New to TVNZ+: December 27-January 9

If you love The White Lotus, Gossip Girl and Desperate Housewives, Wild Cherry could be the pick of the new year streaming crop.

Set in a wealthy community, it revolves around two powerful women whose teenage daughters are accused by their school of filming a provocative video. Reads the blurb:

The girls deny it, but it’s clear they’re lying – soon it becomes clear that scandal, danger and intrigue sit just beneath the surface of this perfect town.

Warned The Guardian: “This fun, trashy thriller seems to have spent most of its budget on clothes … Put your brain aside, and enjoy.”

The Telegraph dubbed it “a Netflix-ised BBC One thriller [that]  tackles uncomfortable truths about parenting and teenage girls …

“This is a soapy affair with a Big Little Lies gloss, among an uber-wealthy Surrey set. But for parents, it’s still a wildly uncomfortable watch.”

Double-episodes of Wild Cherry land weekly from January 1.

Sunny Nights is an Australian dark comedy from Trent O’Donnell (Colin From Accounts) about mismatched American siblings (Will Forte, The Good Place’s D’Arcy Carden) who set up a spray tan business in Sydney — only to come under the glare of organised crime.

“I won’t spoil it, but there’s extortion aplenty, murder and an exploding crocodile,” The Sydney Morning Herald said. “It’s very Australian, without inducing too much cringin. …

“It’s highly implausible fun, but stays just on the right side of zany, and underneath the underworld goings-on, there’s a motif of family, loyalty and belonging, without ever becoming mawkish.”

“The dark comedy follows a simple premise, but includes twists and turns that are bound to keep viewers on the edge of their seats,” Variety said.

While Stan is releasing all eight episodes on Boxing Day in Australia, TVNZ+ is drip-feeding double-episodes weekly from January 2.

Ripple follows four strangers who have unknowingly crossed paths many times but never met — their reactions to life’s challenges create a ripple effect that ultimately connects them.

“A ‘cosy’ Netflix series is compelling viewers to devour all eight episodes in one sitting,” The Daily Express said. “The show is also being hailed as the ideal viewing choice in the run-up to Christmas.”

Here it can be binged from December 28.

Ripple was originally developed for the Hallmark Channel whereas another newcomer, spy drama Citadel is the latest Prime Video original to stream on TVNZ+.

It stars Priyanka Chopra and Richard Madden as agents — and ex-lovers — whose memories are wiped when their global spy agency falls.

Reviews were mixed but it spawned two spin-offs before the franchise was axed.

Citadel can be binged from January 7.

Also new are talent contest The Road (January 1), in which 12 emerging musicians compete to be the opening act for country star Keith Urban at music venues across America, and Idris Elba’s Fight School (January 4), in which the actor puts eight young Brits with personal challenges through a boxing boot camp that culminates in an amateur fight at one of the word’s most iconic boxing venues.

It screened three-and-a-half years ago on the BBC.

The first batch of episodes (1-13) from season 11 of Peppa Pig land January 1, along with these Kiwi blasts from the recent past:

• Westside S1-6
• Head High S1-2
• Step Dave S1-2
• 800 Words S1-3
• Nothing Trivial S1-3 + telemovie
• Go Girls S1-5
• The Almighty Johnsons S1-3.

Fresh from the Bravo Vault for New Year’s Day are:

• Vanderpump Rules S5
• Southern Hospitality S2
• Below Deck Mediterranean S9
• Below Deck S5
• The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills S12

There’s also live Super Smash Cricket as NFL as well as the linear debuts previewed here and here.