A new British dramedy proves to us that Anna Paquin has the goods – but the rest of it doesn’t meet her at her level. Sam Brooks reviews TVNZ on Demand’s Flack. The best moment in the premiere episode of Flack happens nearly a quarter of the way into the episode. Anna Paquin, playing PR-slash-crisis-manager … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the third week on Married at First Sight Australia, with special thanks to Nando’s. The real Married at First Sight Australia experts are back recap a truly diseased week on the good show. There were waxed buttholes, there was a cheating scandal, there were many, many chicken pox. Sam and … Read more
When reality show mutant Heartbreak Island launched last year, people lost their collective minds. But why? I’m basically a reality-TV virgin, but when Heartbreak Island aired last year, I was obliged to watch at least one episode because my brother was involved. There was no other reason I would, at that point, have cast my eyes upon … Read more
The new local black comedy Fresh Eggs premieres on TVNZ2 tonight. Sam Brooks talks to the creators about what makes it so different. Fresh Eggs doesn’t look or feel like anything else on New Zealand televsion right now – or ever. The show, about two city-dwellers who move to the countryside after some life upheavals, has a … Read more
The Bachelor NZ royal couple Art and Matilda are having a baby. Here is Alex Casey’s unsolicited gift to them. I thought my days of crying at the dairy were over, but alas. As the man behind the counter grabbed his scissors, cut off the plastic twine and tore back the wrapping on his stack … Read more
With a new season of the much-loved drama Cold Feet beginning next week on TVNZ on Demand, Tara Ward takes a trip down memory lane to remind us all why it remains such an iconic show. 2003 was a shit year for television heroines. I spent the year in a chronic state of dehydration, first … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the second week on Married at First Sight Australia, with special thanks to Nando’s. Your friendly podmates zip up their Australia onesies and dive into the tumultuous second week of Married at First Sight Australia. This week we met the last of our hopeful newlyweds, including a 29-year-old virgin, a … Read more
Our reality TV experts at The Real Pod are obsessed with Married at First Sight Australia. Let us count the ways. Married at First Sight Australia has been on New Zealand screens for two weeks now, and it’s already difficult to imagine a world without it. Three’s four-night-a-week, 90-minute episode extravaganza has already delivered raging … Read more
It’s Valentine’s Day, so why not pay homage to the New Zealand icon herself, Xena: Warrior Princess (the first three seasons drop on Lightbox tomorrow). Sam Rutledge writes a love letter to the woman herself. Question: was anyone who was alive in the 90s in New Zealand ever NOT watching Xena? I was only born in the … 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
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week on Married at First Sight Australia, with special thanks to Nando’s. Join us as we recap the first explosive week on Married at First Sight Australia, objectively the greatest show on Earth. Jules and Cam are the love story of a generation, Jessika and Cyrell have the scariest … Read more
New Zealand’s first celebrity builder, John “Cocksy” Cocks, died yesterday. Tara Ward takes a look back on some of his finest television moments. There was only one celebrity builder who ruled our screens at the turn of the millennium. It was John “Cocksy” Cocks, and we knew him best as the unassuming expert builder in … Read more
It’s nominated for a bunch of Oscars, it’s the most memed film of last year, and you can finally watch it from the comfort of your living room via Lightbox now. Superfans Alex Casey and Sam Brooks discuss why A Star is Born is the best film ever made. A Star is Born is available on … Read more
Blessed be the fruit, we have been sent a good teaser. A new trailer for season three of The Handmaid’s Tale landed yesterday, and Tara Ward takes a look. The first trailer for the new season of The Handmaid’s Tale just dropped like Aunt Lydia after Emily stabbed her in the spine with a steak knife. It … 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
Anne Perry: Interiors, currently streaming on TVNZ on Demand, looks into the famous New Zealander’s life after moving to Scotland. But how much can we learn when Perry herself seems incapable of true self-reflection? Anne Perry is a mystery writer based in Scotland. She’s written a lot of books, of which I have read exactly … Read more
The announcement that Peter Jackson’s latest project is a Beatles documentary is proof the decorated director has finally gone too far, writes Duncan Greive. It seems scarcely credible to suggest at this point, but Peter Jackson used to be cool. He made silly, weird movies about New Zealand – its monsters and its murderers – … 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
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in New Zealand pop culture and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. The dream team is back together to cover all the breaking news topics you need to know this week. Which Aladdin star was spotted at Laneway? Which of our favourite celebrities made cameos in Jane … Read more
Outlander is over for another year, but don’t let #droughtlander get you down. Tara Ward keeps the thirst at bay with a look back on some of season four’s best moments, including baby goats, spotty Lords and a saucy sponge bath. Season four of Outlander has come and gone like an exploding hernia of emotion. We’ve … Read more
It’s a truth universally acknowledged that the path to the Idiot Hut is paved with trouble. Will Roger escape? Will Brianna marry Lord John? Will Jamie Fraser ever cry more than single tear? Tara Ward recaps the dramatic season finale of Outlander. Friends, we’ve reached the end of the Outlander highway, and I’m as exhausted as if … Read more
In Following Twain, which premiered on TVNZ One last night, Oscar Kightley follows the journey Mark Twain made around the country during his visit here in 1895. Sam Brooks reviews. The appeal of a travelogue show is one that has always eluded me. It’s the travel version of edging – all of the mildly pleasant bits … 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.
A psyschic medium has launched a social media broadside against a comedian and NZ’s biggest 7pm show. Alex Casey retraces the gory details. It’s official: Sue Nicholson is mad as hell and not going to take it any more. Best known for her recurring role on TVNZ’s Sensing Murder, where she can frequently be found … Read more
The Project and Seven Sharp screened their first episodes of the year last night – so how did they fare upon their return? 7pm newcomer Sam Brooks watched them both. I’ve never watched a 7pm show that isn’t Shortland Street. It’s not a television hour for me; usually I’m playing video games, catching up on a non-news related … 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 pentultimate episode of Outlander season four, and things couldn’t be worse. Or could they? Tara Ward finds out. Friends, we are well and truly up the shitter. I thought we’d peaked in the Outlander disaster zone with last week’s craptacular camping trip and Murtagh putting his boots on Marsali’s blankets, but this week life in the Colonies … Read more
Alex Casey woke up at 6am this morning to flick between the first episode for 2019 of both The AM Show and Breakfast. Here are some of the highlights. Nothing captures Monday morning ennui like The AM Show. “Welcome back my friends,” belts out prog rock band Emerson, Lake and Palmer, “to the show that never … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the last few weeks in New Zealand pop culture and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. With Duncan still basking somewhere on a desert island, Alex and Jane reconvene in The Spinoff studio to pick apart the past week in local weird news, pop culture and reality TV. We … Read more