This month’s must-see TV
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.