HD Heads-Up: December 18 – 24

➢➢ TVNZ 1 will strip the Sally Lindsay thriller Intruder across four nights at 8.30 from December 19. About a couple whose perfect life falls apart after he kills a burglar, it was poorly reviewed in the UK. “It’s hard to know if we’re meant to laugh or cry,” said The Guardian while Radio Times dubbed it “daft and predictable“. The Observer said it makes you “fully appreciate the tremendous subtleties of, say, Unforgotten or Line of Duty” and The Times thought it “barking mad … But the maddest thing of all? In a perverse way I quite enjoyed it”. Concurred The Arts Desk: “It isn’t King Lear, but it’s got enough going on to keep you watching” …

➢➢ A better bet, especially for Succession fans, will be The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty (TVNZ 1, 11.00 Tuesday), a three-part documentary about the mogul’s media rule and the power dynamics within this family. It’s been streaming OnDemand and will lead into On Becoming a God in Central Florida, an acclaimed 2019 satire starring Kirsten Dunst as a minimum wage worker who makes it rich with a multibillion-dollar pyramid scheme scam …

➢➢ TVNZ 1’s newest game show Rolling In It will screen 7.00 Mondays from December 20. It pairs celebrities with members of the public in a supersized arcade game. The i thought it a “fun concept … The tropes were all there: dramatic lighting, nail-biting decisions about passing or going on to the next round, and an audience ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’” …

➢➢ Christmas programming in the third week of December will include One Night in Hamleys (TVNZ 2, 7.30 Wednesday), in which three comedians spend a night locked in the iconic toy shop; The World’s Most Expensive Presents (TVNZ 2, 10.20 Tuesday); Deck the Halls: The Luxury Christmas Decorators (TVNZ 1, 7.00 Tuesday), in which a Liverpool business decorates famous locations; Christmas at Warwick Castle (TVNZ 1, 8.10 Thursday); and Christmas at Highclere (TVNZ 1, 9.25 Friday), otherwise known as the setting for Downton Abbey …

➢➢ There also will be festive editions of Give Us a Clue (TVNZ 1, 7.30 Sunday), The Wheel (TVNZ 1, 7.00 Wednesday), Would I Lie To You? (TVNZ 2, 8.30 Wednesday), Nigella’s Cook, Eat, Repeat (TVNZ 1, 7.00 Thursday), and Lego Masters Australia (Three, 7.00 Friday) …

➢➢ TVNZ 2 and Three will rely on ’80s favourites for their Christmas Eve movies but TVNZ 1 will premiere Downtown Abbey at 7.00 and Mary, Queen Of Scots at 11.15. Other HD coming attractions will include the free-to-air premiere of Three Wise Cousins (TVNZ 2, 9.05 Monday) and:

• Mr Bean’s Holiday (TVNZ 2, 7.00 Saturday)
• Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (Three, 7.00 Saturday)
• Lost Christmas (Maori TV, 7.00 Saturday)
• Oslo (Prime, 8.30 Saturday)
• 28 Days (Three, 8.40 Saturday)
• Almost Christmas (TVNZ 2, 8.45 Saturday)
• Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (Maori TV, 8.45 Saturday)
• Killer App (Three, 10.45 Saturday)
• Austin Powers – International Man Of Mystery (TVNZ 2, 11.00 Saturday)
• Austin Powers In Goldmember (TVNZ 2, 12.45am Sunday)
• Reign Of Superman (TVNZ 2, 2.20am Sunday)
• Last Christmas (TVNZ 2, 8.30 Sunday)
• Men In Black: International (Three, 8.35 Sunday)
• Annabelle Comes Home (TVNZ 2, 10.30 Sunday)
• The Expendables 2 (Prime, 8.30 Monday)
• The Seagull (Maori TV, 8.30 Monday)
• Noel (Three, 8.45 Monday)
• Secrets in the Water (Three, 10.40 Monday)
• Fred Claus (TVNZ 2, 8.00 Tuesday)
• Collateral (Duke, 8.30 Tuesday)
• Fury (Three, 8.45 Tuesday)
• Yes Man (Three, 8.40 Wednesday)
• Dolittle (TVNZ 2, 6.05 Thursday)
• Love Actually (TVNZ 2, 8.00 Thursday)
• Arthur Christmas (Three, 4.00 Friday)
• Richie Rich (TVNZ 2, 4.30 Friday)
• Home Alone (TVNZ 2, 6.25 Friday)
• Blizzard (Maori TV, 7.00 Friday)
• Scrooged (Maori TV, 8.40 Friday)
• Die Hard (TVNZ 2, 8.30 Friday)
• Top Gun (Three, 8.40 Friday)
• Deck the Halls (Duke, 9.30 Friday)
• National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (TVNZ 2, 11.50 Friday)
• A Royal Night Out (TVNZ 1, 3.35am Saturday) …

➢➢ Three will replace The Project over Christmas/New Year with 7.00 re-runs of Bondi Rescue from December 20 …

➢➢ Stanley Tucci, Jamie Oliver, Romesh Ranganathan and Lil Nas X will guest on the December 23 broadcast of The Graham Norton Show (Three, 8.30) …

➢➢ Surveillance Dashcam will return for new episodes (TVNZ 1, 8.00 Tuesdays) while ending their runs will be Hyundai Country Calendar, Top Gear, Barkley Manor, Beauty and the Geek, Sharp Objects, Drug Wars,The Russell Howard Hour, Bull and Shortland Street.