MAFS Australia is bloated, bizarre and sometimes brilliant

There are over 350 minutes of Married at First Sight Australia a week on Three. Should you spend almost all your spare time watching them? Married at First Sight Australia returned this week, a few months after our first season ended in the abyss. Of our six couples, only one survived the show, which became … Read more

UnREAL finally returns and more coming to Lightbox in February

Alex Casey and Sam Brooks round up the new content coming to Lightbox this month, including UnREAL tackling… The Bachelorette?! The Good Doctor (available now) Look, it’s the number one network series in the States, Canada and Australia right now, so if you aren’t watching The Good Doctor then I’m sorry but everyone is secretly … Read more

Were Kiwi kids or Aussie kids the original Weet-Bix kids? A Spinoff investigation

Tickled co-creator Dylan Reeve goes back down the rabbithole, revisiting a childhood breakfast food betrayal in an attempt to settle the Weet-Bix score once and for all. One recent morning, while watching my kids enjoy their Weet-Bix* one of the many advertising jingles of my childhood popped into my head. “Kiwi kids… are Weet-Bix kids…” … Read more

The Real Pod: Married at First Sight Australia is bonkers and we love it

The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in New Zealand pop culture and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. It must be getting close to Valentine’s Day, because romance is in the air on The Real Pod. We welcome back one of our favourite reality shows in Married at First Sight Australia, swoon over … Read more

Seven Sharp vs The Project – where do your 7pm allegiances lie?

Television saddo Alex Casey watched both Seven Sharp AND The Project on Monday night to bring you this harrowing report.  Following the return of Seven Sharp this week, surely tens of people across the country are now tearing their hair out trying to choose their ideal 7pm current affairs team. Do you settle into the comfortable … Read more

‘It felt like he was making TV specifically for me’: David Farrier on his love for Jeremy Wells

Ahead of Jeremy Wells’ return to television tonight, David Farrier looks back at some of his favourite moments from the deadpan broadcaster.  I feel passionately about Jeremy Wells. When I heard the official announcement from TVNZ that he would be joining Hilary Barry (another excellent broadcaster) on Seven Sharp, I felt a pang of joy I … Read more

What can Jeremy Wells’ back catalogue tell us about the new Seven Sharp?

Calum Henderson looks back at the best of Jeremy Wells and makes some predictions for what he will bring to the Seven Sharp desk.  When Jeremy Wells takes his seat next to Hilary Barry at the Seven Sharp desk tomorrow, it will mean different things to different people. Many of Seven Sharp’s regular audience, for … Read more

Our guide to the shiniest stars in Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams

Tara Ward stargazes beneath the celeb-studded galaxy of Philip K Dick’s Electric Dreams.  The trippy anthology series Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams boasts one of the most formidable collections of actors in a single television series. Not even Sharknado could gather together the creative talents of award-winning stars like Bryan Cranston, Anna Paquin, Vera Farmiga, … Read more

The Real Pod: How did we not know Mike McRoberts was so ripped?

The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in New Zealand pop culture and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. This week we arrive on a cloud fluffier than Mike Hosking and Kate Hawkesby’s dog to talk about our favourite local news and celebs of the week. Mostly, the fact that Mike McRoberts took a … Read more

Who the hell is Jeremy Wells and what right has he to replace Mike Hosking?

The Spinoff introduces a rightly fearful nation to the Mike Hosking impersonator replacing Mike Hosking as the host of Seven Sharp. Jeremy Wells was yesterday afternoon confirmed as co-host of the revamped Seven Sharp, as (incredibly humblebrag) first reported by The Spinoff last Friday. It’s an extremely bold hire, perhaps the boldest in TVNZ history. … Read more

Is the Props Boy bucket hat poised for a comeback? A Spinoff investigation

The Spinoff continues its deep dive into the world of weird and wonderful fashion and asks: is luxury French fashion house Maison Margiela taking inspiration from a 90s Kiwi television icon? Since its start in 1981, What Now? has managed to accomplish a lot of things in its 37-year history. It’s become New Zealand’s longest-running … Read more

The perfect cocktail of medical shows to shoot straight into your veins

To prepare for The Good Doctor arriving to Lightbox next week, Alex Casey breaks down five more of the best medical shows you can binge.  Just as sure as Chris Warner will reveal an illegitimate child at the dawn of every day, medical shows will forever stroll the corridors of primetime television soaked in blood … Read more

An open letter from Screaming Reels to our confused Australian neighbours

An Australian network is showing the NZ comedy show Screaming Reels in a time slot usually reserved actual fishing shows, suggesting the broadcaster was not aware it is a parody. The Spinoff asked co-host Leigh Hart to apologise to his confused Australian viewers. Instead, his ‘producers’ came back with this. It has come to our … Read more

In a post-Weinstein world, shows like Liar feel queasier than ever

Alex Casey watches Sunday night drama Liar, a British thriller that calls one woman’s account of sexual assault into serious question.  Without sounding too morbid, TVNZ couldn’t have planned the timing of sexual assault drama Liar any better. In a post-Weinstein world where stories of sexual assault and harassment have been dragged under the bright … Read more

Does Country Calendar have the best TV theme tune ever written?

Calum Henderson is on a valiant quest to find New Zealand’s greatest TV theme. His search for answers begins with a look at the origins of the rollicking Country Calendar theme. Country Calendar is the greatest New Zealand television show. Even if you’ve never watched it, you know it’s true. It is the people’s show, … Read more

Exclusive: Jeremy Wells to replace Mike Hosking as co-host of Seven Sharp

The Spinoff has learned who is set to replace Hosking on the TVNZ Show, and it turns out he’s a bit like Mike. Seven Sharp launches into 2018 at the start of February with an all-new line-up, after the tearful farewell of Toni Street and Mike Hosking last year. Hilary Barry was swiftly announced as … Read more

A concise list of times The Office US nearly destroyed me

To celebrate The Office US arriving to Lightbox, Alex Casey lists some of her favourite moments from the show. Contains many, many spoilers.  I have spent a deeply worrying part of my life watching The Office in some iteration or another. As a teen, I became obsessed with the British original, eventually penning an incredibly … Read more

The Real Pod: New year, new us, same old celebs

The Real Pod assembles for the first time in 2018 to dissect the week in New Zealand pop culture and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. Jane Yee, Alex Casey and Duncan Greive are back for another year with a new and improved Real Pod, featuring more new segments than you can shake a … Read more

What’s TVNZ serving up for breakfast in 2018?

Alex Casey watches the debut of a new look Breakfast on TVNZ1, and assesses the buffet of early morning news options.  Breakfast was off to a pretty weird start before it even began. In a promo video posted to their Facebook page last week, Jack Tame, Daniel Faitaua and Matty McLean can be seen goofing around … Read more

Kit Harington in Gunpowder makes Jon Snow look like a bloody wimp

Sam Brooks argues why Catholic Rebellion thriller Gunpowder is far more interesting than other dour dramas from the same period. I love a good political thriller. Stressed out people waiting for printers to print valuable documents, or wandering around with briefcases that cost more than your rent for the month – they’re my catnip. But it’s … Read more

Where were you when Suzanne Paul lifted a truck with a vacuum cleaner?

Tara Ward witnesses Suzanne Paul do something extraordinary — not for the first time and not for the last time.  Someone alert the authorities because there’s a genius in my living room and her name is Suzanne Paul. I thought I’d seen it all when Suzanne Paul sold a clip that could jazz up your outfit … Read more

What international reality franchises should NZ adopt next?

2018 is going to be a big year for local reality franchises from Dancing With the Stars to Project Runway, but what’s still missing? Calum Henderson fills in the gaps.  It’s never too late to pick up a successful international reality television franchise and give it a good honest Kiwi twist. Last year we saw … Read more

Mr Telly is the funniest, angriest letters section in New Zealand

Sam Brooks defies the ancient wisdom ‘never read the comments’ and goes deep into nine weeks of the TV Guide’s Mr Telly letters. Since the beginning of time, there have always been internet comments, whether they were some dude ring-a-dinging a bell in a town square, Martin Luther hammering a bunch of complaints to the … Read more

Throwback Thursday: The L Word was ahead of its time – in more ways than one

Sylvia Giles watches the mid-2000s soap The L Word and discovers a plethora of feminist conversations that are only starting to happen now in the mainstream.  All my lesbian friends told me I should watch The L Word many, many times, and over a decade ago. First aired in 2004, the show chronicled the sapphic … Read more

What’s new to Lightbox in January?

Now that you’ve settled back into work and failed to keep up any of your resolutions, it’s time to turn back to trusty old television. Alex Casey and Sam Brooks introduce some new shows on Lightbox that might take your fancy. Available now: Brooklyn Nine-Nine S4 There’s a conversation to be had about whether a … Read more

Which channel wore their returning 7 o’clock show best? 

Last night marked the return of several key shows to the coveted 7 pm time slot, so we deployed our television moles to watch and report back.  Toby Manhire watched Extreme Cake Makers on TVNZ1 With Seven Sharp on an epic, host-switching hiatus, filling the 7pm slot on TVNZ1 is the similarly hard-hitting Extreme Cake … Read more