Last year, Marvel’s Venom came out and was a huge hit, and you can watch it on Lightbox right now. But the real killer? Eminem’s rap over the credits. Sam Brooks performs an in-depth lyrical analysis of ‘Venom’, the song. First off: I have to declare my love for Venom, the film. It’s a bonkers good time. In … Read more
In only a few decades, the depiction of LGBTQ characters on television has gone from chaste ambiguity to frank explorations of queer identities of all kinds. But how far have we come, really, asks RNZ’s Melody Thomas. In 1991, a show called LA Law aired the first same-sex pash on primetime US television. The kiss between … Read more
The Passage comes with a best-selling novel pedigree – but will the show last long enough to make good on it? Sam Brooks reviews the new show which premiered on TVNZ last night. “I’m the girl from nowhere. The one no one will miss. I’m Amy Bellafonte. This is how the world ends.” Everything good and … Read more
It’s the most popular sitcom on television, and it’s full of supposedly lovable, always male, assholes. Catherine Hart explains why she’s not watching The Big Bang Theory or its ilk anymore. I’m sick of watching male ‘lovable’ assholes on our screens. They’re everywhere and I’m over it. These lovable assholes treat those around them with constant disrespect, … Read more
It’s a grim week in Outlander as Jamie and Claire go on the camping trip from hell, Brianna reads minds, and Roger pretends to travel through time. Tara Ward recaps episode 11 of season four. This week’s episode of Outlander was a riverboat of misery floating aimlessly on an ocean of misfortune. Our beloved Frasers scrambled to … Read more
Alex Casey watches the joyous return of TVNZ1’s The Casketeers, a docuseries set in an Auckland funeral home. New year, new us, new season of The Casketeers, new leaf blower for Francis Tipene. The fabled leaf blower defined the first season, an enduring symbol of the funeral home owner’s obsession with neatness and order. For … 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. We’re back for 2019! Well, Jane and Alex are. Join us for a sprawling chat about this summer in celebrity news, sightings and scandals. Sam and Tayler’s MAFS journey has come to an … Read more
To many, Drew’s Christmas Holiday was a light-hearted, comedy filler to keep thirsty Shortland Street fans satiated during the long summer hiatus. To others, it was a terrifying descent into the empty soul of a confused and lonely man. Tara Ward finds out what really went on. All I know for sure about Drew’s Christmas Holiday is … Read more
Will we ever truly reach peak TV? Maybe! And if we do, 2019 might be the year when it happens. Sam Brooks and Alex Casey run down all the things you absolutely cannot miss in 2019. Golden Boy / Mean Mums (TV3) The successful pilots from TV3’s inaugural pilot week are presumably coming this year, both having … Read more
The most anticipated reality TV event of the year, Celebrity Treasure Island may have just got its first castaway. Hit the dab, 2019, you’ve done it again. I might still be moderately drunk from Hogmanay, but The Spinoff has been handed some extremely piping hot intel from a high level source that Max Key is … Read more
A tangled web of secrets and lies was revealed in this week’s Outlander episode, as the Frasers tried to right their wrongs. They also ate some mashed potato. Tara Ward recaps. There are more reasons to love Claire Fraser than there are ginger curls on Jamie’s head. She has a collection of knitted arm-warmers to die … Read more
Angel, Dove, Mercy and the rest of the flock are back, as happy as ever in blue. Writer Anke Richter, a cult observer, watches Gloriavale: The Return. This was originally published on 14 May 2018. The best thing I could do to prepare myself for Gloriavale: The Return was to catch up on the latest … Read more
It’s a scandalous journalism drama, the darkest Marvel film yet, the thirstiest show on television and Queen Diva™ Mariah herself – it’s January on Lightbox. Press (binge from January 2) Is your New Year’s resolution to watch more classy TV? If it is, look no further than Press. If it isn’t, you better watch Press anyway. This six-part BBC series … Read more
In the middle of the last decade, one man dominated our local music television. Then he disappeared. Elle Hunt tracks down Joel Defries and talks to him about life as a Kiwi TV star, and what he’s been doing since. This was originally published 25 June 2018. Joel Defries was once a household name. Well: … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect 2018 in New Zealand pop culture and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. Happy New Year! Before you get started on those resolutions, why not join us in looking back at 2018 in reality TV? It’s time for the beloved* annual** Real Pod awards, where everything’s made up and … Read more
The business of news is as dirty as the ink its printed in – or at least that’s what Press thinks. Sam Brooks reviews the news drama from the BBC, which drops on Lightbox today. There are no heroes in Press. Whether you’re Holly Evans (Charlotte Riley), the righteous news editor for the Herald, who chases up corporate cover-ups and … Read more
Outlander fans around the world rejoice, because this week’s episode delivered the Fraser family reunion we’ve waited 200 years for. Tara Ward recaps episode nine of season four. Imagine you’re Jamie Fraser, taking a humble pee in an alleyway, watching the steam rise off the bricks one cold morning in 1769 and thinking of nothing more … Read more
Alex Casey goes on a speed dating mission to get to know the beautiful brains behind the beautiful bodies of Heartbreak Island. This post was originally published 11 June 2018. 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. … Read more
They said he couldn’t do it, but what else are you going to do in seven days? Sam Brooks watched 42 episodes of Outlander in a single week to catch up before the fourth season premiere. This post was originally published 4 November 2018. One week ago today I sat around The Spinoff’s story-pitching firepit, and … Read more
Week after week on Dancing with the Stars, David Seymour cheated eviction at the hands of the judges thanks to massive support from viewers, to the extent that he’s comfortably received more text votes than he did in the election last year. Anecdotally, much of his support is coming from young people. But why? We asked … Read more
Seasons greetings from everyone at The Spinoff. Here’s a little extra scene shot for our Lightbox TV series Get It to Te Papa that sadly didn’t make the cut, featuring host Hayden Donnell and former Māori Party MP Marama Fox. Watch all six episodes of Get It to Te Papa on Lightbox now by signing … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in New Zealand pop culture and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night, for The Real Pod has stumbled upon a Christmas miracle: a full-length podcast with the King of the Cranny himself, Colin Mathura-Jeffree. Joining Jane, Duncan … Read more
It’s a bad week for time-travellers, insurgents, newlyweds, blokes with misdiagnosed hernias, and basically everyone else in this week’s episode of Outlander. Tara Ward recaps. Friends, if I ever have the fortune to fall through a vortex of time and space and find myself two hundred years in the past, please make sure I do not end … 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.
Alex Casey gets to the bottom of a pop culture obsession: what’s the deal with Doc Martin? It’s getting to the time of year where many of us return home to roost like big drunk chooks incapable of doing anything more than chugging prosecco, eating fistfuls of ham and blobbing out on the couch. In … Read more
2018 was quite the year, and TV was no exceptions. Sam Brooks is here to round up the year. What went down, who won what, and who came out smiling? Killing Eve From my assessment of the show back in July: “Eight spine-cracking episodes down, I’m willing to call Killing Eve not just the best show of … Read more
Every day in the lead-up to Christmas, open the door to reveal a Spinoff writer’s short, sizzling commentary on a weighty subject. Our arbitrary and strictly enforced word limit: 365. Today: Toby Manhire on an appalling trope that has long haunted our screens. There’s a moment in the final episode of Park Chan-wook’s masterful adaptation … Read more
The increasingly hated Ivar revels in fake news, but will his people care? Alex Braae reviews the latest episode of Vikings. So, you might remember that there was a person about to be sacrificed at the end of the last episode, as a symbol of Ivar’s divinity. There were fears that it might be Hvitserk, … Read more
We have a winner – and it’s a gamechanger. Sam Brooks power-ranks the last episode of House of Drag, and assesses the season in general. It’s over, ladies and gentlemen, and we have a winner. But before we get to that history-making winner, a few thoughts! House of Drag has had a rocky first season, to put … Read more