HD Heads-Up: January 21-27

➢➢ Bali 2002 (TVNZ 1, 8.10 Sunday) is a four-hour 20th anniversary dramatisation of the Bali nightclub bombings that killed 200 people. It was co-commissioned by Australia’s Nine Network and the Stan streaming service (where it premiered in September). The Guardian said it “recreates a terrorist attack seared into our psyche – but it’s confused about what it wants to be, and poses an ethical question too” while ScreenHub thought it took a “sombre and measured … approach to a still-raw subject while keeping things varied enough to avoid overtly wallowing in suffering” …

➢➢ TVNZ 2 will double-bill a new legal drama with Fire Country 9.30 on Monday and Tuesday nights. So Help Me Todd stars Marcia Gay Harden as a fastidious lawyer who hires her black-sheep son (Skylar Astin) to investigate cases. It earned mixed reviews, ranging from “a disposable CBS mother-son dramedy” (The Hollywood Reporter) to “fills its niche as network comfort viewing” (Primetime) …

➢➢ Sky’s HBO’s Game of Thrones sensation, House of the Dragon, will screen free-to-air for the first time from January 24 (Prime, 9.30 Tuesdays) …

➢➢ Prime also will unleash a feast of FTA sport on the weekend of January 21-22, with the HSBC World Rugby Sevens, the Netball Quad Series and continuing Australian Open coverage blanketing the schedules …

➢➢ Duke will beef up Sunday nights with the premieres of Aussie Bull Catchers (9.20) and extreme winter sports showcase Tougher Than It Looks (9.50) ahead of the S1 binge of TVNZ+ funeral home comedy Good Grief (10.15). Aussie Bull Catchers stars a couple of Kiwi “feral bull herders” in the Northern Territory while Tougher Than It Looks is older than it sounds, having been axed by Discovery after two seasons in 2017 …

➢➢ Following the January 16 reinstatement of weeknight staple Newshub Late, Three’s The Project will return a week later (7.00 weeknights), along with AM Early (5.30am weekdays), AM (6am weekdays) and Newshub Live at 11.30am (weekdays). But still no sign of Seven Sharp’s resumption on TVNZ 1, although the network will roll out the 2023 premieres of Breakfast, 1 News at Midday, Te Karere and 1 News Tonight from January 23. Also back the same night will be Shortland Street …

➢➢ Cate Blanchett, Margot Robbie, Alan Carr and Ashley Banjo will appear on the January 26 broadcast of The Graham Norton Show (Three, 8.30) …

➢➢ Young Rock will return for a S2 run of double-episodes (Prime, 7.30 Fridays) while TVNZ 1 will launch a a celebrity version of Saturday night hit Lingo in its midweek game show slot (7.30 Wednesdays). Ending their runs the same week will be Spector, Perfect House, Secret Location, Under the Dome, Hunted and Warship – Life at Sea …

➢➢ Coming attractions in HD for the third week of January will include:

• Yogi Bear (Three, 7.00 Saturday)
• Paddington (Whakaata Māori, 7.00 Saturday)
• Johnny English Reborn (TVNZ 2, 8.00 Saturday)
• A Perfect Murder (Eden, 8.30 Saturday)
• Monkey King 2 (Whakaata Māori, 8.30 Saturday)
• New in Town (Three, 8.40 Saturday)
• Fatal Attraction (Duke, 9.25 Saturday)
• Atomic Blonde (TVNZ 2, 10.00 Saturday)
• Hannibal (TVNZ 2, 12.10am Sunday)
• Blow (TVNZ 2, 2.25am Sunday)
• Kangaroo Jack (TVNZ 2, 12.10 Sunday)
• Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 (TVNZ 2, 4.10 Sunday)
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon (TVNZ 2, 7.00 Sunday)
• Rocketman (Three, 8.25 Sunday)
• The 33 (Eden, 8.30 Sunday)
• Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool (Whakaata Māori, 8.30 Sunday)
• Wrath of the Titans (TVNZ 2, 9.50 Sunday)
• I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (TVNZ 2, 11.40 Sunday)
• The Hunting Ground (Whakaata Māori, 8.30 Monday)
• Backdraft (Duke, 8.30 Tuesday)
• Seed: The Untold Story (Whakaata Māori, 8.30 Tuesday)
• Blackfellas: Day of the Dog (Whakaata Māori, 8.30 Wednesday)
• The Hangover Part II (TVNZ 2, 8.35 Wednesday)
• Maya the Bee: The Honey Games (Whakaata Māori, 12.30 Thursday)
• Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (Three, 8.30 Friday)
• Ted 2 (Duke, 9.25 Friday).