May’s must-see TV shows
Reality juggernauts Survivor and Dancing With the Stars NZ will continue to dominate free-to-air television this month but there are plenty of dramatic delights to be found elsewhere.
Netflix has new seasons of 13 Reasons Why and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt debuting, Lightbox has Scandi-noir Below the Surface and Helena Bonhamcarter-starrer Love, Nina, and TVNZ Ondemand will host an eight-part Gloriavale miniseries.
After trawling through the May line-up, Stuff has come up with this list of the new shows well worth you checking out.
Donald Sutherland and Hilary Swank star in this 10-part adaptation of the events surrounding the kidnapping of John Paul Getty III by the Italian mafia. Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle directs the first three episodes.
‘‘Trust often feels made up, and that’s intentional. Beaufoy and fellow executive producer Danny Boyle, who directed the first three episodes, adopt a slyly sardonic tone throughout the story as it unfolds through shifting time periods. With so many morally bankrupt characters, the slightly humorous tone leavens the mood a bit. The performances are captivating,’’ wrote San Francisco Chronicle’s David Wiegand. Part of a wave of classic slices of Australian cinema remade for television (think Wake in Fright and Romper Stomper), this sixpart re-imagining of Joan Lindsay’s 1967 novel places Game of Thrones’ Natalie Dormer’s headmistress at the centre of the story and features less pan-pipes on the soundtrack than Peter Weir’s 1975 movie.
‘‘A darker, more mysterious and extended version that manages to feel updated for our time while still keeping the original 1900 setting,’’ wrote Variety’s Pilot Viruet. more powerful for it. A thoughtfully selected soundtrack of apposite music – Radiohead, The Smiths and Magazine – helps to slowly ramp up the menace,’’ wrote The Guardian’s Sam Wollaston.
Inspired by a real-life Pennsylvania theatre teacher, this 10-part musical-drama looks at the lives and loves of the staff and students at Stanton High. Created by Parenthood and Friday Night Lights’ Jason Katims, it features 1990s favourite Rosie Perez and How I Met Your Mother’s Josh Radnor.
‘‘It is predictable, sometimes down to individual lines; the title itself gives the arc away. But predictability is part of what makes musical theatre tick; it delivers the thrill the crowd comes for, dramatic tension leading to inspirational release,’’ wrote Los Angles Times’ Robert Lloyd.