February’s must-see TV
The summer shutdown is officially over. Next month sees plenty of new shows and seasons and coming to network television, pay TV and streaming services.
Netflix boasts the comic-bookinspired Ellen Page starrer The Umbrella Academy (February 15) and surreal comedy Russian Doll (February 1), while Lightbox is premiering the latest edition of popular Kiwi webseries High Road (February 25).
Much-loved US star Nathan Fillion returns to TV on Three’s The Rookie (February 4), and there are new seasons of Cold Feet (February 19, TVNZ On Demand) and Victoria (TBC, TVNZ One).
After looking through the schedules, Stuff has come up with the six shows we’re most excited about spending time with in February.
Flack (Feb 22, TVNZ On Demand)
New Zealand-raised actress Anna Paquin (True Blood, The Piano) plays a London-based public relations maven with high-profile clients in this sixpart dramedy.
While her character is adept at making the best out of tricky situations on the professional front, the same can’t be said for her personal life. The cast also includes Alan Davies, Bradley Whitford and Max Beesley.
Fresh Eggs (Feb 19, TVNZ2)
This Kiwi black comedy follows the misadventures of an Auckland couple who relocate to a rural community filled with colourful characters and dark secrets.
Danielle Cormack, Claire Chitham, Cohen Holloway, John Rhys-Davies and Dave Fane are all part of the eclectic cast.
Lorena (Feb 15, Amazon Prime Video)
Fresh from its debut at the Sundance Film Festival, this four-part documentary explores the 1993 assault and subsequent court cases involving John and Lorena Bobbitt.
You might remember it was the one where Lorena, having suffered serious domestic abuse, decided to take matters into her own hands.
Luther (Feb 18, UKTV)
Idris Elba returns for a fifth outing as the troubled but muchloved London detective. This time around, he and his new policing partner attempt to solve a series of seemingly indiscriminate killings that appear to be getting increasingly audacious.
‘‘Fast-paced, constantly surprising and darkly entertaining, Luther is about as far as you can get from a cookiecutter procedural,’’ wrote TV Guide’s Matt Roush about the latest four-part instalment.
Manifest (Feb 11, TVNZ1)
Already something of a hit on TVNZ OnDemand, this US supernatural drama focuses on the passengers and crew of a flight from Jamaica to New York. Five years after it disappears, they suddenly return and struggle to resume their old lives.
‘‘A good cast sells the improbable hook by at least making it emotionally probable,’’ wrote Newsweek’s Verne Gay.
A Very English Scandal (Feb 13, SoHo)
Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw star in this three-part British mini-series that dramatises the unlikely relationship between political high-flyer Jeremy Thorpe and stable boy Norman Josiffe. Ending in acrimony, it led to plenty of tabloid headlines in the late 1970s.
‘‘Full of sly humour, poignant commentary and bizarre twists, it’s almost like the perfect marriage of The Crown and a Coen brothers movie,’’ wrote CNN’s Brian Lowry.