To celebrate 10 years since the start of New Zealand’s Next Top Model, our reality TV podcast The Real Pod is going to recap it week by week. Here are 10 of the most incredible revelations from the very first episode. 1) Colin Mathura-Jeffree was an emo kid This was the moment we met New … Read more
Something’s crowning this Christmas, and it isn’t King Richard of Aldovia in his favourite tiara. Tara Ward looks at what Netflix’s new movie A Christmas Prince: A Royal Baby could mean for us all. Yesterday Netflix announced they’re about to give birth to the third instalment in the legendary series A Christmas Prince, and I don’t know … Read more
Alex Casey talks to Henessey Griffiths, a 22 year-old Dunedin student who just finished her dissertation about one of Youtube’s most controversial stars. Content warning: this article contains mention of suicide, please take care Yesterday afternoon in Dunedin, honours student Henessey Griffiths sent a tweet that was a year (or rather, five days) in the … Read more
Alex Casey yarns to Karen O’Leary, early childhood teacher by day and star of Wellington Paranormal and What We Do in The Shadows by night. Two of the funniest moments in New Zealand television last year were entirely fence-based. First up there was Agni on The Block NZ, who packed a massive sad during an … Read more
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
It’s the end of an era at Three as MAFS NZ and Guy Williams’ new show cancelled and 7 Days cut to bone, writes Duncan Greive. A trio of shows which have been among Three’s most important local productions are either being cancelled or severely cut back, as the channel’s agonising winter extends to spring. … Read more
If you don’t like Shortland Street, or you’re unconvinced that Michael Galvin actually is a doctor, does that mean all New Zealand television is rubbish? One newspaper columnist argued as much on Sunday. Tara Ward says an emphatic no. The world is our TV oyster, but lately it seems not everyone in Godzone is feeling … Read more
Relationship expert Holly Dixon explains why the entire Married at First Sight franchise is based on bunk science. As the third MAFS NZ season has come to an end, I thought it relevant to answer the question upon which the entire MAFS enterprise is built: Is it possible to predict attraction and how successful a relationship … Read more
Prodigal Son is a new crime procedural coming hot and fresh to TVNZ 1 on Mondays at 8.30pm. Jean Sergent has a few reasons why you should be watching it. If you like serial killer shows, Michael Sheen, dark drama, Michael Sheen, twisted family dynamics, or Michael Sheen – strap yourself to your bed, have we … Read more
The final dinner party on Married at First Sight NZ brought an ugly misogyny to light. But it was far from the first time sexism reared its head this season, writes Alex Casey. It began with a man being edited out of the show after his domestic violence charges came to light, and it ended … Read more
Madeleine Chapman celebrates the girl truths of Netflix’s hit show about puberty, Big Mouth. Girls are horny too. Girls are angry too. How to have an orgasm. The episode titles of Big Mouth are literal and accurate. Girls are horny too! Girls are angry too! How to have an orgasm! Big Mouth follows a group of … Read more
Ahead of the release of El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, Uther Dean writes on how there will never really be another phenomenon like the original Breaking Bad. Have you tried rewatching Breaking Bad recently? It’s not the same, is it? Something has changed. When it was wrapping its original run, half a dozen years ago, it … Read more
Sacha Judd was never into costume parties, but when Mythbusters‘ Adam Savage invited her to Comic-Con she gave it a shot. She writes about learning to build a costume from scratch. In March this year, the students at North Bergen High School in New Jersey staged a two-night production of Alien: The Play. With a … Read more
Another acting challenge bites the drag dust with this take on Downton Abbey. Sam Brooks recaps the second episode of Drag Race. There is one truth abut Drag Race that we’ve all decided to accept without question: There will be acting challenges on this show and they will be terrible. These will happen every season, and the quality will … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in reality television and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. The holy trinity is finally reunited on the holiest of days, Duncan’s birthday, to discuss the highs and lows of the week in reality. Married at First Sight NZ came crawling to an end with the final … Read more
Stephen Colbert has made good on his promise to visit New Zealand, and the prime minister has made good on her promise to drive him around. When Jacinda Ardern appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in New York late last month, she challenged the host on his failure to visit New Zealand. The comedian … Read more
Following its controversial first season, Insatiable has returned with new episodes on Netflix. Cat Pause writes about why she won’t be watching the fat-shaming show – and what she’s been watching instead. The second season of Insatiable is now available on Netflix, and I, for one, will not be watching. I have better things to … Read more
Nancy Drew is back, but not as we know her. A new series about the teen detective hits our screens today, and turns out to be a spooky mix of Riverdale, Sabrina and Veronica Mars all rolled into one. Who is the heck is Nancy Drew? It’s Nancy Drew! You know Nancy Drew, even if you think … Read more
Think the news is boring? Think again. Tara Ward discovered some snazzy graphics on 1 News and realises that TVNZ’s current affairs have been zhushed up beyond her wildest dreams. The news. Who watches it? Who trusts it? Definitely not Trump and definitely not me, until the other day when I found myself in front … Read more
Emily Writes watches Netflix’s new US-set series Unbelievable and can’t help be reminded of events back home. I was asked to review Netflix’s new mini-series Unbelievable more than a month ago. After watching the screener over the course of a few nights, it sat on my to-do list for weeks. I would sit down to … Read more
The latest episode of the painfully good Succession pays pointed homage to the appearance of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son before a British parliamentary inquiry. Contains a shitload of spoilers, obviously. Succession has delighted from the start in refracting the venal and vulgar absurdities of real-life media dynasties. The story of Logan Roy, his … Read more
Big news for Outlander fans – the trailer for the new season of your favourite sexy time-travelling drama just landed. Outlander recapper Tara Ward tries to decipher what season five may bring. Friends, it’s time to dance around the room like we are Jamie Fraser eating figs at Hogmanay. The first trailer for season five of … Read more
The seething passions of small-town restaurants explode in TVNZ 2’s new cooking show. Like so many new reality TV formats, My Restaurant Rules sounds like a genre parody, and not even a particularly clever one. Just as Seven Year Switch (couples switch partners to revive their relationships) is a bleak Married at First Sight ripoff, … Read more
Josie Adams breaks down everything you need to know about Batwoman, the latest caped crusader to take on the batty burden of protecting Gotham. The DC televisual universe that began with the bang of Arrow continues to expand this month, welcoming Batwoman into its gradually unfurling arms. Australian actor Ruby Rose (Orange is the New … Read more
Keen to expand your general knowledge? Behind on the sexbot craze? Want to know more local history? You could start with these documentaries on TVNZ OnDemand. Forget the latest fad of “books” and set fire to ye olde newspaper, because there’s no better way to discover the mysteries of our weird and wonderful world than … Read more
Back in 2007, TV2 aired The Amazing Extraordinary Friends – a charming superhero show and potential cult hit. Twelve years later, it’s nowhere to be found. Felix Walton looks at the changing landscape of archiving our local TV. The Amazing Extraordinary Friends tells the story of Ben Wilson, an unassuming Kiwi teen who finds an … Read more
Start your Chitty-Chitty Bang Bangs and may the best lady win! Sam Brooks recaps the first episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. I still can’t believe this spin-off actually happened. What a world we live in. My first observation: RuPaul absolutely loves England and finds everything about it hilarious. This show is stuffed with more puns than … Read more
Taskmaster is arguably the funniest show on television, and next year a New Zealand version will hit our screens. Tara Ward dives into the caravan of challenges to find out what Taskmaster NZ could look like. We might be drowning in a sea of formulaic television, but Taskmasker is our David Hasselhoff, a beautiful saviour flailing towards us at … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in reality television and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. It’s another duo pod this week and we’ve pulled out all the stops. Stings. Segments. Crannies. Grannies. Join us as we traverse the week in news, from Hobsonville Point residents furious about undies to an Elvis … Read more