HD Heads-Up: April 16 – 22

➢➢ Snack Masters NZ (TVNZ 2, 7.30 Wednesday) will be double-billed with season 13 of Taskmaster UK when it premieres on April 20. The latest variation on cooking contests has top chefs trying to crack the secret ingredients of Kiwi snacks. Each episode culminates with the two chefs cooking their version of the snack head-to-head before a judging panel of the factory’s workers. The Tom Sainsbury and Kim Crossman-fronted series will open with chef Dariush Lolaiy and restauranteur Ganesh Raj battle to deconstruct a Tip Top Trumpet ice cream …

➢➢ The Casketeers (TVNZ 1, 7.30 Tuesday) will return for its fifth season the same week another series from the same team launches on a different channel. Aroha Nui: Say I Do (TVNZ 2, 9.25 Monday) follows tāne and wāhine celebrants as they guide couples to the altar. Reads the burb: “This series highlights the special connection this rōpū have with their couples and how they shape and enhance their wedding ceremonies” …

➢➢ Easter weekend highlights will include Fantastic Beasts: A Natural History (TVNZ 2, 6.30 Sunday)and Doctor Who: Legend of the Sea Devils (TVNZ 2, 6.00 Monday). In the former, Stephen Fry explores the inspirations behind Harry Potter’s magical creatures; in the latter, the Doctor, Yaz and Dan come ‘face to fin’ with one of the Doctor’s oldest adversaries: the Sea Devils …

➢➢ Easter Weekend also will see the free-to-air movie premieres of Little Women (Three, 9.00 Sunday) and Rocketman (Three, 7.30 Monday) as well as Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (TVNZ 2, 7.00 Saturday) and the musical remake, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Three, 7.00 Sunday). Other HD coming attractions will include:

• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Three, 7.00 Saturday)
• Bernie the Dolphin (Maori TV, 7.00 Saturday)
• Miss Fisher & the Crypt of Tears (Eden, 8.30 Saturday)
• Loving Vincent (Maori TV, 8.40 Saturday)
• Ride Along 2 (TVNZ 2, 8.55 Saturday)
• Breaking In (Three, 9.15 Saturday)
• Rules Don’t Apply (TVNZ 2, 11.40 Saturday)
• The 7.39 (TVNZ 1, 2.35am Sunday)
• Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (TVNZ 2, 3.00 Sunday)
• Hop (TVNZ 2, 4.55 Sunday)
• Bohemian Rhapsody (TVNZ 1, 7.30 Sunday)
• Fantastic Beasts – The Crimes of Grindelwald (TVNZ 2, 7.30 Sunday)
• The Wait (Prime, 8.30 Sunday)
• Olympus Has Fallen (Prime, 8.30 Monday)
• Inglourious Basterds (Duke, 8.30 Tuesday)
• A Man Apart (Duke, 11.20 Tuesday)
• Mona Lisa Smile (Maori TV, 8.30 Wednesday)
• The Young Victoria (Eden, 8.30 Sunday)
• Godzilla (Three, 7.30 Friday)
• War Dogs (Duke, 10.30 Friday) …

➢➢ Late-night premieres for the week starting April 16 will include S2 of Halifax Retribution (TVNZ 1, 10.40 Sunday); Ambulance: Code Red (TVNZ 1, 11.35 Monday), a UK reality newcomer set in the West Midlands; and Resident Alien (TVNZ 2, 12.10am April 23), a Syfy comedy-drama that’s been streaming OnDemand, about an alien who becomes a small-town sheriff …

➢➢ Also returning for new seasons will be  Finding Escobar’s Millions (S2, Three, 9.40 Wednesday), Hunt With Me (S3, Maori TV, 8.00 Tuesday), Bull (S6, Prime, 9.45 Thursday) and Guessable (S2, TVNZ 2, 7.30 Friday) while ending their runs will be Heathrow: Britain’s Busiest Airport, Childhood’s End, Britain’s Most Expensive Houses, Nurses Down Under, CSI: Vegas, Fighting Chance and Extreme Ice Railroad.