Best on the box
James Croot’s TV picks for the week ahead.
Rush 8.30pm, Friday, Ma¯ ori TV
Collaborating again with British Frost/ Nixon writer Peter Morgan, director Ron Howard returned to the 1970s in 2013 for another rivalry that captured the world’s attention. From their first meeting in Formula 3 at the turn of the decade, Brit James Hunt (Chris ‘‘Thor’’ Hemsworth) and Austrian Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) were destined to rub each other up the wrong way. While playboy Hunt was a reckless, mercurial maverick, Lauda was a cool, calculating, risk-averse, meticulous maestro as happy under the bonnet as Hunt was under the sheets.
Comedy Gala 9.45pm, Friday, Three
Hosted by Flight of the Conchords’ TV show star and crowd favourite Arj Barker, this year’s lineup for the televised NZ Comedy Festival showcase includes Dai Henwood, Heath Franklin’s Chopper, Rhys Mathewson, Eli Matthewson and Pax Assadi.
Churchill 8.30pm, Saturday, Rialto
Brian Cox and Miranda Richardson star in this 2017 drama set in the 96 hours before the World War II invasion of Normandy. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill struggles with his severe reservations with Operation Overlord and his increasingly marginalised role in the war effort. ‘‘A small, watchable, rather prosaic backroom docudrama,’’ wrote Variety’s Owen Gleiberman.
The Handmaid’s Tale 8.30pm, Saturday, Ma¯ ori TV
Before last year’s high-profile TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian book there was this 1990 movie starring Natasha Richardson, Robert Duvall and Faye Dunaway. ‘‘Duvall and Dunaway provide the best moments in the movie, he by showing the unconscious egotism of the male libido, she by showing that in all times and all weathers, some kinds of women will gauge their happiness by the degree to which their family’s exterior appearance matches the accepted values of society,’’ wrote Chicago Sun-Times’ Roger Ebert.
Dancing with the Stars 7pm, Sunday, Three
Back after a three-year hiatus, the 2018 edition of the popular reality competition features 12 celebrity Kiwis attempting to impress the judges and the nation with their moves. Dai Henwood and Sharyn Casey host, while the panel of experts includes Camilla Sacre Dallerup, Julz Tocker and Rachel White. Continues 7.30pm Monday
Lost and Found 8.30pm, Monday, Three
Hosted by investigative journalist David Lomas, this fourth season of the popular Kiwi reality series sees him researching and tracking down more missing relatives. In this week’s premiere, viewers will meet Dave, who was adopted at birth and is eager to thank his birth mother for giving him a shot at life. However, a dark and confronting secret rises to the surface, with a resulting outcome no one saw coming.