TV’s winter watching
Japanese anime, Canadian medicine and Australian drama are among the options coming to brighten up your winter nights. James Croot reports.
As the cold weather closes in for the next couple of months, it’s good to know there are plenty of viewing options to warm up the country’s long winter nights. While the free-to-air channels are once again dominated by multi-night reality shows such as Big Brother (TV3) and the new-look MasterChef Australia (TVNZ2), there are lots of alternatives for those seeking less-manufactured dramatic fare.
Netflix’s eclectic lineup includes a new season of The Umbrella Academy (July 31), a reboot of the popular 1980s and 90s pseudo-documentary series Unsolved Mysteries (on now), a re-imagining of
The Babysitters Club (from today), highly anticipated comic-book adaptation Warrior Nun (on now), The Grudge-movie franchise spin-off Ju On: Origins (from today) and the Spanish-version of You, Dark Desire (July 24).
Sky is celebrating July 7’s Neon-Lightbox merger with the exclusive New Zealand debuts of the Zoe Kravitz-led High Fidelity (July 13) and the Kat Dennings vehicle Dollface (July 29), the History channel has Jeff Daniels’ six-hour stint as Washington (July 6), and National Geographic boasts the second season of Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted (July 7).
Elsewhere, Acorn TV has season nine of longrunning British dramedy Cold Feet, TVNZ OnDemand has a new Kiwi kids’ series The Exceptional Squad (from tomorrow), TV3 has another round of the Dwayne Johnson-hosted Titan Games (on now), TVNZ1 has former Blackadder star Tony Robinson travelling Around the World By Train (on now), and July 31 sees the welcome return of those felty favourites in Disney+’s Muppets Now.
However, after looking through the schedules, Stuff has come up with a list of 10 shows we believe are well worth checking out this month.
Cursed (July 17, Netflix)
This 10-part reimagining of the Arthurian legend is based on the recent young adult illustrated novel by Frank Miller and Tom Wheeler. It focuses on a teenage sorceress named Nimue who encounters a young man on a quest to find a powerful and ancient sword. 13 Reasons Why’s Katherine Langford and Westworld’s Gustaf Skarsgard star.
Devils (July 7, SoHo)
Patrick ‘‘McDreamy’’ Dempsey stars as business powerbroker Dominic Morgan in this 10-part, 2011 London-set drama about a high-flying Italian banker whose life goes into a downward spiral after his drugaddicted wife is involved in a scandal.
Based on the best-selling novel by Guido Maria Brera, the show is also scheduled to debut on Neon on July 15.
Guilt
(July 9, TVNZ OnDemand)
Quiz’s Mark Bonnar and Chernobyl’s Jamie Sives star as two very different brothers in this British contemporary crime-thriller.
Max and Jake are forced to join forces after they accidentally kill an old man. ‘‘What elevates Guilt – besides the artful direction, eye-catching production design and a killer soundtrack – is the rich river of black humour that bubbles through it,’’ wrote The Guardian’s Graeme Virtue.
Hanna
(From today, Amazon Prime Video)
In the second season of this action-drama inspired by the 2011 Saoirse Ronan-starring movie of the same name, the eponymous mysterious young woman (Esme Creed-Miles) risks her freedom by trying to rescue her friend from the clutches of the
Utrax programme. She finds assistance in the unlikely form of her previous nemesis, CIA agent Marissa Wiegler (Mireille Enos), who must protect herself and Hanna from the ruthless organisation she once trusted.
Japan Sinks: 2020 (July 9, Netflix)
Based on Sakyo Komatsu’s best-selling 1973 disaster novel (which took him nine years to write), this 10-part anime series revolves around an ordinary family who are put to the test when a series of massive earthquakes throws Japan into total chaos. The book has previously been adapted as a live-action movie, re-edited for American audiences as Tidal Wave, a 1975 Japanese TV series, and Shinji Higuchi’s Sinking of Japan in 2006.
Little Voice (July 10, AppleTV+)
Billed as a love letter to New York’s diverse musicality, this 10-part rom-com ‘‘explores the universal journey of finding your authentic voice in your early 20s’’.
The combined creation of Lost’s
JJ Abrams and musician Sara Bareilles (best known for the stage musical Waitress), it stars Brittany O’Grady (who spent time in New Zealand last year making the horror movie Black Christmas) and Skins’ Sean Teale.
The Mallorca Files (July 10, TVNZ1)
Ambitious young British detective Miranda Blake (Elen Rhys) and her laid-back German partner Max Winter (Julian Looman) team up to take on a world of crime on the Spanish Island of the title in this 10-part UK drama.
‘‘A drama which does not take itself too seriously. It’s a bit like blood-drenched comedy drama Death in Paradise, or Shakespeare & Hathaway.
‘‘The crimes are puzzles! Everything will soon be safely solved! There’s no need to worry!,’’ wrote Radio Times’ Eleanor Bley Griffiths.
Save Me Too (July 23, SoHo2/Neon)
Fear the Walking Dead’s Lennie James is back for this second six-part series about one man’s desperate search for his missing daughter. The dark drama’s impressive cast also includes Lesley Manville, Suranne Jones, Ade Edmondson, Kerry Godliman, Stephen Graham, and Jason Flemyng.
‘‘It starts with the kind of bang that insists you pay attention to find out how we got here. Then, the [opening] episode ends with the kind of bang that insists you watch the next one immediately,’’ wrote The Guardian’s Rebecca Nicholson.
Stateless (July 8, Netflix)
New Zealand’s own Rachel House joins a host of Australia’s finest (Cate Blanchett, Asher Keddie, Yvonne Strahovski, Jai Courtney, Marta Dusseldorp) for this six-part drama that centres on four strangers at an immigration detention centre.
It was partly inspired by the real-life story of Cornelia Rau, an Australian permanent resident who was unlawfully detained under the Australian Government’s mandatory detention programme.
‘‘This is exceptional film-making, from the writing and direction to the casting and the way the cinematographers have captured the distinctive quality of the light in the South Australian desert. It is absolutely compelling, a ripping yarn,’’ wrote The Age’s Melinda Houston.
Transplant
(On now, TVNZ OnDemand)
New Canadian medical drama about a Syrian ER doctor who tries to establish a new career in Justin Trudeau country. However, adjusting to life at Toronto’s biggest emergency department won’t be easy for Dr Bashir Hamed (Hamza Haq). It is also scheduled to air on TVNZ1 in the next few months.
‘‘This high-stakes, gritty show is gripping from the get-go,’’ wrote The Loop’s Christine Estima.