, Calum Henderson visits the set to watch the brainiacs at work. A couple of days before I went to watch the new series of Mastermind being filmed, I emailed the show’s publicist asking if she could tell me the … Read more
This year New Zealand television seems to be returning to yonder year of traditional family-oriented game shows such as Family Feud and Mastermind. So what other game shows could we see back on our screens? With the help of NZ On Screen, we revisit some of our old favourites. Hayden Donnell on Tux Wonder Dogs … Read more
Bringing together the TV moments on the week, including several local shows peering into regional NZ, cat whisperers coming to town and the return of a beloved quiz show. 1) Bogans Do Television Burnouts TV2’s brand new docuseries Bogans premiered last night, promising boobs, beers and burnouts. Featuring Dr David Snell, who has a PhD … Read more
With the news that Mastermind will be getting a revival, Steve Braunias revisits the classic final of 1990, and remembers his old golden-mopped friend Peter Sinclair. Who will they get to host the new series of Mastermind? New Zealand On Air has committed $685,360 to reviving the show, which ended in 1991. You’d want someone smart. … Read more