Emily Writes celebrates wholesome shows and the rise of cosy television. The world is frightening right now. From Covid-19 to climate change, just watching the news can be overwhelming let alone going outside. This horror is the perfect environment for what I call Soft TV to flourish. Wholesome reality TV isn’t new, but it used … Read more
If you’re a fan of thrilling skill-based reality contests, Blown Away is the show you’ve been waiting for. Tara Ward reveals why you’ll fall in love with Netflix’s latest sensation. If you think the Earth needs another reality TV show like it needs a glass light fitting that looks like a diver’s helmet, then think … Read more
Blessed be the fruit loaf, The Great British Bake Off is back. Tara Ward relives the best moments from episode one of the new season of the world’s kindest TV show. We could all do with a warm and fluffy escape right now. Last week I ate my way through more packets of Toffee Pops … Read more
The slice of heaven that is The Great Kiwi Bake Off was this week awash with sweet and/or salty caramel. Tara Ward ranks the gooey results. It seeped over slices, it poured over pineapple, it oozed over benches and onto floors and threatened to drown us all in a sticky sea of sugar. Drowning in caramel … Read more
Complete with hard tops and soggy bottoms, The Great Kiwi Bake Off premiered on TVNZ2 tonight. Tara Ward has the power rankings. Inside the grounds of a Mediterranean palace fit for Queen Mary Berry lies a pond with a turtle. Next to that turtle is a building disguised as a tent. Inside that tent is … Read more
We lured an official judge from The Great Kiwi Bake Off into the offices to critique our cakes, and it was an emotional rollercoaster. Here at The Spinoff, reality TV is kind of a big deal. So when a new show comes out, we really put our heart and soul into it. Alex Casey and Sam Brooks … Read more
It’s been a beloved cultural phenemenon for a few years now, but the Bake-Off finally makes it way to our shores. Hosted by Hayley Sproull and Madeleine Sami, Sam Brooks interviews the pair spearheading the Great Kiwi Bake-Off ahead of its premiere tonight. Straight up: I haven’t watched an episode of the Great British Bake-Off. It sounds like the most … Read more
Who can bake good, and who will be baking bad? Our first look at the #GKBO contestants offers some valuable clues. Calum Hendersons ranks them. Good news everybody: life is finally about to get better. Go outside and you can feel it in the air, an unfamiliar sense of hope. Everything is going to be … Read more
This week, TVNZ announced our very own local version of The Great British Bake Off, The Great Kiwi Bake Off. Tara Ward comes in hot with her predictions of what it could possibly be like. Unless you’ve been hiding under a croquembouche helmet for the past few years, you’ll know that The Great British Bake Off is … Read more
The Great British Bake Off returned to Prime last night. Amateur baker and Bake Off fan Tara Ward was watching to see how the new Mel, Sue and Mary-less season fared. When last we saw The Great British Bake Off, everything had turned to shit. After Channel 4 bought the show from the BBC for a bargain … Read more
Shit got real on Bake Off this week. Forget American Horror Story or Scream Queens, the real horror this Halloween was found in a marquee in the English countryside. Tara Ward witnessed it all fall apart. Tuesday’s episode of Great British Bake Off served up the stuff of nightmares: possible sabotage, irrational behaviour, and terrifying meltdowns. Plus … Read more
The Great British Bake Off is back on our screens, bringing with it treacherous sponge cake, dry nuts and a myriad of emotions. Tara Ward breaks down the six psychological stages of the show. Imagine an idyllic paradise of wildflowers and lush green grass, where tiny lambs frolic next to a gurgling stream and daffodils wave … Read more