HD Heads-Up: June 6-12

➢➢ Three expands its local light-ent slate by programming its latest newcomer on a night other than Thursday, where its Kiwi comedies have traditionally run as part of a block anchored by ratings warhorse 7 Days. Instead, the high-concept Celebrity Escape faces off against TVNZ 2’s MasterChef Australia on Tuesday nights at 7.30 as the successor to top-rating David Lomas: Breakthrough. It throws comedians Celia Pacquola, Josh Thomson, Hayley Sproull, Chris Parker, Luke McGregor, Abby Howells and Frank Woodley into “elaborate, cinematic escape rooms built for logic, teamwork, and calm under pressure – three qualities in noticeably short supply”. Reads the rest of the blurb: “Each episode, they must solve a fully themed room while Rove McManus, our mischievous Games Master, watches from his control room, ready to intervene with panic buttons, strategic gifts, or theatrical wraths. After every challenge, the comedians face elimination … One player is voted out and sent upstairs to join the Games Master in his control room – where hindsight is 20/20 and commentary is ruthless” …

➢➢ TVNZ 2 adds another UK panel show to its roster, Jimmy Carr’s Am I the A**Hole? (8.45 Wednesday). The premise has members of the public appearing before Carr and two other comedians to ask “Am I the A**hole?” questions. “Its whole concept – comics judge the public’s tales of awfulness to decide who is the most horrible – is based on a subreddit. It’s a confusing, outdated watch,” The Guardian said. Concurred The i Paper: “Jimmy Carr will do anything for money. Am I the Asshole? is a live version of the famous Reddit thread – it’s as abysmal as it sounds”. However, it was popularly enough for Comedy Central UK to order a second season …

➢➢ The premiere of Wilderness with Simon Reeve (Sky Open, 8.30 Sunday), which ventures into the heart of Earth’s last great wild areas, leads into another newcomer, American Prince: JFK, Jr. (Sky Open, 9.30), a three-part docuseries that the Wall Street Journal calls “an affectionate portrait of the 35th president’s son, who captured the attention of tabloid media for decades before a fatal plane crash in 1999″ …

➢➢ “This trip to the Congo Basin is a powerful tale of the importance of conservation,” said The Guardian of Wilderness, “a majestic journey into a natural wonderland.” Echoed the Telegraph: “Reeve is one of television’s cheeriest characters, but even he was pushed to his limits on his punishing quest deep inside the Congo” …

➢➢ Other debuts include The Fatal Attraction Murder (TVNZ 2, 1.45am Sunday), a two-part series in which Carolyn Warmus speaks for the first time since her release after serving 27 years for killing her lover’s wife, Betty Jeanne Solomon, and Train Rescue Down Under (Duke, 6.00 Sunday), which follows dedicated Australian crews working in extreme conditions to repair everything from modern wonders to classic steam locomotives …

➢➢ Returning are Off the Grid With Colin and Manu S2 (TVNZ 1, 7.30 Sunday) and, eight years after the original ended its run, Duck Dynasty: The Revival (Duke, 9.30 Wednesday), in which the next generation aspires to succeed retiring Duck Commander Willie Robertson …

➢➢ Ending their runs are:

• Jeremy Pang’s Hong Kong Kitchen
• Saving Lives At Sea
• The Marlow Murder Club
• Here We Go
• Bodies in the Barrels
• Firebite
• Aussie Road Train Truckers
• The Rookie 
• Paramedics
• Border Patrol
• Motorway Patrol
• Tip Toe
• The Great British Bake Off 
• The Great British Sewing Bee
• Rookie Truckers …

➢➢ Live/delayed air-to-air sport includes:

• Netball: ANZ Premiership: Tactix v Mystics (TVNZ 2, 4.00 Saturday)
• SRP: Qualifying Final 1 (Sky Open, 4.00 Saturday)
• Netball: ANZ Premiership: Magic v Pulse (TVNZ 2, 7.00 Saturday)
• NRL: Cowboys v Dolphins (Sky Open, 7.00 Saturday)
• SRP: Qualifying Final 2 (Sky Open, 10.00 Saturday)
• UFC Fight Night: Belal Muhammad v Gabriel Bonfim (TVNZ 2, 9am Sunday)
• SRP: Qualifying Final 3 (Sky Open, 10am Sunday)
• Sal’s NBL: Saints v Nuggets (Sky Open, 3.00 Sunday)
• Netball: ANZ Premiership: Stars v Steel (TVNZ 2, 4.00 Sunday)
• FIFA World Cup 2026: Mexico v South Africa (TVNZ 1, 5.30am Friday) …

➢➢ HD coming attractions include:

• Dolphin Tale 2 (Three, 7.00 Saturday)
• Cranston Academy: Master Zone (Whakaata Māori, 7.30 Saturday)
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (TVNZ 2, 9.00 Saturday)
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Whakaata Māori, 9.00 Saturday)
• What Happens in Vegas (Three, 9.05 Saturday)
• The Secret Life of Pets 2 (TVNZ 2, 2.20 Sunday)
• In Time (Three, 8.30 Sunday)
• Synecdoche, New York (Whakaata Māori, 8.45 Sunday)
• Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Sky Open, 8.30 Monday)
• Barbie Uncovered (Whakaata Māori, 8.30 Monday)
• Zookeeper (Duke, 9.40 Monday)
• Dirty Dancing (TVNZ 2, 8.40 Tuesday)
• Honest Thief (Duke, 9.40 Tuesday)
• Miss Congeniality (TVNZ 2, 8.30 Thursday)
• Beauty and the Beast (TVNZ 2, 7.30 Friday)
• Vantage Point (Sky Open, 7.30 Friday)
• Spark: A Space Tail (Whakaata Māori, 7.30 Friday)
• The Young Victoria (Whakaata Māori, 9.00 Friday)
• Grease (TVNZ 2, 10.05 Friday).