The Real Pod assembles with a very special guest to dissect the madness that was Married at First Sight Australia, with special thanks to Nando’s. This week on The Real Pod, are blessed to be in the presence of reality superstar Tracey Jewel – author, rapper, Lord of the Rings enthusiast and Married at First Sight Australia legend. Here … Read more
Alex Casey goes on a speed dating mission to get to know the beautiful brains behind the beautiful bodies of Heartbreak Island. They were hottest people I had ever seen in my life, all skin tight dresses and sharp suits, hair coiffed and curled for the gods. Me? I was wearing pants that I had … Read more
In his special guest appearance on The Real Pod, with special thanks to Nando’s, Haydn Daniels from Married at First Sight NZ covered everything from the secret tapes to what happened to his wedding ring. In his debut appearance on The Real Pod, Haydn Daniels from Married at First Sight NZ discussed the hidden camera … Read more
The contrivances of the first generation of reality shows are being overtaken by higher stakes games, writes Duncan Greive. The first season of Married at First Sight NZ is over, and I for one am an absolute wreck. For the past three years I’ve been part of ‘The Real Pod’, a podcast which has chronicled … Read more
Where Three have cornered the Friday night comedy lineup, Calum Henderson finds that TVNZ2 is running with a very different, stripped-back viewing experience. It starts with a series of blind dates and ends with a line-up of six dangling, disembodied penises. ‘Love Fridays’, TVNZ 2’s belated ‘romance’-themed answer to Three’s successful Friday night comedy line-ups, … Read more
Messages leaked to The Spinoff reveal Married at First Sight NZ‘s Andrew Jury sent a series of abusive and racist DMs to another user of the service in 2015. Andrew Jury, a participant on Married at First Sight NZ, sent abusive messages to a woman on Tinder, calling her a “whore” after she refused his request … Read more
The cast of the first season of Married At First Sight NZ has left us with snow blindness, writes Leonie Hayden. Diversity in media is important. It’s so important. The Emmys gave out their first ever gongs for comedy writing and directing to black artists this year. A fair reflection of who we are as a … Read more
The Spinoff’s resident nail enthusiast Sam Brooks dives into nail salon reality show Boss Nails and finds someone to model his messy life after. I love two things: Getting my nails done. There’s something relaxing about handing your hands over to someone for an hour or so and getting them to look pretty and shiny. Especially if … Read more
Tara Ward washes up on the shores of Love Island, the British reality sensation that has been compared to the works of Chaucer and Shakespeare. I am late to the Love Island party. I am Jessica, sauntering in with my pleather swimming togs, ready to board the love train after every other bastard has already coupled … Read more
Our superfan think tank weighs in following the premiere of Survivor New Zealand on TVNZ 2 last night. Luke Harries on the voting paper scandal We need to talk about the paper. During the inaugural tribal council of Survivor New Zealand, I noticed something seemed off – and it wasn’t the rotten papaya. I realised … Read more
Our new weekly podcast about what looks to be a tentpole reality TV series, The Real Housewives of Auckland. Your old idiot mates are back to talk about what is already indisputably the greatest reality show in New Zealand’s history. The Real Housewives of Auckland debuts on Monday – but host Jane Yee and her loyal servants … Read more
With a premiere date set for The Real Housewives of Auckland on Bravo, we have a special announcement of our own… Guys! The Real Housewives of Auckland is arriving to our screens on August 22nd, which also signals the much-anticipated* return of our most reliable reality TV podcasting troupe. Jane Yee, Alex Casey and Duncan Greive will … Read more
Over the weekend Lizzie Marvelly wrote a column condemning reality television, a sentiment that she shares with many. But does reality TV really herald the end of critical thinking, devouring brain cells as every minute passes? Leah Damm responds. Imagine writing an opinion piece in which you spend a thousand-odd words expressing disapproval of an entire genre, … Read more
Bravo launched in New Zealand this week, bringing with it about 300 iterations of the Real Housewives franchise. Tara Ward, a real housewife herself, decided to see how their daily lives compare. With wine. A friend called me a ‘housewife’ the other day, a shocking attack that made me cry into the giant pile … Read more
Last night there was a party to celebrate the launch of Beauty and the Beach, a new local reality TV show following women to the tropics for some plastic surgery. The Spinoff’s Alex Casey and Madeleine Chapman went along, and combine to bring you this special report. Alex: “Two girls in high school who want … Read more
After a four year hiatus, The Ridges returned to our screens this year in the form of Friday night re-runs. Its return resurrected one of the most vexing unsolved mysteries in New Zealand television history: Was the infamous mouse scene faked? Hayden Donnell investigates. It was one of the defining television moments of our generation. Sally and … Read more
Alex Casey watches the premiere of The Bachelor US, and notes down some powerful first impression techniques that could be used effectively in this year’s season of The Bachelor NZ. If there are two things that I like in this world, it’s The Bachelor franchise and delicious home-style cookies just like Grandma used to make. … Read more
Alex Casey’s first power rankings for the new season of My Kitchen Rules NZ, including Pete Evans’ tan and Paul’s extraordinary cow art. The best cooking show in the world is back and I couldn’t be happier. Last year I broke my brain recapping every single episode of My Kitchen Rules New Zealand, which you … Read more
Alex Casey brings you the Bachelor in Paradise moment of the week. First up, an innocent phone call becomes critter communication at the hand of the maniacal Bachelor editors. Bachelor in Paradise is the messy mecca of reality television, throwing ex-Bachelor contestants together on a tropical island and waiting for the sparks to fly as they … Read more
Australian food television connoisseur and disappointment addict Eleanor Robertson journeys through cyber space and time to watch and recap TV3’s competitive cooking show, Masterchef New Zealand each week. Who’s got two thumbs and didn’t realise until too late that Masterchef NZ is now on two nights a week? Me. It’s me. Shoutout to episode four, in which the contestants … Read more
Australian food television connoisseur and disappointment addict Eleanor Robertson journeys through cyber space and time to watch and recap TV3’s competitive cooking show, Masterchef New Zealand each week. In my time as Masterchef New Zealand recapper, so far I’ve chosen not to make fun of the judges’ and contestants’ Kiwi accents. This is half because accent gags are … Read more
Alex Casey delivers her semi-final round of Dancing With the Stars power rankings, including deep conspiracies, low-resolution underwear decals and a winning NZ flag pitch. It’s semifinals week, and we are all but a meat hand away from the finish line. The couples each performed two dances this time around, which meant far less time … Read more
It’s the tense semi-finals this week, and the old crew are back together to freestyle their recap with no props, no scripts and no clue. With each dancer having two chances at the disco ball trophy of dreams this week, there’s more action to rip through than Dom Harvey’s terrible stripper pants. Does Jane think … Read more
Get your crimpers, your fluffy skirts and your Shane Cameron-style halter tops – it’s ’80s week on the D-Floor. Duncan returns from Spain to teach Jane and Alex the ways of the Spanish pasadoble, and the latest Magic Mike XXL movie. There’s gossip aplenty from kiss scandals to chocolate sauce, and some very slick segues … Read more
With Duncan still luxuriating with our theme music USB on the sandy shores of Spain, Jane Yee and Alex Casey recruit Brendon Green to join them on D-floor. Being the official Dancing With the Stars NZ warm-up guy, Brendon brings with him some backstage scoops, diplomatic answers and very weird pronunciations of ‘muesli’ to the table. Recapping … Read more
Alex Casey looks back across the week in television and picks her favourite moments, including The Bachelorette’s sex scandal and Hosking’s skinny jeans ratings smash. 1. True Detective’s Premiere Flat as a Circular Pancake Okay, I overstated that a bit – but it was definitely more pancake than three tier wedding cake, right? As I … Read more
Alex Casey delivers her fourth power rankings for winter wonderland week of Dancing With the Stars, wherein hell freezes over, Pam gets eliminated and Teuila does the running man. The power rankings are a little late this week, as I have been very busy rocking gently in a corner, despairingly imagining the next few weeks … Read more
With Duncan in Spain and Rikki struck by winter malaise, Jane Yee and Alex Casey venture onto D-floor alone, unequipped and a little frightened. Luckily, Siobhan’s magic powder blessed them with the ability to record a cohesive podcast, in which they recap week four on Dancing With the Stars New Zealand. For the winter wonderland … Read more
Alex Casey and Duncan Greive look back across the week in television and pick their favourite moments. 1. Come Dine With Me NZ is Perfect Right Out of The Oven There is no better illustration of MediaWorks’ maniacal new direction than its absent-mindedly plopping Come Dine With Me in the slot formerly reserved for Campbell … Read more