A reissued post from July this year, days before the premiere of the much-anticipated Outrageous Fortune prequel Westside. Alex Casey talked to creator James Griffin about getting started in television, the perils of funding in New Zealand and the Van and Munter spin-off that time forgot. It’s a dizzying feeling to walk into the Grey Lynn villa where you … Read more
The first episode of On the Rag, a podcast hosted by Alex Casey which looks at, laughs at and questions the state of women in pop culture, news and the world. To look at back at the year of 2015, she is joined by comedian and author Michele A’Court and marketing guru and longtime good … Read more
2015 saw an unprecedented amount of reality television shows made and broadcast right here in good old New Zealand. From The Bachelor to The Block, X Factor to My Kitchen Rules, here are The Spinoff’s top ten reality stars of the year. Contributions by Alex Casey, Duncan Greive, Calum Henderson and Steve Braunias. 10) Steve … Read more
The final in our week-long series, counting down the greatest New Zealand television moments of the year. Click here to catch up on numbers 50-41, 40-31, 30-21 and 20-11. Contributions by Alex Casey, Calum Henderson, Duncan Greive and Jose Barbosa. 10) HDPA buys a gun Story’s biggest news stunt of the year saw Heather du Plessis-Allan … Read more
Duncan Greive talks about television’s past and future with Matt Heath and Jeremy Wells as they launch WatchMe – the most exciting birth in a year of TV deaths. Some time in September Matt Heath got in touch, asking if I wanted to have lunch with him and Jeremy Wells. Who wouldn’t? We went and … Read more
The fourth in our week-long series, counting down the greatest New Zealand television moments of the year. Click here to catch up on the first, second and third instalments. Contributions by Alex Casey, Calum Henderson and Duncan Greive. 20) Dadbod wins DWTS When he first strode out sheepishly onto the Dancing With the Stars dance floor Simon … Read more
This year some of the most powerful performances on television came from canines. James Beavis of Facebook’s Cool Dog Group picks his top 10. I used to find the “dogs > people” sentiment extremely corny and bad, but I’m a changed person. After nearly two years of helping run the Cool Dog Group on Facebook … Read more
Think this year’s Shortland Street cliffhanger was dramatic? The 1995 festive special was even more heartrending. Tara Ward remembers the Christmas episode that shocked a nation. Christmas Day television is notoriously bad. You can guarantee a Royal Variety Performance and a Vicar of Dibley special, and Jamie Oliver is bound to chuck a litre of olive … Read more
Last night’s Oprah Winfrey show at Vector Arena was more akin to a religious revival than a speaking engagement. Anny Ma tells how she felt the full force of the Oprah Effect. Oprah has God, but I have Oprah. Sorry, Jesus. An Evening With Oprah was the single most inspiring 2.5 hours of my entire … Read more
The third in our week-long series, counting down the greatest New Zealand television moments of the year. Click here to catch up on the first and second instalments. Contributions by Alex Casey and Calum Henderson. 30) Ben turns his back on Masterchef The biggest moment on Masterchef NZ this year was when Ben Sheehan dropped … Read more
Alex Casey has watched and ranked every episode of My Kitchen Rules NZ this year, and for what? She shares some vital lessons learned from the show including what not to feed rugby players, and how to avoid being too much of a JAFA. We have come to the end of another exhausting MKRNZ journey, … Read more
James Mustapic of Shorty St Scandal presents his annual awards to the good people of Ferndale in 2015. Gather round all ye doctors, nurses, patients and receptionists of Shortland Street, James Mustapic is here to shine a light on the best storylines, characters and moments from Ferndale this year. From Chris Warner’s “playa days” to Murray’s meatballs, … Read more
The second in our week-long series, counting down the greatest New Zealand television moments of the year. Click here for the first instalment. Contributions by Alex Casey, Calum Henderson and Duncan Greive 40) Burning Man? More Like Burping Man Dancing With the Stars NZ was rocked to the very core after one audience member in the … Read more
TV3 may have missed its chance at a 5.30pm answer to TV2’s Home and Away, but the original surf-and-sand teen soap is still going strong. Ellen Moorhead looks back at the year’s maddest storylines. It’s been a hard year in The Bay. 2015 has seen an endless stream of classic soap-tropes plague the good citizens … Read more
Neighbours turned 30 this year with the same soapy melodrama and sense of humour that have been the show’s hallmarks since 1985. Ethan Sills wouldn’t have it any other way. Anniversaries are a big deal for soap operas. When Coronation Street turned 50, a tram crashed into the street. When Shortland Street turned 20, a … Read more
Tara Ward recalls the most memorable moments from last night’s bloody Shortland Street Christmas cliffhanger (CONTAINS SPOILERS). 10) Gareth locks Dave the security guard in the supply cupboard Have you seen Security Dave? The guy is a freaking giant compared to Gareth. I’m no scientist; in fact, I can barely spell the word. But I … Read more
Duncan Greive watches as Ferndale endures a hostage crisis on a Christmas cliff for the ages. They’ll never beat the truck. That’s the yardstick against which all of Shortland Street’s Christmas cliffhangers will be measured, and invariably come up short. It was the first time the show embraced the dramatic tension afforded by a break, … Read more
The first in our week-long series, counting down the greatest New Zealand television moments of the year. First up? Ali G, jizz smears and secret burps. Contributions by Alex Casey and Calum Henderson. 41) Takes two tractors to tango The triumphant TV One show This Town spent time chilling out with regular New Zealanders and … Read more
Alex Casey talks to Shortland Street producer Simon Bennett about the jaw-dropping Christmas cliffhanger (contains many, many spoilers). My first question is: were you making a concerted effort to make the whole of New Zealand feel physically sick? The aim wasn’t to make people feel sick, but to make people think ‘I can’t believe they just … Read more
Cool TV freaks Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, creators of batshit cult sketch show Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! are playing Auckland’s Sky City Theatre this Friday. Joseph Harper called them for a chat. Those who are already fans need no introduction to the work of Tim & Eric, and the uninitiated should … Read more
Tara Ward brings you this week’s Shortland Street Power Rankings, including Virginia’s car crash, Gareth’s window shopping and the saddest Christmas tree yet. 1) Boyd said bye bye to bachelorhood with a hangover from hell Boyd knows how to party like an S-Club party. He spent his last days as a single man in a … Read more
The Spinoff is proud to present the exceptional music video for ‘Hold Your Hand in Mine Harry Warner’, the debut pop single from Shorty Street Scandal‘s James Mustapic. More from The Spinoff on Shortland Street: – An interview with James Mustapic about creating this Shortland Street-themed musical magic – Interviewing Shortland Street producer Simon Bennett about tonight’s … Read more
With the much-anticipated Shortland Street finale airing on Monday night, Alex Casey sat down with producer Simon Bennett to talk cliffhangers… on a cliff. The Shortland Street cliffhanger airs Monday on TV2 at 7pm, click here to get up to speed on TVNZ Ondemand This content, like all television coverage we do at The Spinoff, is brought … Read more
Good Morning has sung its last song, danced its last dance, and broadcast its last advertorial. Calum Henderson watched the lights go down on a New Zealand TV icon. “I don’t want this day to end…” These plaintive words from host Jeanette Thomas perhaps best summed up today’s final episode of Good Morning – a … Read more
Alex Casey plates up her unconventional power rankings for week eight of My Kitchen Rules NZ, including a stonking good name and some pampered pork. I am very very late this week, and I sincerely apologise. This truth is, I’m exhausted. I’ve been up all hours scribbling equations on whiteboards, rifling through old books and … Read more
‘Good Night to Good Morning’ is a three part series farewelling the iconic TVNZ variety show. In part two, former employee Robyn Gallagher recalls how Good Morning once enthralled a nation. For three years in the late 2000s, I worked on Good Morning. It was easily one of the most enjoyable – but dramatic – … Read more
Alex Casey chats to Keith Powell about his role as Toofer on Lightbox’s 30 Rock, and how one humble network sitcom changed the face of comedy over its seven joyous years. Tina Fey’s 30 Rock is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of my favourite television shows of all time. I remember buying season one … Read more
Calum Henderson watches Adele return to the stage, with help from Graham Norton, and gets a little misty. The first time I heard ‘Hello’, the lead single from Adele’s third studio album 25, I was sitting in Hollywood Bakery on my lunch break eating a tandoori chicken wrap. I knew straight away what song it was … Read more
Alex Casey talks to Shorty Street Scandal‘s James Mustapic, ahead of the much-anticipated release of his debut Shortland Street-themed single ‘Hold Your Hand in Mine Harry Warner’. James Mustapic is a local legend who has been dissecting the absurd happenings in Ferndale on his amazing Youtube channel for well over a year. Through all the … Read more