HD Heads-Up: October 31 – November 5

TV2 is using a hell of a Halloween weekend to try to scare the bejesus out of TV3 the same week it pre-empts its Wednesday comedy block.

After failing to defeat or even match TV3’s runaway hit, The Block NZ: Villa Wars, from Sunday-Thursday, TVNZ is banking on The Muppets, Supergirl and movies to restore TV2’s dominance.

As of November 1, TV2’s will spearhead Sunday nights with Star Wars Rebels (6.00), Thunderbirds Are Go (6.30), The Muppets (7.00) and Supergirl (8.00).

While Thunderbirds and Supergirl will screen within days of their UK and US transmissions, The Big Bang Theory will no longer enjoy same-week-as-the-US screenings.

TV2 is replacing it and The Middle, Black-Ish and Mom on November 3 with the movie, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.

This is to cover a delivery delay as TBBT switches from screening Mondays in the US to Thursdays from November 5 — which means the next new episode won’t air here until the following week, on November 11.

TBBT will return with a new stablemate: TBBT. TV2 is ditching Black-Ish at 8.00 for re-runs of TBBT.

It’s not only TV2’s new-look line-up on Sunday that could crimp The Block’s appeal — it will also face a new challenge from TV1: the season premiere of David Attenborough’s Life Story, which will air 7.30 (Sunday will revert to a half-hour slot).

TV1’s new season of Call the Midwife is also primed to deliver the network a bigger audience opposite TV3’s Grand Designs NZ than Winter while Kiwi-inspired Aussie hit 800 Words will replace House Husbands (8.30 Thursday).

The networks are unleashing hordes of Halloween night premieres this year.

TV3 will pit the movies ParaNorman (7.00) and Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (9.00) against TV2’s What We Do in the Shadows (8.30) – which will cap a “frightful” day of HD re-runs on TV2 that includes Hocus Pocus (11.30am), Bewitched (1.30) and Frankenweenie (4.30) ahead of the network premiere of Hell Baby (10.15).

The theme continues on Sunday, when TV2 will bed in its new blockbuster line-up with the network premiere of World War Z and later repeat in HD My Soul to Take.

In other comings and goings: From November 2, TV3 will try to boost 3News’ viewership with 5.30 weekday re-runs of Come Dine With Me NZ on a double-bill with HD episodes of The Biggest Loser Australia’s 10^th season … Odyssey completes its run on Sunday (TV3, 10.30) … TV3 will repeat INXS – Never Tear US Apart (8.30 Thursday) … Daniel Craig, Naomie Harris, Christoph Waltz and Sam Smith guest on The Graham Norton Show (TV3, 8.30 Friday).