Sick of seeing women portrayed as squeaky clean and virtuous, Jaya Beach-Robertson created PSUSY to prove they can be anything but. Liam Maguren sat down with her to talk through the ups and downs of creating a worldly web series. If you haven’t come across the New Zealand web series PSUSY yet, I’m not sure how … Read more
It’s been a long, lazy summer for many of our morning news outlets, which are finally set to return on Monday after a month off air. But who provided the best holiday cover for Hosking, Ferguson, Barry and the rest? Duncan Greive grades the breakfast news stand-ins. Thanks to the internet and aeroplanes and probably My … Read more
TVNZ has pulled a story about Kmart from its site after The Spinoff obtained emails showing two online ‘influencers’ received undisclosed payments to appear. The revelations raise fresh questions about the murky and unregulated world of the influencer economy. Alex Casey investigates. This post was first published on November 15, 2017. Two prominent online “influencers” … Read more
When Duncan Greive reviewed Filthy Rich earlier this year he was overwhelmed with messages from a depressed New Zealand TV industry. Here he summarises what they had to say. Part of an ongoing series assessing our publicly funded television. Read part two, comparing TVNZ with the BBC, here. Originally published February 29, 2016 A couple of weeks … Read more
James Mustapic of genius Youtube channel Shorty Street Scandal is coming out of retirement to do a live show at The Basement this weekend. He explains why. After almost two years of watching every episode of Shortland Street at least twice a night, and recapping them on Youtube, I took a break. This Saturday 17th … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street, including #warnerproblems, more fruit mince pies and a bunch of bad Santas. 1) So much Santa drama it felt like an early Christmas cliffhanger Nothing upsets the fragile testosterone balance in a hospital like three Alpha Santas on a pastry bender. It was an inevitable as … Read more
Duncan Greive reviews the NZ on Air-funded Pike River, a docu-drama blending dramatic recreations and interviews with those most affected by the 2010 tragedy. “29 men died on the 19th of November. Is that OK? How can that be,” she asks, “in the 21st century, in New Zealand?” These are questions posed by Kath Monk … Read more
It started with Stuff, was adopted with gusto by the NZ Herald, and now clickbait content is infecting 1News Now, the online news arm of TVNZ. It’s yet more proof that the state broadcaster is no different from other commercial media organisation, says Jack Close – so isn’t it time we abandoned the pretense it … Read more
While the golden age of television continues to blossom overseas, New Zealand’s TV drama output remains stubbornly mediocre. But it didn’t have to be that way, says Duncan Greive – and he has the show to prove it. A couple of years ago, about the same time that the big budget dramas Filthy Rich and … Read more
What happens when you put of two of the most enduring soap opera characters together in one room? After years of wondering, we finally found out in this exclusive video. Shortland Street‘s Chris Warner (played by Michael Galvin) and Home and Away‘s Alf Stewart (played by Ray Meagher) are two of New Zealand’s most beloved soap opera … Read more
What happens when you get two soap immortals and sit them down together for a chat? Calum Henderson was there to recount the making of television history. WATCH: History is made: Sparks fly when Chris Warner meets Alf Stewart It could be a vision of the end of the world: Alf Stewart and Chris Warner, … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including intense tent problems and the sad departure of Rachel McKenna. 1) Rachel walks towards the light Just another ordinary week for our Rach: she got drunk, knocked down a wedding marquee and vowed to find herself. Before our tiny little brains could comprehend the ridiculous idea … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including Bella’s massage, Warner tears and Kate with the good hair. 1) Rachel has left the building Do you ever feel like a plastic bag, drifting through the wind, wanting to start again? That’s exactly how Rachel McKenna felt as she was ushered from the building … Read more
TVNZ has been the doughy dinosaur in the media room for years now, content to defend the biggest, oldest and least mobile audience in the country. Last Thursday though, they suddenly showed their teeth at a very different new season launch. Duncan Greive was there to watch. Kevin Kenrick is on stage, looking oddly like … Read more
For Monitor this week, Aaron Yap basks in the grinning goofiness of DUKE’s Angie Tribeca, the best cop show spoof you probably aren’t watching. My tastes in comedy tend to drift towards fare like Louie and Curb Your Enthusiasm, where laughter stems from dark, cringe-making, cankerous worldviews of the human condition. But revisiting The Naked Gun … Read more
TVNZ’s Terry Teo remake is a return to form for New Zealand family programming, says Ethan Sills, and a shining example of what our local television should be. What will it take for the rest of the industry to take note? When you’re a kid, nothing seems impossible. You have the whole world ahead of … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including Rachel’s war path, Warner’s windswept hair and some incredible VR technology. 1) Rachel is scary Rachel picked up a plethora of life skills during her 10 seconds of rehab, like how to not give a shit, and how to scare the bejeesus out of everyone … Read more
Tara Ward dives into a delicious, piping hot serving of all-new Breakfast, and breaks down the key changes in TV One’s revamped morning show. A fresh day dawned in New Zealand yesterday and with it a new era of breakfast television. “This is your Breakfast, this is New Zealand’s Breakfast” said new co-host Jack Tame. “I’m … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including Dom’s arson, black mould from hell and a haunted dolly. 1) Blue rocks his way around Ferndale “Change yourself, change the world. Rock on, people.” Holy Moses, this powerful life-affirming message had such insight and clarity that it could have come from Gandhi, Mandela or Angela Stone. … Read more
For today’s short memories, Mike Hosking is but a beloved national icon, speaking truths and setting fashion trends. But not so long ago, he fought a bitter, brutal war to change privacy laws in New Zealand forever. Click here for the rest of our Hosking Week content. Once upon a time there was a man … Read more
After accusing Kiwi Living of ‘lifestyle shaming‘, Duncan Greive returns to TV One’s magazine show and finds a vision of New Zealand much closer to reality. Last year’s debut of Kiwi Living felt like a kind of television dystopia: the kind of witlessly aspirational brand-soaked programming Leigh Hart had been parodying on The Late Night Big … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including Leanne’s facelift, Rachel McKenna’s pashfest and Damo’s stark white thighs. 1) Rachel makes a startling announcement “I’m not made of fingers, Damo!” The strain of being a drug-dependent alcoholic who couldn’t make her computer print got to Rachel, and she began to unravel like an out-of-control … Read more
With an exciting new cast photo coming out of Ferndale this week, Tara Ward digs through some of the finest offerings from Shortland Street‘s archives. Forget the Olympics, ignore the housing crisis, pay no heed to Justin Bieber deleting his Instagram. The big news of the week comes from Ferndale, where the Shortland Street 2016 cast photo … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including cheese dreams, sharp jaws and virus-laden horse stables. 1) Leanne orders a takeaway burger stuffed with Phyllovite and a side serving of crazy “You’re not a turkey!” Nicole yelled at her mother. “Gobble, gobble, gobble!” replied Leanne. Leanne’s bloodstream was 100% Phyllovite, meaning she hooned around Ferndale … Read more
Patrick Hunn fondly remembers shambolic local young adult series The Tribe. The things you read, watch, play or listen to when you’re a kid stick with you, because kids are dumb and have brains made of a pliable grey paste. These squawking, colourful things leave marks that are baked into your memory by the general, … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including Leanne’s new vitamin business, a spoiled roux, and a pillow made of kiwi feathers. 1) Cam is the Chad Johnson of Ferndale Cam’s been in Ferndale for five minutes and has already fallen in love with Kylie. How nauseating. Thankfully, Kylie rebuked Cam’s creepy advances by insulting his … Read more
Alex Casey snacks on this year’s Loading Docs selection, ten locally-made documentaries under 3 minutes in length. Love documentaries but hate all the sitting, watching and listening? Destined to take 100 pee breaks and snack stops during the average 90 minute runtime? Fear not my fellow cinema pests, Loading Docs is the perfect solution if your … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including when the shitake hit the fan and a very good dog. 1) At last, Ferndale gets it’s Chops For years, nay decades, people have protested the lack of a canine presence in Ferndale. Erinsborough had Bouncer (RIP), Summer Bay had Dag Dog, so why hasn’t Shortland … Read more
Calum Henderson asks why our taxpayer money continues to fund rose-tinted documentaries about the sexist hellhole known as Gloriavale. Our annual visit to Gloriavale is becoming a weird New Zealand television tradition. Every winter for the past three years we’ve been offered another rare glimpse inside the controversial West Coast Christian community, through a series of … Read more