Coming Soon to TVNZ

A new odd-couple crime drama is among the post-Easter premieres TVNZ has in the pipeline.

TVNZ 1’s McDonald & Dodds teams a shy and enigmatic Detective Sergeant (The Crown’s Jason Watkins) with a wildly ambitious Detective Chief Inspector (Tala Gouvea) to solve crimes in the historic city of Bath.

“The endless lingering shots of Georgian architecture, the soaring strings, the hammy declamations, the mechanical revelation of plot: it’s ITV murder by numbers, soothing and pointless,” lamented The Independent.

“Feels like it’s been commissioned by algorithm,” echoed The Telegraph but The Guardian gave the hit series two thumbs up, dubbing the mismatched cops “the perfect partners in crime”.

And the Daily Mail described it as: “Midsomer Murders meets Death in Paradise, with a bit of Miss Marple thrown in.”

The series made a strong ratings start in the UK, where it debuted earlier this month to 4.5 million viewers. And Digital Spy reports viewers thought it “superb”.

TVNZ 1 also will premiere a NZ version of Eat Well for Less, hosted by Mike van de Elzen (The Food Truck, Kiwi Living) and Ganesh Raj (owner of The Tasting Shed and co-owner of The Māori Kitchen).

The goal is to help New Zealanders shop, cook and eat better – and save on their household bills along the way.

New next month on TVNZ 2 will be the Rebel Wilson-fronted Pooch Perfect, in which 10 professional dog stylists compete for a $100,000 grand prize.

Wilson dubs it “Edward Scissorhands meets Dance Moms meets Survivor” (see why, here).

TVNZ 2 also will premiere Australia’s most successful relationship show, The Farmer Wants a Wife, in which six lonely farmers choose between hundreds of potential partners.

And Duke has licensed Spy Wars With Damien Lewis to thrill viewers.

Billed as an “action-packed factual series”, it unpacks some of the most thrilling covert missions in modern-day history with the help of newly declassified information, high-profile experts, and intelligence officers.

Lewis, who’s tipped as a front runner to be the screen’s new 007, co-produced the eight-part series with his brother, Gareth.

“I find the different reasons for turning traitor or being a hero, depending on your view, are often quite grubby and banal,” the Billions star told The Guardian.

“I’m interested [in] the motives of these spies. That’s the series we’ve tried to make.”