HD Heads-Up: April 5-11

➢➢ It’s a big week for legal eagle buffs, with the premiere of Suits LA, the return of Matlock and the broadcast debut of Will Trent. Suits LA (TVNZ 2, 10.00 Monday) launches the same day on linear TV and TVNZ+ — but with a key difference: only the season premiere screens on TVNZ 2 whereas the first three episodes drop on TVNZ+, with new eps to stream weekly. It follows former NYC federal prosecutor Ted Black to the West Coast, where he reinvents himself to represents some of LA’s most powerful. Critics were lukewarm, with Variety echoing the thoughts of many: “Suits LA has the same nuts and bolts that made the original show such a sensation, first on USA Network and then on Netflix, but it lacks the foundation, characters or storylines to sustain renewed interest” …

➢➢ Will Trent (Three, 9.30 Monday) lands on-air six weeks after its ThreeNow bow and two years after its exclusive run on Disney+ while S1 of Matlock (TVNZ 1, 8.30 Tuesday) resumes from E9. It went to air two months ago in the US, where New York magazine said in its recap: “After a long holiday layoff, our favourite undercover attorney returned to action this week with a tricky case that — as so often happens to Madeline ‘Matlock’ Kingston — gives her a new perspective on her secret personal business.” If you didn’t see the first half of the season, TVNZ 1 is stripping it late night from March 31-April 7 …

➢➢ Keeping it legal: Accused: The Fake Grooming Scandal (TVNZ 1, 8.30 Monday) was condemned on social media even before it aired three months ago on Channel 4. “There were people on Twitter/X accusing C4 of focusing on this rare and terrible case of a young woman who fabricated abuse claims rather than the victims of the many very real crimes in Rochdale, Oldham and elsewhere,” The Times acknowledged. “You can understand the thinking, but the truth is this three-part documentary was executed with professionalism and skill, and demonstrated the virtues of closely examining the whole story, while also showing the real danger of online vigilantism” …

➢➢ Snow Patrol NZ (TVNZ 1, 7.30 Tuesday), a reality newcomer about Mount Hutt’s ski patrollers, medics and mountain rescue crews, is one of two local shows premiering on the network. The other is S3 of disability dating docuseries Down for Love (7.30 Thursday), which leads into the 8.30 S3 premiere of Selling Houses Australia …

➢➢ Also returning are David Lomas Investigates (Three, 7.30 Tuesday), Tempting Fortune S2 (Three, 7.30 Wednesday) and Bel Air S3 (TVNZ 2, 1.05 am Tuesday) while ending their runs are:

• Junior Taskmaster
• The Split: Barcelona
• Endangered Species Aotearoa
• Funny Woman
• The Hotel Inspector
• Women on the Verge …

➢➢ The milestone Seinfeld episode about masturbation, The Contest, was cleared for early evening but 32 years after it first aired, the equally notorious fake orgasm classic, The Melon, is still too contentious to screen in the comedy’s 5.30 weeknight slot on TVNZ 2. So the network is pre-empting it for a re-run of Ghosts (S3, E1) and shifting Seinfeld (S5, E1) to 10.30 Tuesday …

➢➢ Live/delayed free-to-air sport includes:

• Cricket: 3rd ODI – Black Caps v Pakistan (Duke, 10.30am Saturday)
• SRA: Matatu v Chiefs Manawa (Sky Open, 2.00 Saturday)
• L2D A-League Men’s: Auckland FC V Western Sydney Wanderers (Sky Open, 4.30 Saturday)
• SRP: Blues v Hurricanes (Sky Open, 7.30 Saturday)
• SRP: Moana Pasifika v Waratahs (Sky Open, 9.30 Saturday)
• NRL: Broncos v Wests Tigers (Sky Open, 11.30 Saturday)
• Premier League: Goal Rush (Sky Open, 10am Sunday)
• SRA: Blues v Hurricanes Poua (Sky Open, 1.00 Sunday)
• Sal’s NBL: Jets v Saints (Sky Open, 3.00 Sunday)
• Special: NZ Cricket Awards 2025 (Duke, 8.30 Wednesday)
• SRP: Hurricanes v Crusaders (Sky Open, 7.00 Friday)
• L2D NRL: Rabbitohs V Broncos (Sky Open, 10.00 Friday) …

➢➢ HD coming attractions include the network movie premiere of Elvis (Three, 8.30 Sunday) and:

• Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (Three, 6.30 Saturday)
• Frozen Reo Māori (Whakaata Māori, 6.30 Saturday)
• Johnny English Strikes Again (TVNZ 2, 8.00 Saturday)
• Police Academy 3 (Three, 8.20 Saturday)
• The Tree of Life (Whakaata Māori, 8.50 Saturday)
• Tumbledown (TVNZ 2, 11.30 Saturday)
• The Secret Life of Pets (TVNZ 2, 3.05 Sunday)
• The Huntsman – Winter’s War (TVNZ 2, 8.10 Sunday)
• The Personal History of David Copperfield (Eden, 8.30 Sunday)
• Money Train (Sky Open, 8.30 Monday)
• My Neighbour Adolf (Whakaata Māori, 8.45 Sunday)
• Last Night in Soho (TVNZ 2, 12.15am Monday)
• Weekend at Bernies (Duke, 9.35 Monday)
• Vantage Point (Duke, 8.30 Tuesday)
• The Wonders (Whakaata Māori, 8.30 Wednesday)
• Kung Fu Panda 3 (TVNZ 2,7.00 Friday).