The Box Set
Call the Midwife, 8pm, Friday, TVNZ1
The nurses and nuns of Nonnatus House return for the seventh season of this popular BBC period drama. New to the ensemble is Leonie Elliott, who plays West Indian midwife Lucille Anderson. Challenging issues raised this series include leprosy, tokophobia, stroke and Huntingdon’s disease
Tickled, 8.30pm, Saturday, Choice TV
Kiwi journalist David Farrier delves into the world of competitive tickling in this 2016 documentary. ‘‘An alarming, cautionary tale about how easy it is in the internet age to ruin people’s lives while hiding behind a cloak of anonymity, the pic boasts a humorously titillating entry hook that soon gives way to engrossing conspiracy-thriller-like content, ‘‘ wrote Variety‘s Dennis Harvey.
6 Days, 8.30pm, Saturday, Rialto
Jamie Bell might get all the action scenes – and top billing – but the true star of Kiwi director Toa Fraser’s 2017 based-on-fact drama is Mark Strong. The 54-year-old British actor is simply superb as Max Vernon, the man with the unenviable task of attempting to negotiate with the desperate men who have taken over London’s Iranian Embassy in late April 1980. An understated, but effective dramatisation which also stars Abbie Cornish and our own Xavier Horan.
Coast NZ, 8pm, Sunday, TVNZ1
Six stunning locations, three new presenters and dozens of extraordinary stories are promised as Neil Oliver returns for a third look around our shaky isles. This time, he and his team travel to New Zealand’s most easterly outpost – the Chatham Islands, and to South Westland and North Otago. In the North Island, they visit the Bay of Plenty, Kaipara and the world’s southern-most capital city, Wellington.
Bancroft, 8.30pm, Sunday, TVNZ1
Broadchurch‘s Sarah Parish stars in this four-part contemporary thriller from the creator of Mr Selfridge. She plays Detective Superintendent Elizabeth Bancroft, a female detective with an explosive secret. The main plot sees her trying to bring down the vicious Kamara drug gang, but then she becomes distracted by DS Katherine Stevens (Faye Marsay), who is investigating a cold case in which Bancroft was involved.
The Resident, 8.45pm, Monday, TVNZ2
New US medical drama which focuses on a young doctor’s final years of training. The Good Wife‘s Matt Czuchry, Revenge‘s Emily VanCamp and Mad Men‘s Bruce Greenwood star. ‘‘With well-placed touches of humour, interesting storylines and a special cast, The Resident is a prescription you should have filled,’’ wrote Colorado Springs Gazette‘s Terry Terrones. Also screens Tuesday night at the same time.
The seven-day television listings are as accurate as possible at the time of publication. For the most up-to-date programme details, please see the newspaper’s daily listings.