HD Heads-Up: May 17-23

➢➢ Grosse Pointe Garden Society (TVNZ 2, 8.30 Tuesday) could be network TV’s next Desperate Housewives. It’s named after four members of a suburban garden club bonded by scandal, mischief and a murder no one wants to talk about. “Naughty and not so nice with its salacious tour through the suburbs, Grosse Pointe Garden Society‘s twists aren’t the sharpest shears in the shed but a game cast keeps the series watchable,” was the Rotten Tomatoes consensus. The Hollywood Reporter thought it a “Big Little Lies without the sharp satirical bite” and Variety “a reminder that putting a soapy spin on reliable formulas mostly leads to success”. It replaces The Hundred with Andy Lee and screens opposite TVNZ 1’s Matlock and Three’s NCIS …

➢➢ Also new to TVNZ is Year Of (3.15am Friday), a Bump spin-off that streams on TVNZ+. Mamamia dubbed it a “refreshingly honest depiction of high school” and ScreenHub “authentically shabby yet energetic”. The Guardian had reservations but thought the dialogue “impressively naturalistic, striking me as a more authentic picture of how youth speak than the Heartbreak High remake … Year Of takes more of a ‘window to the world’ approach, encouraging us to disappear into the characters’ lives” …

➢➢ The premiere of Big Adventures in Thailand with Sue Perkins (TVNZ 1, 8.30 Wednesday) features a massage in a women’s prison, a giant cauldron of elephant dung, and longboat racing. Perkins’ next big adventure is Paris to Istanbul …

➢➢ Significant Other (TVNZ 1, 1.05am Sunday) stars Katherine Parkinson (Rivals) and Youssef Kerkour (Lockerbie: A Search for Truth) as lonely neighbours who embark on a hesitant, obstacle-filled relationship after drastic events bring them together. Chortle thought it “surprisingly watchable” because of the stars. “Even with such strong performances, Significant Other seems a little flat – especially when compared Colin From Accounts, which also dealt with a messily realistic fledging romance (albeit with younger leads) but in a much more joyous, funny way” …

➢➢ Suburgatory (Three, 10.45 Thursday), which ran from 2011-2014, is the latest dusty comedy to resurface as part of the network’s comedy block while ending their runs are:

• Travel Man
• Am I Being Unreasonable?
• I Hate Suzie …

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

• PAC4: Black Ferns v Canada (Sky Open, 3.00 Saturday)
• ANZ Premiership Netball: Northern Mystics v Central Pulse (TVNZ 2, 4.00 Saturday)
• SRP: Moana Pasifika v Blues (Sky Open, 7.00 Saturday)
• NRL: Dolphins v Warriors R11 (Sky Open, 9.30 Saturday)
• FA Cup Final: Crystal Palace v Manchester City (Sky Open, 9.30am Sunday)
• Premier League: Goal Rush – Arsenal v Newcastle (Sky Open, midday Sunday)
• Sal’s NBL: Bulls v Giants (Sky Open, 3.00 Sunday)
• NRL: Eels v Sea Eagles R12 (Sky Open, 9.30 Friday) …

➢➢ HD coming attractions include:

• The Famous Five: Peril on the Night Train (Three, 6.30 Saturday)
• Moonbound (Whakaata Māori, 7.00 Saturday)
• Killers (Three, 8.20 Saturday)
• Safety Not Guaranteed (Whakaata Māori, 8.30 Saturday)
• Francis Ha (TVNZ 2, midnight Saturday)
• Kung Fu Panda 2 (TVNZ 2, 3.15 Sunday)
• A Star is Born (Three, 8.00 Sunday)
• In Bruges (Eden, 8.30, Sunday)
• You, Me and Dupree (Sky Open, 8.30 Sunday)
• Venom: Let There be Carnage (TVNZ 2, 8.40 Sunday)
• Banel & Adama (Whakaata Māori, 8.40 Sunday)
• The Unholy (TVNZ 2, 12.20am Monday)
• Wayne’s World 2 (Duke, 9.30 Monday)
• King of Staten Island (Duke, 8.30 Tuesday)
• The Piano (Whakaata Māori, 8.30 Wednesday).