Alex Casey has a quick chat with Jonathan Banks, also known as the stony-faced assassin Mike Ehrmentraut of Breaking Bad and current spinoff Better Call Saul. // I really was expecting Jonathan to pick up the phone and to mutter a grumpy “hello” like Mike would, and then promptly shoot me in the head with a sniper rifle … Read more
Aaron Yap dissects Frances McDormand’s cripplingly powerful portrayal of depression, parenthood and marriage in the HBO mini-series Olive Kitteridge. // There are probably few characters as singularly challenging in recent television as the protagonist of Lisa Cholodenko’s Olive Kitteridge. A streamlined, absorbing, richly textured adaptation of Elizabeth Strout’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel, this four-hour HBO mini-series hints … Read more
The Spinoff knights meet at the television roundtable to discuss week six on X Factor NZ, and our new additions to the judging panel. Eli Mathewson on the Tough Calls The toughest criticism so far came for a completely unexpected victim… “You disgust me. You make me sick. You ruin everything I love about the world. I want … Read more
Brand new judges. The same old singers. Slightly different podcast guests. With Joseph Moore fleeing our smiley and sanitised bully-free country to the mean streets of Melbourne, Nic Sampson is joined by Spinoff staff writer Alex Casey and Perlina Lau, soon to be social media presenter on the new Paul Henry breakfast show. Together they … Read more
After a sorry week on X Factor, Robyn Gallagher heads way north to televised music comp perfection. // The Eurovision Song Contest is easily the greatest television musical extravaganza, but a couple of months earlier there’s another show that’s almost as good. It’s Melodifestivalen, the Swedish national competition to select their Eurovision entry – and … Read more
Alex Casey recaps the seventh episode of Lightbox’s much anticipated Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul. After last week’s slam dunk of an episode, I am feeling pretty confident in saying that Better Call Saul is one of the most interesting and unique telly shows on offer at the moment. Take the wonderful opening credits, for … Read more
Has any TV show fallen as far or landed as hard as X Factor NZ did over the last seven days? We watched one of the 20 or so most controversial moments in our televisual history last week; this Sunday we sat and watched a bunch of mostly mediocre singers singing mostly mediocre songs, while … Read more
Please enjoy this excellent episode of Shorty Street Scandal, wherein James Mustapic recaps the past week of Ferndale hijinks. This week? Bella gives Vinny a “pizza her mind”, Leanne saves the day and TK pretends to know everyone: Still crazy after all of these years (comas), Nicole ill-advisedly returned to work this week. She jumped at the opportunity to … Read more
Time is a Flat Bloner This morning Twitter blew up with the news that True Detective would feature an exquisite orgy scene in season two. Hiring a multitude of porn stars to fill the roles, The Hollywood Reporter stated that the show promises a “a deliriously vast, Eyes Wide Shut-caliber orgy sequence involving dozens of naked … Read more
My Life in TV is a weekly feature interview with a member of the television industry. This week Alex talked to Mike Puru, enamoured host of The Bachelor NZ. // Mike Puru has stepped back in front of the camera this week to host the journey of love that is The Bachelor NZ. On the day of the premiere, … Read more
In a new segment, Alex Casey tries recreate some iconic small screen meals. In this edition, she tackles 30 Rock‘s heart-attack-inducing Cheesy Blasters. // If there is one thing that Liz Lemon loves more than slankets – it’s cheese. Which is why, in season four of the show, it’s no surprise that she delightedly plays … Read more
During a recent trip to Copenhagen, Wyoming Paul found the seamy crimes of The Killing and The Bridge were never far from her mind. // Scandinavian television has become Big, worthy of capitalisation, in the crime-thriller division. Shows such as The Killing, Wallander, Morden and The Bridge all bring a depth of darkness to our … Read more
Welcome to the debut episode of The Fantasy Suite, our podcast dedicated to all things The Bachelor NZ. Hosted by world renowned Bachelor expert Jane Yee, with support from The Spinoff’s Alex Casey and Duncan Greive. Reliving the first two nights at the Bachelor mansion, we discuss Arthur ‘Art’ Green, the bachelorettes, the first dates … Read more
Alex Casey talks to Guy Williams directly after his devastating loss to Ben Mitchell in the TV Guide’s Sexiest Man awards. // This morning I saw something that I knew was going to devastate Guy Williams, reigning champion of the TV Guide’s Sexiest Man award 2014. Anyone on Twitter will remember his extensive campaign to … Read more
After an exciting introduction to The Bachelor NZ this week, Alex Casey delivers her first in our weekly series of Bachelorette power rankings. I can’t believe it has happened. Our headless oiled Bachelor has finally washed ashore, and revealed his handsome mug to the nation. What a week it has been. There’s been tears, there’s been somewhat excessive … Read more
This Throwback Thursday, Calum Henderson discusses In Bed With Chris Needham, a self-shot teenage cult classic from the BBC. It starts with a pale, spotty youth, shifting from foot to foot, hanging on the telephone. His astonishing barnet is the cumulative result of not just one but a prolonged series of bad haircuts. “I’m not … Read more
With Art Green confirmed as New Zealand’s first Bachelor, Alex Casey set about trying to find footage of his days as an extra on the swords and sandals sexfest Spartacus. // If you, like me, have been retracing Art Green’s life story every hour since he was announced as the Bachelor, you will know of … Read more
The Spinoff received word that Natalia Kills and Willy Moon would be leaving the country last night, so dispatched Don Rowe to watch their final moments on our soil. // Like great dark bats they swooped through Auckland International Airport. He wore leather and she sheltered beneath a wide-brimmed hat. Both wore sunglasses. They walked … Read more
Tuesday, March 10, 2015 was just an ordinary evening on X Factor twitter. Jokes were made, memes were shared, the #xfactornz hashtag was enthusiastically tacked on to these jokes and memes, for fear of our hilarious content floating, unheard, into the abyss. We all rejoiced as national hero Joe Irvine was put through to the live … Read more
Appointment viewing… is a regular column which features a Spinoff writer watching one or more episodes of a current show and attempting to decode its appeal. This week: Alex Casey watches The Naughty Bits, a brief history of censoring nasties in New Zealand. // What’s it about? The documentary series is a three-part journey through the … Read more
After the most climactic 24 hours in X Factor NZ history, Joseph Moore and Nic Sampson were joined by The Spinoff editor Duncan Greive to discuss the double judge elimination, the first live show and the debut of our sworn enemy, X Factor NZ analysis show Xtra Factor. The episode also features Alex Casey’s excellent … Read more
Inside the Lightbox is a sponsored feature, mining the extensive Lightbox catalogue for the very best shows on a given theme. This time we took a look at the brand new haul of great British shows, fresh to Lightbox this week. / Moone Boy Created by Chris O’Dowd (the lovably Irish man from Bridesmaids), Moone … Read more
Tonight The Bachelor NZ finally launches, and they’ve saved the mystery hunk’s identity for a big reveal. Lewis Van Den Berg-Shaw speculates about who might be dishing out the roses. The Bachelor finally makes its debut at 7.30pm tonight. Despite a recent announcement of all the competitors, and an excellent investigation on this very website, … Read more
The Spinoff knights sprint to the television roundtable to pitch new judges they think should step in for Natalia Kills and Willy Moon after their sacking this afternoon. // Who will be the first scabs to cross the X Factor NZ picket line and take up pen, paper and listening face in place of those martyrs … Read more
Hayden Donnell tracks down various other disgusting artists who have copied X Factor NZ judge Willy Moon’s idiosyncratic style. // Natalia Kills was just saying what we were all thinking. The Thor to Mel Blatt’s weary Odin is getting cyber-bullied this morning for telling Joe Irvine a well-known fact: her husband Willy Moon invented ‘wearing … Read more
Duncan Greive breaks down the performances from last night’s X Factor NZ and power ranks the participants Natalia Kills: “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m just going to state the obvious and say we’ve got a doppelganger in our midst. As an artist who respects creative integrity and intellectual property I am disgusted by how much you … Read more
Please enjoy this excellent episode of Shorty Street Scandal, wherein James Mustapic recaps the past week of Ferndale hijinks. This week? Harper gets bizarre with a ham, lads steal a laptop and Leanne is the human embodiment of this song: Our favourite London lovebirds Ula and Dallas sent a delightful postcard snap from the London Bridge this week. It … Read more
On Tuesday our intrepid podcasters, Joseph Moore and Nic Sampson, dutifully watched the 12th episode of X Factor NZ and recorded the finest installment yet of our smash hit pod, ‘After the Factor’. They then went to sleep, as humans often do in the nighttime. The following morning Moore was awoken by news he was … Read more
Ahead of forthcoming Prime documentary The Naughty Bits, co-creator José Barbosa talks with former Chief Censor Bill Hastings about his career watching video nasties. Strictly speaking former Chief-Censor Bill Hastings isn’t part of that madcap world of TV production, TV is outside the Office of Film and Literature Classification’s (OFLC) remit, but he’s certainly done … Read more