The writing of this new TVNZ series struggles to live up to the drama of its breathtaking location, writes Catherine McGregor. The first scene is astonishing. It begins with a drowned girl floating face down underwater, her hair a weightless auburn cloud around her face. And then the scene expands. In a single shot we … Read more
Ahead of the NZ debut of Eat Well For Less, literal first-time cook Sam Brooks gives a few of his own (barely tested) tips for how to eat well for less. We all spend too much on food. I know I do. Back in the golden age of “restaurants” and “eateries”, I would be found … Read more
Need to scratch that Gone Girl itch from years past? The Secrets She Keeps is the new Australian thriller that asks how far you should go to get the perfect life. Pre-lockdown, influencers were king and there was no better way to feel stink about your own life than to step into theirs. This is … Read more
At today’s online meeting of the Epidemic Response Committee, media representatives have appeared in the unfamiliar seat of the interviewed rather than the interviewer. Here’s a highlights package. Committee chair Simon Bridges opened by acknowledging the parlous situation the New Zealand media find themselves in. He also noted that representatives of NBR and Māori TV … Read more
We all know we’re spending even more time than usual in front of the TV screen, but what free-to-air shows have New Zealanders turned to during these troubled times? With most New Zealanders stuck at home all day during the lockdown, it makes sense that we’ve turned to ye olde gogglebox in record numbers. The … Read more
Itching to pick up the camera even though you’re in lockdown? We’re excited to announce that 48Hours is back this weekend, self-isolation style. So what’s the festival? For the past 18 years, 48Hours has been an annual festival celebrating the best in fast, furious film-making, and even though the country is in lockdown, this year … Read more
Let’s meet the brave Australians who threw caution to the wind in search of $250,000 and a free trip around the planet. It’s been yonks since we last took a trip with The Amazing Race, so it’s ironic that the latest season hits our screens during a time when we can’t go anywhere. Who wants … Read more
Noughts + Crosses is set in the present day, but if our history had run a wildly different course. Sam Brooks brings you up to speed on what you need to know before you dive into the show. First things first, what is Noughts + Crosses? Noughts + Crosses is a BBC series adapted from … Read more
There’s a desperate scramble to stop more major media companies failing. Duncan Greive explains what’s going on – and how it might play out. The most recent edition of the reigning newspaper of the year, the Sunday Star-Times, was a pearler. It opened with a substantial analysis from political editor Luke Malpass about the tension … Read more
If you’re a movie-lover but don’t feel like funnelling more money to a giant global corporation right now, good news: there are plenty of free – and legal – streaming options out there. You just have to know where to look. The number of people with access to linear television is growing smaller and smaller … Read more
As the new season of Kirstie and Phil’s Love It or List It drops, Tara Ward investigates how the gurus can help us with our own interpersonal property dilemmas. We’re approaching the second week of national lockdown, and it’s about now that many of us will begin to have the “love it or list it” … Read more
The Fold podcast returns for March into a media world transformed by the impact of Covid-19. Host Duncan Greive records a monopod to assess its impact. In last month’s edition of this podcast, The Spinoff editor Toby Manhire and I discussed RNZ’s Concert debacle. At the time, it was the biggest story in media; now … Read more
An unscheduled Covid-19 special ran in place of Seven Sharp last night, and Duncan Greive says it brought out the best in both its participants and the medium itself. Over the past decade there has been an inexorable gravity sucking us toward social media. Young men, whipsmart and in a hell of a hurry, created … Read more
What does the pandemic mean for an industry already in peril? Duncan Greive surveys an anxious media scene. The rapid global spread of the Covid-19 virus contains a paradox for media. It has generated enormous levels of interest in what is a multi-dimensional and fast-moving story, which has seen ratings and traffic volumes boom. Additionally, … Read more
The proposed merger of RNZ and TVNZ has one clear international precedent – Irish national broadcaster RTÉ. Michael Andrew asks what New Zealand can learn from the Irish model. There’s a touch of comedy in the idea of a merger between RNZ and TNVZ, almost as if the two organisations were unfamiliar step siblings forced … Read more
Nearly 30 years after its first episode, award-winning sitcom Mad About You is back. Tara Ward travels back in time to celebrate the show’s most ’90s moments. Mad About You is back on our screens, and it seems the only thing that’s changed since 1999 is the colour of the Buchmans’ kitchen cabinets. The series … Read more
Advertising doesn’t have to ruin a radio station, says former bFM programme director Bill Kerton. In fact, it can make it stronger. In the mid 1990s I found myself programme director at Auckland’s 95bFM. You couldn’t have found a more intense, dedicated group of creative, free thinking, anti-establishment wankers if you tried – yet we … Read more
To celebrate the return of Country Calendar to TVNZ1, Alex Casey tracks down the show’s biggest canine fan. This Sunday night at seven o’clock, Suki will run to the television and demand that her parents turn on TVNZ1 so she can hear her favourite theme song. She’ll then sit, nose against the screen, to watch … Read more
Fancy a quick trip to Europe without leaving the comfort of your own couch? Tara Ward rounds up the best European drama for your viewing pleasure. Anyone who reckons travel is the only way to expand your mind has never had the pleasure of lying on a couch for three days while hoovering up several … Read more
Alex Casey delivers her eighth power rankings for The Bachelorette NZ, where a humble avocado changed everything forever. Click here for previous instalments. Glass me with the talking bottle, slice my hand off with a fax machine and send me straight to the Centre De Emergencies, because this was the most aggro week of The … Read more
The Spinoff editor Toby Manhire joins Duncan Greive to discuss the RNZ Concert saga, the potential merger with TVNZ and Winston Peters’ new photography hobby on this month’s episode of The Fold. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, RSS or via your favourite podcast provider.
The merger of TVNZ and RNZ is a huge boost for government-controlled media. Duncan Greive asks what that means for the rest of the sector. Last year, NZ on Air convened a meeting of senior executives from almost all the main news organisations in New Zealand. Around 20 surrounded a large table at the Heritage … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Concerns grow in the public media merger information void, costs of school return being counted, and a charter flight arranged for Wuhan evacuations. A plan is in the works to transform state broadcasting in New Zealand, with some form of merger between TVNZ and Radio … Read more
The Real Pod reassembles to dissect the first week of The Bachelorette NZ with special thanks to Nando’s. Blow your air horns and distress your jeans, the very first week of The Bachelorette NZ is over and we are absolutely amping. Join us as we recap the Tough Mudder group date, the romantic single dates … Read more
In this very special episode of The Real Pod, Art Green joins us to yarn about The Bachelorette NZ premiere. Brought to you by our friends at Nandos. Related: Alex Casey’s Bachelorette NZ Power Rankings, episode one: Send in the lads It’s been five years in the making, but we finally got Art Green on … Read more
The first two episodes of TVNZ’s new action series The Dead Lands were released to a worldwide audience of millions last night. Alice Webb-Liddall spoke to some of the cast and crew about the epic genre-bending show, and what it means for New Zealand television. When The Dead Lands was released in 2014, some called … Read more
The Real Pod reassembles to dissect the summer in reality television and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. We’re ba-ack! After a long cruel summer full of Jay Jay and Minou heartbreak, The Bachelorette NZ reveals and a mild case of ring worm, there is much to discuss. Why has Breakfast returned more sexed-up … Read more
The first two seasons of TVNZ’s The Casketeers made international stars out of Auckland funeral directors Kaiora and Francis Tipene. With season three starting tonight, Alice Webb-Liddall caught up with the couple to talk their TV journey so far. Alice: It’s been just over a year since the premiere of season one, how has … Read more
The gentle godfather of nature returns in Seven Worlds: One Planet on TVNZ 1 tonight, and you best have your tissues at the ready. “Never has it been a more precious time to reveal the life on our seven continents,” Sir David Attenborough says at the beginning of his new documentary series Seven Worlds: One … Read more