Stuff to Watch on Sky and free-to-air TV this week
One of the world’s biggest sporting events kicks off and the Duttons return with more drama, writes James Croot.
Fifa Men’s World Cup
(4am, Monday, Prime) Football’s 22nd quadrennial global 64-match, 32-team tournament finally gets underway in Qatar with a match between the host nation and Ecuador. Other opening week games live on Prime include England v Iran (Tuesday, November 22, 1.50am), Senegal v Netherlands (Tuesday, November 22, 4.50am), USA v Wales (Tuesday, November 22, 7.50am) and Brazil v Serbia (Friday, November 25, 7.50am). Highlights air daily at 4pm. In all, 22 games will be live (including the semifinals and final).
Cold Case (8.30pm, Tuesdays, TVNZ 1)
This popular series is back to investigate more of New Zealand’s most chilling unsolved crimes. Bringing together a team of detectives to review some of Aotearoa’s most confounding cold cases, the team will reassess every aspect with fresh eyes and the benefit of new technologies. This season kicks off with an in-depth re-examination of the mysterious and tragic disappearance of Amber-Lee Cruickshank in 1992, and next week it looks at the 2018 murder of Eddie Peters.
1 Climate Special
(7.30pm, tomorrow, TVNZ 1) Is it too late to stem the tide of climate change? In this special, Miriama Kamo dispatches reporters to meet the Kiwis tackling climate challenges. These include families forced to flee their homes, consumers making better choices, entrepreneurs finding sustainable ways to work and scientists with predictions for the future.
Yellowstone
(8.30pm, Wednesdays, SoHo) In the fifth season of this Kevin Costner-headlining, rural drama the Duttons face a
growing threat from outsiders and ‘‘one hell of a blackmail situation’’ between two of the siblings. A two-hour premiere will be followed by six regular episodes and then a break, before it returns for the second-half of the season.
Waharoa: Art of the Pacific
(7.30pm, Thursdays, Prime) A new Kiwi documentary series traces the journey of Ma¯ ori and Pasifika Art from traditional forms to the vanguard of contemporary practice in just over half a
century. Art historian Ngahuia Te Awekotuku travels from Dunedin to Russell in search of stunning works and the incredible people who made them.
Apollo 13 (7.30pm, Friday, Bravo)
Before Gravity stunned cinemagoers in 2013, this was the astronauts-in-peril movie of choice. Based on the real-life events of 1970, Ron Howard’s 1995 film takes audiences inside mission control and the craft itself as an attempt is made to guide those on the stricken shuttle back to Earth. The cast includes Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Ed Harris, Gary Sinise and Bill Paxton.
Sundown (8.30pm, Saturday, Rialto)
Tim Roth and Charlotte Gainsbourg star in this 2021 drama about a wealthy man on a Mexican holiday who attempts to abandon the rest of his family when a distant emergency forces them home. However, when his sister returns to confront him about his deception, events start to spiral out of control.
Paddington 2 (4pm, Sunday, TVNZ 2)
Director Paul King’s family comedy allows his cast of British acting talent (from Joanna Lumley to Sanjeev Bhaskar cameo) to shine. Apart from the bear himself (Ben Whishaw), the real stars are two series newcomers. Brendan Gleeson’s Knuckles McGinty and Hugh Grant’s self-absorbed Buchanan are comic creations for the ages in what is a fitting tribute to the late Paddington creator Michael Bond.