New to TVNZ+: April 26-May 2

True-crime docuseries dominate late-April premieres on TVNZ+.

Hillside Strangler: Devil in Disguise (April 30) is a Peacock four-parter about serial killing cousins Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono, who impersonated off-duty police officers to lure victims in their ’70s LA spree.

“Devil in Disguise is not as powerful or haunting as Netflix’s Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer, but it’s equally as fascinating in its deep exploration of another notorious crime that captured the city‘s imagination,” the Los Angeles Times said.

“The story is told primarily via exclusive new interviews with those close to the case, such as Bianchi’s former girlfriend, and archival footage, including local news clips of reporters covering the latest developments in the Hillside Strangler slayings.”

“The Hillside Strangler: Devil in Disguise is a straightforward retelling of the famous serial killer case,” Decider said.

“But it definitely gives information and perspectives that people who paid attention to the case four decades ago might not have either gotten or remembered.”

Salon thought The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard (April 29) an “overwrought six-hour tabloid series” but Rolling Stone was more impressed by this account from the woman who spent seven years in prison for murdering her mother, dubbing it “a tough watch about a woman finally tasting freedom”.

The Guardian described S2 of the “trashy” Call the Midwife knock-off, Ten Pound Poms (May 2) as “a never-ending series of calamities that are bleak but simply resolved, which stops Ten Pound Poms aiming for prestige drama status and makes it more of a soap”.

ScreenHub was more generous: “The first season of Ten Pound Poms was well-crafted, engaging viewing despite some overstuffed (and at times, exhausting) plotting.

“Season 2 of this co-production between Stan and the BBC shows no signs of slowing the pace: 1957 was clearly not a year for sitting back and taking things easy … Strong performances help the plotting over some less-than-subtle points.”

Also new are a raft of linear debuts and, from May 1, the Canadian apocalyptic drama Into the Forest and Kiwi flicks:

• Waru
• The Changeover
• Vai
• Born To Dance
• The Pa Boys
• Fresh Meat.