It’s a wintry theme this week on a Cato-less Dancing with the Stars. Who adjusts to the winter chill and who is left out in the cold? These puns and more in week eight’s power rankings. Note: Each contestant danced twice this week – once with their partner and once in a team – and I … Read more
We’re back again for week nine of Survivor NZ, and with only nine castaways left we’re starting to see old alliances fall apart, as new partnerships form. Luke Harries recaps. The old tribal lines of Chani and Khang Khaw are more blurred than ever, and following Renee’s big move to flip on her old Chani … Read more
The 80s were a time for wellness videos from all kinds of celebrities. But the best one? Dame Angela Lansbury’s. Sam Brooks found the tape, and dug through it for the gems. Look, Angela Lansbury is a damn treasure. She’s got five Tonys (those are the Oscars for theatre), she’s been nominated for three Oscars, … Read more
Welcome back to Gilead, where last week’s memories of June and Serena eating croissants and listening to Lionel Ritchie records together are but crumbs in the dystopian toaster of our lives. Tara Ward recaps episode 9. This week we begin our journey into the hellfires of patriarchy with June counting her blessings (mostly: a chair) … Read more
In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources exclusive Snapchat footage of Kiwi citizens and luminaries making the news. Today, Act leader David Seymour updates us on his Dancing With the Stars training. The Spinoff TV screens Fridays at 9.45pm from June 22nd on THREE. Thanks to NZ on Air. Click here … Read more
Earlier this week Coronation Street finally cast off 2016 and time-leapt into the present day with a two hour special catching up viewers on everything that happened in the intervening 18 months. Then The Spinoff TV’s Angella Dravid decided to go one better. The Spinoff TV screens Fridays at 9.45pm from June 22nd on THREE. … Read more
Alex Casey goes for a stroll on the foot-shaped sands of Heartbreak Island, week one. Look, if you had told me in high school that all the beautiful, popular people would someday end up swimming around in a kiddie pool full of milk on a man-made island shaped like a human foot, I would have … Read more
With dozens of domestic animals, a seriously French take on Sex and the City and maybe the most popular NZ show ever, June on Lightbox has your winter sorted. Sam Brooks, Alex Casey and Emily Writes run down what’s coming to Lightbox this month. NEW TO LIGHTBOX TV Madam Secretary (S1-2, arrives June 19) Do you love political drama … Read more
Seven weeks into Dancing with the Stars, The leader of the ACT Party has collected more votes to keep him on the show than he did in Epsom last September, The Spinoff has learned. The hard-twerking member of parliament for Epsom, David Seymour, has comfortably now received more votes for his efforts on Three’s Dancing with the … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in New Zealand pop culture and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. This week on The Real Pod, Jane, Duncan and Alex are overwhelmed with reality TV realness. First Arun got booted from Survivor NZ. Then Suzy was sent home in a shocking Dancing With the Stars … Read more
A talk show… about theatre? You mean Shakespeare and shit? Sam Brooks watches the first episode of Louise Wallace’s Opening Night. Theatre is a hard sell. Even for people who enjoy theatre – hell, even for people who make theatre – it’s hard to get people to actually go to a play. If it’s not … Read more
TVNZ’s new series of documentaries explores the experiences of New Zealanders living with adversity. Sam Brooks reviews I Am. Following the same format as TVNZ1’s I Am Innocent series, which followed people who had been wrongly accused of heinous crimes, I Am follows individuals who have lived through adversity, with episodes that cover a New Zealander living with Aspergers, … Read more
It was a rough week for Dancing with the Stars, with a lot of low-lights (twerking, reggaeton) and only one shining highlight. Sam Brooks is here with the week’s power-rankings. ELIMINATED: Suzy Cato (and Matt) – Samba This is an absolute travesty. What is going on with this show. Suzy Cato is not just one of … 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
Last night Coronation Street finally cast off 2016 and made its big 18 month leap into the present day. But first we had a lot of news to catch up on, thanks to Nick Tilsley and his magical whiteboard. Coro fans faced the decision of their lives when TVNZ announced they were jumping our beloved soap … Read more
This week on Survivor NZ we begin the back-half of the game as the two tribes merge into one, and the individual game really kicks off. Luke Harries recaps. With the untimely departures of JT and Dylan last week, we are left trying to figure out where the game will go from here. Will the … Read more
A birth, a betrayal, a flogging. Things continue to get darker on episode 8 of The Handmaid’s Tale, available on Lightbox. Tara Ward recaps. “Gilead eats you from the inside out,” June said during this week’s episode of The Handmaid’s Tale, titled ‘Women’s Work’. It’s true, Gilead is the bleeding ulcer on the stomach lining of … Read more
Feminist icon, daytime TV judge, baloney-screamer: Judge Judith Scheindlin is the true queen of reality TV. The book of Judith is about a woman who ingratiates herself into the favour of a stupid and powerful man, and then cuts his head off to save her people and her country. Is it cut throat and bloodthirsty? … Read more
The S***off panel of experts present their learned assessments of what was said on the nation’s favourite soap. The Broadcasting Standards Authority has ruled on a complaint about the perceived use of a very naughty word on the beloved TVNZ soap opera Shortland Street. The complainant reckoned that “despite the subtitles provided by TVNZ, the actor’s … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in New Zealand pop culture and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. This week on The Real Pod, our trio is outshone by the amazing thruples on Dancing With the Stars NZ. Why are Jess Quinn’s angels shirtless? What do you call Chris Harris’ leg cape? And … Read more
What if, on a short-running sitcom in the early 2010s, Christina Applegate was playing our very own Jacinda Ardern? It’s unlikely, but possible! Hear us out. From 2011 to 2012, sitcom princess (I would posit she’s third or fourth in line for the throne, somewhere behind Julia Louis-Dreyfus) Christina Applegate starred in the messy, hilarious, short-lived … Read more
Marama Fox is gone, god is dead, but Dancing with the Stars is still here – with TRIO dances? Sam Brooks power ranks whoever is left on this show. ELIMINATED: Robert Rakete (and Nicole AND Fabio) – Cha cha The big problem with these trio dances is the celebrity ends up being their very own … Read more
Luke Harries dives deep into the drink of Survivor NZ week seven, including a shock exit and a tense mud challenge. Contains spoilers, obviously. Would you believe, we’ve already made it to the halfway point of Survivor NZ’s second season?! The first half has already packed in more drama, sassier villains and fresher pizzas than … Read more
You’ve got three days off work – why would you want to spend it outside being cold when you could be cosily binge-watching the best of Lightbox in the comfort of your own home? Some people spend their public holidays in the fresh air, having ‘experiences’ and meeting ‘people’. To them, I say: please stop. … Read more
Tara Ward recaps the seventh episode of this season of The Handmaid’s Tale, which shipped her and her emotional stability off in a crimson coffin. Ship me off to the colonies and throw me your smallest shovel, because I am of no use to anyone after that episode of The Handmaid’s Tale. It had everything: tension, dread, … Read more
Jono and Ben is back for another season, and they’re refreshing their comedic stable with some new faces, most of them women. Let’s meet them! Jono and Ben is more than just a showcase for the titular dudes who front the show. It also has a legacy of being a springboard for some of our most talented … Read more
Morag Bellingham QC was a rare gem in soap television: a complex, fiercely flawed character who viewers loved nonetheless. Tara Ward pays tribute to the character – and the actress who played her, who died yesterday. For 29 glorious years she graced our screens as Alf Stewart’s evil sister in Home and Away, the brutally honest … Read more
Lightbox has a bunch of new options – but are you wondering how to use them? How do you watch movies? How do you download things to your phone? Never fear, tech adept Sam Brooks is here to help. What’s the difference between Standard and Premium? With the standard Lightbox plan, you can watch all … Read more
Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted to You was as awkward as its title, and as bald a vanity project as they come. Sam Brooks reviews the Delta Goodrem-led mini-series. On paper, Delta Goodrem is a perfect fit for an Olivia Newton-John biopic. Both are surprisingly enduring Australian popstars, both have distinctive and versatile pop voices, and … Read more