TV HIGHLIGHTS
Where did we come from? Making New Zealand Prime, Today, 8.30pm
The things we built, the people who built them and what all that meant for the way we lived and the way we live now are the subject of the first episode of the second series of
Making New Zealand. Using archival footage and stills, the episode looks at the making of some of our most significant buildings including The Civic Theatre, Christchurch Town Hall and Dunedin Railway Station.
The annals of injustice
A Murder in the Park Available Monday, TVNZ on Demand
With what appears to be its major twist coming just minutes after its opening, this documentary offers a radically different perspective on the classic Justice For The
Innocent tale. After the efforts of a United States university journalism class helped exonerate a death row prisoner by securing a confession from another man, we learn that everything may not be as the crusaders hoped it was.
Fearless youth
Young Sheldon TVNZ 2, Monday, 9pm
The most anticipated and bestconceived prequel / spin-off in years has been an instant hit in the US. Coming, as it has, while its parent project, The Big Bang
Theory, is still at the top of its game, Young Sheldon takes that show’s most interesting character, whose backstory as a child prodigy it has much covered, and makes it its focus. Now it’s here on our screens and ready to trade on the comedy of its socially maladapted child genius lead actor.
No straight guy
Queer Eye Netflix, Available now
The iconic show that turned five gay men into frantic life-fixers for clueless and poorly dressed heterosexual men returns, in a new era, with a new cast and an abbreviated name, presumably reflecting the fact that it will no longer deal exclusively with straight guys. This season sees the new fab five focusing their efforts on at least one gay man, features more diversity in its cast and addresses social issues beyond just the gay-straight dichotomy. The show’s mission, one of its stars says, has shifted from tolerance to acceptance.
Good and bad in everyone
The Good Doctor
Lightbox, First two episodes available now. New episodes every Monday
In spite of not-especially-good early reviews it became the most watched drama on network television in the US after just a few weeks on air, with 18 million viewers, and it’s now also number one in a bunch of other countries, so it’s a bit of a coup for Lightbox to be showing it exclusively here. Young British actor Freddie Highmore portrays young surgeon Shaun Murphy, whose autism and savant syndrome makes life difficult for those around him, but apparently quite intriguing for those watching at home.