The Real Pod team smash 1000 coffees to discuss Miss Universe NZ, The Block’s resurgence and our producer Mad’s brush with death. Plus: an exciting new Mike Puru segment. As the pirate ship at Rainbow’s End makes its final voyage this week, The Real Pod stowaways are regaled with producer Mad’s tale from the seven … Read more
Aaron Yap plumbs the depths of The Expanse, a sci-fi space opera that’s drawn comparisons to some of television’s greatest. It’s weird to think that the Syfy channel once spawned Battlestar Galactica, one of, if not the finest science fiction series of the modern television era. Today, the very mention of Syfy is cause for … Read more
Following a couple of weeks of controversial headlines, Alex Casey assembles a brief history of sexist drivel on The AM Show. Of all the soothing alarm sounds you could use to welcome a new beautiful day on Earth, Mark Richardson barking “a woman can do Dad jokes, which I’m impressed about” has got to be … Read more
A Māori, a Filipino and a Persian walk into a bar. They’re probably just getting a drink after a day of filming their new comedy sketch show. Hosted by improv comedy trio Frickin’ Dangerous Bro — Jamaine Ross, James Roque and Pax Assadi — Only in Aotearoa is a new Māori Television comedy that skewers modern race … Read more
Ling and Zing have lost the plot, the Twins are ripping off the Renaissance and Stacey’s taken to wearing a rug – it’s just another week on The Block NZ. In the words of the great Ronan Keating, life is a roller coaster you just gotta ride it. Life on The Block NZ is no … Read more
Henry Oliver went to see Jerry Seinfeld at Spark Arena on Saturday. This is what he thought of it. There’s that cliche: never meet your heroes. I often feel like it should be updated: Never go see your heroes perform long after their peak. I saw the band Television once and was bored. And when … Read more
Feast upon this year’s Loading Docs selection featuring ten snack size local documentaries that you can watch in half an hour. If you struggle at times to hold focus during a 10 second Snapchat – let alone a 59 minute Game of Thrones episode – your scatterbrain might be well-suited to the short, sharp wonders of Loading Docs. With … Read more
In this rare Spinoff sealed section, Lucy Zee rounds up some of the most memorable sex scenes in local TV history. I hate sex scenes. They’re awkward, unnecessary and – the worst – they’re grossly unrealistic. But New Zealand can’t seem to get enough of a steamy romp and a glimpse of a muscled male arse on their … Read more
Sam Brooks watches Search Party, the indie-inspired comedy that contains as many mysteries as it does 90s stars. If you were to make a webseries in the 90s, somehow having the same crazy technology as of today, you would probably make Search Party. You’d also immediately burned for being a witch, because that’s what they … Read more
Following Metiria Turei’s resignation as leader of the Greens, The Spinoff TV writers report back on how our news outlets and commentators reacted to the political bombshell/earthquake/catastrophe. “A catastrophic, disastrous result… an absolute political nightmare,” said a typically chilled-out Paddy Gower last night as he thundered out the news of his Newshub poll, and Metiria … Read more
Got a thirst for chilling mysteries in even colder places? Tara Ward rounds up the best in Nordic Noir on Lightbox. To celebrate the arrival of mystery-thriller Jordskott to Lightbox, we’ve gathered together an extensive list of the best Scandi-noir dramas around. Stop drawing sad faces into your window condensation, because what better way to … Read more
Alex Casey watches the return of TVNZ’s So This Happened, the online series giving a voice to women’s experiences of harassment. There is an inevitable, incredible thing that happens when you put a bunch of women in a room together with enough space to talk freely. No, we don’t shriek like banshees at the moon, … Read more
The Real Pod team are back together to discuss the shambles that is Mark Richardson, mermaid costumes, and getting drunk with Hilary Barry. PLEASE NOTE: OUR GRAPHIC DESIGNER IS TOO GOOD FOR US AND THAT IS NOT THE REAL MARK RICHARDSON After many weeks apart, host Jane Yee is joined by Duncan Greive and Alex … Read more
It’s week six on The Block NZ and Jane Yee is back stronger and more defiant than Yanita’s hairstyles. Secrets, sabotage and spying. We’re halfway through season six of The Block NZ, and the knives are well and truly out. Specifically, the dinner knives, because this week we enjoyed/endured the ultimate Block challenge that is … Read more
After a rocky start – and that toe-curling musical promo clip – it seems like Three’s 7pm infotainment show has hit its stride. Former US news presenter Pallas Hupé Cotter explains how The Project makes it look so easy. It turns out, it’s not just frothy and funny. The Project seems to have come up … Read more
Tara Ward watches Prime TV’s Back Benches amidst an exciting week for both politics and local colouring book production. Watching Back Benches was the most educational 45 minutes of television since the time I devoured the infomercial about the ladder that transforms into 370 different positions. Back Benches gave me answers to questions I didn’t know I was asking, like what does free range chicken … Read more
In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources exclusive Snapchat footage of Kiwi citizens making the news. Today: Did you know that Labour leader Jacinda Ardern’s partner, broadcaster Clarke Gayford, really, REALLY likes fishing? Click here for all our Kiwis of Snapchat videos. This content, like all television coverage we do at … Read more
With Jerry Seinfeld performing one show only in Auckland this month, The Spinoff writers celebrate their favourite Seinfeld episodes to get you hyped. The Contest (S04E11) ‘The Contest’ is a fan favourite owing to the fact that they managed to make an entire half hour show about masturbating without ever saying the word. The titular contest is between … Read more
Lucy Zee remembers the iconic TV2 ad where a penguin drove a bus and Suzanne Paul had a garage sale. If you (still) watch a lot of TV, you might have noticed that channels air short branding ads in between TV shows called ‘brand identities’ – ‘idents’ for short. These can range from short simple … Read more
The Good Wife is one of those show that has always seemed to be around, but you’ve probably never seen. Sam Brooks tells you why you haven’t watched it yet, and why you should fix that immediately. At some point in 2016 I decided I was going to watch all of The Good Wife, just as … Read more
*With Jane Yee away this week, Tara Ward steps in to talk vibes, chill, and more vibes on week five of The Block NZ. Kitchen and Dining Week on The Block NZ was all about ‘the vibe’. Dennis Denuto would be stoked, because there were vibes everywhere: good ones, bad ones, giant neon purple hand ones. … Read more
With some literal last minute planning, Duncan Greive and Jane Yee are once again joined by producer Madeleine Chapman for a slightly delayed episode of the Real Pod. In a genuine attempt to be more professional, Jane takes one (the only one) suggestion from a listener by discussing the recent rise in swearing on Shortland … Read more
After watching an episode of the slightly weird teen-oriented show while on painkillers (legitimate medical reasons), Sam Brooks goes on an internet investigation to find out what the cast are doing now. Being Eve was a strange beast of a show, one of the rare New Zealand TV series aimed specifically at teens and preteens, … Read more
Last night’s screening of the HBO documentary Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, was reportedly one of Three’s most-watched shows of the year so far. If only its participants had been a bit braver, writes Christopher Stratton. Among my friends, I’m notorious for my effusive enthusiasm for Diana, Princess of Wales. I know what … Read more
New Zealand was spoiled for choice of after school anime shows in the early 2000s. Lucy Zee remembers the female heroes who shaped her childhood. Cartoons rule my life. You name it and I’ve probably watched it, seen the comic, bought the merch and read the fan fiction crossover. My love of cartoons and anime … Read more
Now one of the most lauded television producers in the world, Ryan Murphy didn’t start well. Sam Brooks was there in the 90s to witness the hot mess that is Popular. It’s strange to sit in 2017 and see Ryan Murphy be a critically acclaimed, if still messy, maker of television. I look at the … Read more
Attitude is nearing 500 episodes over 13 years, and its current mental health series shows that it deserves a far better timeslot than 8.30am Sunday, writes Duncan Greive. New Zealand has been getting more comfortable confronting difficult issues in primetime. Last year, Nigel Latta: The Hard Stuff’s exploration of suicide and teenagers’ online lives was … Read more
She became an international pariah after uttering the worst racial slur on The Real Housewives of Auckland. Now Julia Sloane is apparently plotting a comeback with a feature-length documentary, reports Duncan Greive. Julia Sloane, the star of Real Housewives of Auckland caught up in a racism scandal, is plotting a return to the screen, The Spinoff … Read more
Your aunty’s favourite show, Outlander, is returning exclusively to Lightbox September 11. Tara Ward watched the brand new trailer and had some thoughts. I was as happy as a tiny donkey trotting through the Scottish countryside when the official Outlander Season 3 trailer landed last week. It was Outlander D-Day, the beginning of the end: only … Read more