New to TVNZ+: December 28-January 24

Among TVNZ+’s summer exclusives is a Channel 5 thriller that sounds like the equivalent of a forgettable beach read.

The Wives (January 6) concerns a father and daughter who return to Malta a year after their wife/mother, Annabel, disappeared on holiday. Reads the blurb:

As the family tries to move on, questions resurface about what happened to Annabelle and the wives in the family – Beth, Natasha and Sylvie – undertake their own investigation.

Tamzin Outhwaite, Angela Griffin and Jo Joyner star in a six-part series that apparently confused some UK viewers but kept others “glued to their screens” — although Radio Times reports “a lot of fans” were unhappy with the ending.

Said one critic: “Thrillers like The Teacher, Love Rat, Heat, and For Her Sins aren’t going to win any BAFTAs any time soon, but they ARE good fun.

“The Wives is no exception. It’s untaxing, glossy, and bingeable.”

The animated Badjelly (January 1) is a new local adaptation of Spike  Milligan’s children’s classic, Badjelly the Witch, with Miriam Margolyes, Rhys Darby, Joe Wilkinson and Roisin Conaty lending their voices, while back for another season is M9 (January 20), the series about what it means to be a Maori athlete.

Also returning are:

• The Split: Barcelona (December 31), a two-part special in which divorcees Hannah (Nicola Walker) and Nathan (Stephen Mangan) reunite at a destination wedding in Spain.
• wartime SAS drama Rogue Heroes S2 (January 2), with double-episodes landing weekly
• Gavin and Stacey: A Fond Farewell (January 2), which charts the rise of the little-known sitcom that, after 17 years, ends its run on Boxing Day (TVNZ 2, 9.30)
• Love Island All Stars S2 (January 15).

There’s another chance to see the controversial Michael Jackson expose, Leaving Neverland (January 11), as well as hospital drama This is Going to Hurt (January 20) and every episode of Grimm (January 10), Satisfaction (January 22) and Nightflyers (January 24).

New movies from January 15 include:

• Brooklyn
• Driven
• The Way Way Back
• Rambo: First Blood
• Rambo: First Blood Part 2
• Rambo III.