While Westside has been on the air for just five years, it’s covered nearly two decades of New Zealand history. But how old are these Westies meant to be? When Outrageous Fortune began way back in 2005, nobody could have anticipated that it would develop into what is now essentially a franchise, complete with a … Read more
Some of the best shows on Neon will take between a day and weeks to get through. Here’s a guide to the classics you’ve been holding off on, how long they take to watch, and why you should watch them. It’s a scientific fact that there’s too much TV and nobody has enough time. There’s … Read more
She’s Cheryl West, she’s Ellen Crozier, she’s the woman who makes headlines for throwaway jokes online. Sam Brooks talks to Robyn Malcolm, actor and activist. There’s nothing more compelling on a New Zealand screen than Robyn Malcolm wanting something. Whether it’s Cheryl West trying to get a lingerie business off the ground, Ellen Crozier shaking … Read more
To celebrate Valentine’s Day and the launch of DB Export’s new campaign, The Spinoff pays tribute to New Zealand’s most famous love stories. Love isn’t something that’s always come easily to New Zealanders. Our “man alone” colonial history has often demanded feelings be suppressed, and emotions were traditionally something to be bottled rather than expressed, … Read more
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
It’s the silly season – and you need an excuse to get away from your family and in front of the television screen. Here’s the best holiday episodes to watch on Lightbox this Christmas – from families modern to fortunes outrageous.
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
Seven years ago today, Outrageous Fortune ended forever. To mark the occasion, Madeleine Holden rewatched the entire series to see if the years have been kind. As a bona fide West Aucklander myself, I have fond memories of watching Outrageous Fortune the first time around. The show followed the lives of a West Auckland family with … Read more
As Suits clocks up its 100th episode, Tara Ward rounds up more shows on Lightbox that have soared past triple digits. Only very special things make it to 100, like the Queen Mother, Kiwi shoe polish and legal drama Suits, which celebrates its 100th episode today on Lightbox. Suits has wrangled its way through seven … Read more
In this rare Spinoff sealed section, Lucy Zee rounds up some of the most memorable sex scenes in local TV history. I hate sex scenes. They’re awkward, unnecessary and – the worst – they’re grossly unrealistic. But New Zealand can’t seem to get enough of a steamy romp and a glimpse of a muscled male arse on their … Read more
Alex Casey talks to Sarah Aldridge, costume designer on Westside, about dressing the early-80s West family. Look, I love a spot of opshopping as much as the next person. Give me a giant, musty Sallies out in the wops any day, just as long as it contains at least three dog-eared copies of The World … Read more
It beggars belief for a damehood to be bestowed upon a cultural vandal, argues Simon Wilson. I don’t know why I even give a damn about this. Knighthoods and damehoods, who needs ’em, eh? But we do have them, and they’re our official measure of greatness, so we take notice. Actually, they’re not quite the … Read more
With summer upon us, there is no better time to shut all the sunlight out of your room, pull a blanket over your head and watch TV until your eyes hurt. We assemble the best shows on Lightbox that you can binge from pilot to finale. Wolf Hall Binge time: 6 hours, like a perfectly … Read more
When The Spinoff’s José Barbosa made a video last week assembling TV’s finest moustaches, he made one crucial error regarding the authenticity of Westside actor Will Hall’s moustache. South Pacific Pictures responds. The moustache has long been a celebrated adornment of masculine prowess so it’s not surprising, in the spirit of Movember, The Spinoff released … Read more
To celebrate Outrageous Fortune finishing six years ago this month, plus a nomination in the Lightbox People’s Choice Awards, we’ve assembled some of the best Cheryl West moments of all time. In November 2010, the final episode of the dark family comedy Outrageous Fortune aired on New Zealand screens. After six tumultuous, leopard-clad seasons, one … Read more
Pete Douglas seeks to find some light in the dark as we near the end of a horrific year, lining up some incredible TV women who have risen above The Worst Men Ever. 2016 has been a rough year, especially so for women. Between the subhuman treatment of a young woman by the Chiefs rugby … Read more
Westside has finished for another year, but the good news is there could be at least 23 more seasons to go. Calum Henderson previews some highlights coming up between now and 2039. Season two of Westside concluded on Sunday night with the West family right in the thick of the 1981 Springbok tour. The Outrageous Fortune … Read more
New Zealand is rightly proud of the multi-cultural society it’s growing into. But why are there still minimal Māori, Pacific and Asian populations in prime time? And why does cultural representation in the film industry remain light years ahead of television? In the second part of a two-part series, Sonia Gray tries to find out. … Read more
Moata Tamaira argues that Vikings is really just Outrageous Fortune but with longships instead of V8s. If I’m honest, my knowledge of medieval European history, particularly that of Scandinavia is sketchy at best. It’s pretty much limited to a deep appreciation of True Blood’s Eric Northman with a smattering of “that time I had read … Read more
A reissued post from July this year, days before the premiere of the much-anticipated Outrageous Fortune prequel Westside. Alex Casey talked to creator James Griffin about getting started in television, the perils of funding in New Zealand and the Van and Munter spin-off that time forgot. It’s a dizzying feeling to walk into the Grey Lynn villa where you … Read more
Inside the Lightbox is a sponsored post where we mine the extensive Lightbox catalogue for shows you might like to watch. This week we line up all the cool new shows coming in December. COMING IN DECEMBER: Transparent (S02E01, Dec 1) The first episode of the second season of Emmy-winning drama Transparent arrives to Lightbox … Read more
Alex Casey runs through James Griffin’s extensive television biography with the man himself, gauging his first response on everything from The Strip to Bro Town. A few weeks ago I had a sit-down interview with James Griffin for our My Life in TV series. It’s a tall task to get through his entire biography in … Read more
A reissued post from July this year, days before the premiere of the much-anticipated Outrageous Fortune prequel Westside. Alex Casey talked to creator James Griffin about getting started in television, the perils of funding in New Zealand and the Van and Munter spin-off that time forgot. It’s a dizzying feeling to walk into the Grey Lynn villa where you … Read more
Alex Casey took a time machine taxi to the Westside set, and walked onto a pristine replica of 1970s New Zealand with all the novelty retro trimmings. There is nothing more surreal than sitting on the West family toilet. The bowl itself? Hard plastic and skin-crawlingly orange. Perching next to it is a crocheted toilet paper … Read more
The Most Important Paul of the Day On Monday, MediaWorks announced that Paul Henry will be hosting New Zealand’s first cross-platform breakfast show in 2015. That’s right, Paul Henry will be all over your morning cereal, your drive to work, your radio, your TV, your ears, your eyes, your entire world. MediaWorks are hoping to integrate … Read more
If you have been living deep within a gutter (black), an Outrageous Fortune prequel is on its way to our screens. Set in the 1970s, it will follow the hijinks of legendary safe-cracker and canny-career-crim Ted West, his wife Rita and their son Wolfgang. For the role of Wolfgang, TV3 and South Pacific Pictures have sounded an exciting wolf … Read more