HD Heads-Up: March 30

TVNZ is considering buying a new talk show starring Mrs Brown. The series  started this week in the UK and coincides with TVNZ 1 premiering the latest Mrs Brown’s Boys special, Mammy’s Forest, on April 13. Said The Telegraph: “Where Dame Edna and Mrs Merton boldly ventured Agnes Brown has inevitably followed. Having conquered British comedy with a fusillade of feck bombs, Brendan O’Carroll’s potty-mouthed Dublin mammy has been granted the ultimate BBC light entertainment honour of her own Saturday-night chat show. Not that O’Carroll seems all that interested in a new career as interrogator of the nation’s great and good. In the first episode of All Round to Mrs Brown’s the conventions of the genre were poured down the drain like so much cold tea” …

Prime will premiere the Beach Boys special, Pet Sounds, in its Prime Rocks slot on April 11. It’s from the Classic Albums series and chronicles the making of the band’s 1966 benchmark LP. “Those who don’t know much about the Beach Boys or Pet Sounds in particular may find this a bit more interesting than diehard [Brian] Wilson fans, who will find virtually everything discussed here old news,” Blu-ray.com said in its review of the Blu-ray release. “That said, some of the interview segments are really quite interesting” …

While we impatiently await new episodes of Top Gear and the debut of Planet Earth II on Prime, the channel rolls out peak-hour re-runs of Soundbreaking (8.30 Sundays from April 9) and undistinguished premieres of shows like Fishing the Wild (7.30 Mondays from April 10) and How Not To DIY (8.30 Wednesdays from April 12). “Full of DIY disasters and purely stupid acts How Not to DIY is bound to induce groans of laughter,” said The Mirror …

Comings and goings: Premiering in the week starting April 8 will be What Really Happens In Bali (TVNZ 2, 9.50 Monday), SVU (Three, 9.35 Tuesday), Dog Squad (TVNZ 1, 7.30 Wednesday) and Live at the Apollo (Three, 9.20 Friday) while ending their runs will be Outback Pilots, Te Radar’s Chequered Past, Abandoned Engineering and Greece With Simon Reeve …

TVNZ 2 is having enough crack at trying to make Lethal Weapon a primetime hit. The cop show will resume 9.45 Wednesdays for a seven-week run from April 12, starting from episode 12. Although its appeal burned out quickly in this market, the series was popular enough in the US for Fox to renew …

TVNZ 2 is dropping some of its most popular shows for Easter Weekend movies. Police Ten 7, Motorway Patrol and Sensing Murder will be pre-empted by Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, a franchise that previously was exclusive to Three, while screening instead of the usual Shortland Street-led line-up on Good Friday will be The Goonies and Guardians of the Galaxy …

TVNZ 2’s blasts from the past will continue, with an Austin Powers triple bill on April 8: International Man of Mystery, The Spy Who Shagged Me and Goldmember …

The network will also screen the free-to-air premieres of Interstellar and The Lazarus Effect on April 9. Its other HD coming attractions for that week will include American Hustle (12.35am Sunday), Lockout (8.45 Tuesday) and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (5.30 Friday) …

Three will have just one the network movie premiere that week: The Longest Ride (8.35 Sunday). It will also air in HD Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who! (7.00 Saturday), Twister (8.50 Saturday), Somewhere (10.55 Saturday), Just Married (8.30 Wednesday), G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (8.30 Thursday), Casino (1.10am Friday) and Puss In Boots (7.00 Friday) …

Guesting on the April 14 broadcast of The Graham Norton Show (Three, 8.30) will be Hugh Jackman, Sir Patrick Stewart, Sir Ian McKellen and James Blunt …

Guesting on Prime’s The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon are: Katie Holmes, Andrew Rannells and Zac Brown Band (11.30 tonight); and Louis CK, Regina King and Richard Ashcroft (11.30 tomorrow) …