HD Heads-Up: February 7

➢ TVNZ 1 new military ops drama, The Brave, starring Anne Heche, will get a half-hour jump on Three’s 9-1-1 when it launches 8.30 on February 19. It scored so-so reviews in the US, where Variety said it felt like “a latecomer to the wave of post-Homeland dramas that were commissioned a few years ago”. The San Francisco Chronicle agreed it “follows the template for action shows but makes the most of it through crisp pacing and realistic action sequences”. Quipped The Washington Post: “With so many fingers hovering over nuke buttons these days, it’s not my preferred form of escapism; for others, it will get the job done” …

➢ TVNZ 2 will premiere the NZ On Air-funded kidult drama Wilde Ride on February 17 at 6.00. It stars Molly Leishman (Agent Anna) as a young show jumper whose dreams are dashed when her parents are killed in a car accident and she is forced to live with her West Auckland auntie’s dirt bike riding family. Kirk Torrance (Outrageous Fortune) and Danielle Mason (Black Sheep) co-star …

➢ Gordon Ramsay on Cocaine sounds as if it might explain everything about the explosive chef but it’s actually the name of a two-part documentary that will premiere on February 20 (TVNZ 1, 8.30). He travels to South and Central America to discover where the drug comes from and how it gets here while finding out what is being done to try to stop it getting onto the UK’s streets. The Daily Telegraph thought it “a proper piece of investigative reporting” and The Times a “bold, thorough, clever documentary” …

➢ Prime will belatedly premiere The Queen at 90 on February 17 at 8.30 and Prime Rocks: Queen – Rock The World at 8.30 on February 19. “Anyone hoping for a rock doc filled with sex, drugs and hedonism would have been disappointed,” The Daily Telegraph said of the latter. “This was very much a muso’s documentary, focusing on craftsmanship, rather than extra-curricular activities” …

➢ Running Wilde With Bear Grylls will screen 7.30 Wednesdays on Duke from February 21 — nearly four years after the celebrity survival challenge originally aired in the US. Testing their mettle in season one are Zac Efron, Ben Stiller, Channing Tatum and Tom Arnold …

➢ Returning for new episodes that week are Hyundai Country Calendar (TVNZ 1, 7.00 Sunday), Sunday (TVNZ 1, 7.30 Sunday), The Cruise (Prime, 7.30 Sunday), Hunted UK (TVNZ 1, 9.30 Monday), Fair Go (TVNZ 1, 7.30 Monday) and 20/20 (TVNZ 1, 9.30 Wednesday) while ending their runs are The Casketeers, The Toy Box, The Celebrity Chase and Queen Sugar …

➢ TVNZ 2 will air same-week repeats of Young Sheldon, with the re-run airing 6.30 Sundays. Its 8.45 Monday episode will spearhead a block that includes double-ep re-runs of The Big Bang Theory, when both Sheldon and Leonard were much younger — that’s right, the network will be dusting off SD episodes of season two from 9.45-10.45 …

➢ Guesting on February 23’s Graham Norton Show (Three, 9.00) are Saoirse Ronan, Eric McCormack, Debra Messing and Hawaiian/Maori singer and actress Keala Settle …

➢ Appearing this week and next on Prime’s The Late Show With Stephen Colbert are: John Oliver, Beanie Feldstein and Wolfgang Puck (10.50 Thursday); Joel McHale, Yara Shahidi and a musical performance by Joywave (1.35 Monday); and Nathan Lane (1.35 Tuesday). Be aware that because of Prime’s Winter Olympics coverage, Late Show won’t screen nightly over the next two weeks …

➢ Scheduling alert: Duke is having to replace Family Guy with re-runs on February 12 and 19 because of US pre-emptions while the season nine episode of Three’s Modern Family scheduled for February 15 will be pre-empted by a season five re-run ….