HD Heads-Up: July 17 – 23

➢➢ TVNZ 2 is digging deep into its video vault to unearth the acclaimed 2015 Hulu comedy series Casual for a 10.30 Friday double-episode run from July 23. Michaela Watkins stars as the newly divorced mother of a teenager who moves in with her brother, a diehard bachelor who sets her up on a dating site he’s created. It ran for four seasons and garnered a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes: “Casual stands out as an uncommonly solid series thanks its commitment to organically paced character development and trust in the power of understated” …

➢➢ Jonathan Ross Comedy Club (Duke, 11.00 Sundays from July 18) is a vehicle for both emerging and seasoned stand-up comics that was filmed during COVID-19 restrictions in the UK. “I was growing increasingly concerned, as lockdown carried on and theatres and comedy clubs weren’t re-opening, that young comedians had nowhere to work, so weren’t earning any money,” Ross told What’s on TV. Beyond the Joke thought it packed “a heck of a lot” into 30 minutes. “An hour would’ve been so much better” …

➢➢ Earlier, Duke will premiere in its 8.30 Sunday stand-up slot the vintage Lee Mack Going Out Live, which was recorded in 2010. “Rejecting the storytelling or observational route favoured by some comics, Mack follows the same formula as Jimmy Carr – simply telling lots of jokes,” British Comedy Guide said. “Swearier and generally funnier than he is on TV, the return of the Mack is well worth checking out” …

➢➢ Ake, Ake, Ake (Maori TV, 8.30 Mondays from July 19) is a new three part documentary series capturing a deep personal account of Ihumatao and the evolution of the Save Our Unique Land (SOUL) campaign …

➢➢ The Apprentice Aotearoa will wrap with consecutive nightly episodes (TVNZ 1, 8.30/8.45 Monday/Tuesday). It’s one of a raft of finals making way for TVNZ 1’s saturation Tokyo Olympics 2020 coverage (from 10.15 Friday). Coronation Street will shift to TVNZ 2 for the duration of the games, pre-empting Would I Lie to You?, A Current Affair and 8 Out of 10 Cats Doesn’t Countdown …

➢➢ Also ending its run that week will be Air Rescue while returning for new episodes will be Surveillance Oz (Prime, 10.05 Sunday) …

➢➢ Rambo: Last Blood (Three, 8.30 Sunday) will be the only network movie premiere in the week starting July 17. Other HD coming attractions will include:

• Hotel Transylvania 3 – Summer Vacation (TVNZ 2, 7.00 Saturday)
• Despicable Me 3 (Three, 7.00 Saturday)
• The Tale of Despereaux (Maori TVC, 7.00 Saturday)
• Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (Prime. 8.30 Saturday)
• Outbreak (Duke, 8.30)
• Gandhi (Maori TV, 8.30 Saturday)
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (TVNZ 2, 8.45 Saturday)
• Definitely Maybe (Three, 8.45 Saturday)
• The Man (TVNZ 2, 11.55 Saturday)
• Before We Go (TVNZ 2, 1.25am Sunday)
• Flubber (TVNZ 2, 3.05am Sunday)
• Battleship (TVNZ 2, 8.25 Sunday)
• The White Ribbon (Maori TV, 8.230 Sunday)
• Underworld – Blood Wars (TVNZ 2, 11.00 Sunday)
• Last Action Hero (Prime, 8.30 Monday)
• Gattaca (Duke, 8.30 Tuesday)
• Jurassic Park (Three, 7.30 Friday)
• Hotel Transylvania (Prime, 7.30 Friday)
• Beverly Hills Cop (Duke, 8.30 Friday)
• Out of Sight (Maori TV, 8.30 Friday).