HD Heads-Up: August 7 – 13

➢➢ Two local drama series will go head-to-head 8.30 Monday in the week starting August 7: S2 of the lighthearted Lucy Lawless mystery, My Life is Murder, on TVNZ 1 and S2 of high school rugby drama Head High on Three. Normally the networks try to avoid NZ dramas competing against one another because of the cost and scarcity of the genre. Had both series been bankrolled by NZ On Air, it probably wouldn’t have happened because of the politically damaging optics of two publicly funded dramas clashing. Indeed, at one stage it looked as though Head High would face off against S2 of One Lane Bridge, as TVNZ 1 initially had this on Monday nights in its advertising ratecard schedule. However, since that was pencilled in, the network’s had second thoughts and moved the crime drama to 8.30 Sundays from August 15 …

➢➢ S1 of My Life is Murder was set in Melbourne; S2 is a spin-off based in Auckland that showcases a raft of Kiwi guest stars, including Martin Henderson, Rawiri Jobe, Joe Naufahu and Ebony Vagulans as well as Bill Bailey and William Shatner …

➢➢ TVNZ 1’s 7.30 Wednesday game show slot will be filled by Give Us a Clue from August 11. The new-generation take on Charades has ex-deputy PM Paula Bennett playing “speaker” to two celebrity teams of contestants captained by Seven Sharp’s Hilary Barry and comedian Tom Sainsbury. In the premiere, Barry, Kerre McIvor, Suzy Cato and Lily McManus compete against  Sainsbury, Frank Bunce, and Ken (Jools Topp) & Ken (Lynda Topp) …

➢➢The same week Three will resurrect 7 Days in its 8.30 Thursday slot on a double-bill with S4 of Aussie Gold Hunters. Its seems an odd-couple pairing but is another sign of Discovery’s strategy to maximise its investment in the network by using it as a free-to-air platform for its own cable series. The reality show launched on the Discovery Channel in 2015 and has so far spawned six seasons …

➢➢ Prime will refresh its schedule, too, with the S2 premiere of The Spanish Princess (8.30 Tuesday), the FTA premiere of SoHo’s media mogul drama Succession (9.45 Tuesday) and the NZ premiere of Law & Order: Organised Crime (8.30 Friday). The latest Dick Wolf spin-off has SVU’s Christopher Meloni returning to his NYPD beat as Elliot Stabler 10 years on. The reviews weren’t much cop but the mid-season commission was renewed for a second season, which starts September 23 in the US …

➢➢ Also returning for new seasons will be Piri’s Tiki Tour (Three, 5.00 Sunday), Border Patrol (TVNZ 1, 8.00 Monday), 20/20 (TVNZ 1, 9.30 Monday), Paramedics (TVNZ 1, 8.45 Tuesday), Ambulance (Prime, 8.30 Wednesday), Your Home Made Perfect (TVNZ 1, 7.30 Thursday), Pawn Stars (Prime, 7.30 Friday) and The Great British Sewing Bee (TVNZ 1, 8.30 Friday) …

➢➢ Toddlers Behaving Baldly (TVNZ 2, 8.30 Tuesdays from August 10) is a three-part variation on Supernanny about a child behaviour expert’s efforts to restore harmony to households held hostage by their little horrors. “From a distance, this is only passably interesting,” the Daily Telegraph said. “But if you’re going through any of these problems right now, the programme might be a godsend” …

➢➢ In Super Rich Sleepovers (TVNZ 1, 8.45 Thursdays from August 12), Sally Lindsay is a house guest in some of Britain’s flashest homes. “Never have sleepovers been more mind-bogglingly decadent,” said Tatler …

➢➢ There will be three network movie premieres in the week starting August 7: Fantastic Beasts – The Crimes of Grindelwald (TVNZ 2, 8.20 Sunday), The Curse of La Llorona (TVNZ 2, 11.00 Sunday) and Robin Hood (Prime, 8.30 Monday). Other HD coming attractions will include:

• Babe (TVNZ 2, 7.00 Saturday)
• Ozzy (Maori TV, 7.00 Saturday)
• Born Racer (Three, 8.25 Saturday)
• Body Snatchers (Duke, 8.30 Saturday)
• Jerry Maguire (TVNZ 2, 8.40 Saturday)
• The Kid with a Bike (Maori TV, 8.40 Saturday)
• Deadly Love Letter (Three, 10.30 Saturday)
• Phone Booth (TVNZ 2, 11.10 Saturday)
• Secrets in Their Eyes (TVNZ 2, 12.40am Sunday)
• Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (Three, 8.25 Sunday)
• The Idol (Maori TV, 8.30 Sunday)
• Enter the Dragon (Duke, 8.30 Tuesday)
• The Curse of the Dragon (Duke, 10.25 Tuesday)
• Ocean’s Eleven (Three, 7.30 Friday)
• Tropic Thunder (Duke, 8.30 Friday)
• Along Came Polly (Maori TV, 8.30 Friday)
• Chariots of Fire (TVNZ 2, 2.40am Saturday).