This morning, TVNZ announced what we’ll all be watching in 2021. Here’s a quick rundown of what you’ve got to look forward to, assuming we’re still here next year. The Brokenwood Mysteries OK, let’s get the biggie out of the way first: The Brokenwood Mysteries is jumping from Prime to primetime, baby! Brokenwood travels to … Read more
Sunday Theatre’s new drama Runaway Millionaires tells the story of Kara Hurring, the Rotorua woman who in 2009 fled the country with $10 million which simply landed in her lap. Tara Ward reviews. What would you do if one day you discovered ten million bucks randomly sitting in your bank account? Would you come clean, or … Read more
A War Story is one more attempt in a long line of art to make sense of 9/11 – this time from a uniquely Kiwi perspective. The coordinated terrorist attacks on September 11 2001 cut a razor-sharp divide between the relatively carefree time before and everything after, bleeding into the culture that stood on either … Read more
Alex Casey watches the joyous return of TVNZ1’s The Casketeers, a docuseries set in an Auckland funeral home. New year, new us, new season of The Casketeers, new leaf blower for Francis Tipene. The fabled leaf blower defined the first season, an enduring symbol of the funeral home owner’s obsession with neatness and order. For … Read more
Alex Casey recaps the first political speed date on Seven Sharp, wherein Jeremy Wells wooed Judith Collins in the TVNZ foyer. Last night’s episode of Seven Sharp came with one very big tease: an “intimate liaison” (please lean in hard to French accent there) between Jezza Wells and Judith “Crusher” Collins. With the fifth candidate … Read more
Last night marked the return of several key shows to the coveted 7 pm time slot, so we deployed our television moles to watch and report back. Toby Manhire watched Extreme Cake Makers on TVNZ1 With Seven Sharp on an epic, host-switching hiatus, filling the 7pm slot on TVNZ1 is the similarly hard-hitting Extreme Cake … Read more
Alex Casey reviews The Casketeers, an ingenious documentary set within the four walls of an Onehunga funeral home. It’s only two weeks into 2018 and we might already have stumbled upon a frontrunner for local comedy show of the year. An outrageous and over-eager claim, perhaps, but who cares? If TVNZ1’s hilarious documentary gem The Casketeers … Read more
Sam Brooks picks out what you should watch this Christmas when things get too stressful and you just need to curl up on the couch. Christmas is a stressful day for everyone. Whether you’re giving the gifts, receiving them, making the food or eating it, there’s a lot to do. And sometimes you need a … Read more
After it cleaned up a pile of awards last week, Alex Casey watches TVNZ1’s Jean to see what all the fuss is about. At the New Zealand Television Awards last week, one production, one story and one name ruled the night: Jean. It became something of a running joke as Jean, the TV film that … Read more
Elle Hunt thought she was alone at sea in her love for Blue Planet back in 2001. In 2017, it would seem the whole world has taken the plunge. I would like to begin with an apology to the couple I interrupted at The Love Walk Cafe in Camberwell last week. I’m so sorry; you … Read more
Before she became prime minister, Jacinda Ardern went on a valiant journey to trace her ancestry on TVNZ’s DNA Detectives. How’s this for a sign of Jacinda Ardern’s rapid rise: in the year or so between filming her episode of DNA Detectives and it screening on TV last night, she has become deputy leader of the Labour … Read more
Unless you have eight eyes like some kind of politically-engaged spider, your second most important decision tomorrow will be choosing which channel to watch the election results on. Luckily, we’re here to help For the Spinoff’s election night plans, scroll all the way to the foot of this page 1 NEWS Vote 17 Election Night … Read more
Tara Ward heads to the big apple with Our Rachel and a butt-tightening machine in Rachel Hunter’s Tour of Beauty. Welcome to New York, the city that never sleeps, the city filled with bright lights and naked cowboys. It’s here that Rachel Hunter kicked off her second series of Tour of Beauty, a place filled … Read more
Calum Henderson spent season one of 800 Words helping main character George Turner turn his shambolic column excerpts into finished newspaper copy. In season two, Turner has lost his writing job – and the show is better for it. George Turner made it as far as the second series of 800 Words before someone at … Read more