A weekly guide to what’s new of note on air and online
SUNDAY
Charles: 50 Years as a Prince | Living, 7.30
“A brief history of our future king and his turbulent time as the Prince of Wales … Once derided for talking to plants and reviled by many for the breakdown of his marriage, the Prince has been successfully rebranded in recent years as an avuncular grandpa figure and wise old owl. So expect more of this sort of thing: documentaries that befit a future king.” — The Telegraph.
MONDAY
Sanditon| BBC UKTV, 9.30
“It’s good dirty end-of-the-pier fun but about as enduring as an ice-cream cone … In an era of period dramas with extraordinarily high production values such as The Crown, or exquisitely written and envelope-pushing ones such as Gentleman Jack, Sanditon looks a little tired and conventional. Dare I say it of an Andrew Davies Austen adaptation? It’s not very sexy.” — The Guardian.
TUESDAY
The Great British Bake Off (S10) | Prime, 7.30
“It’s not just the contestants, but the increasingly bizarre selection of themes that have left me questioning whether Bake Off has lost its charm this year. Part of the fun was seeing what the bakes were, how they would turn out and whether I could have a crack myself – even as a total baking philistine. But this year was heavy on the unknowable bakes as part of clutching-at-straw themes (I’m still in the dark about what festival a Sicilian cassatelle is for). Some of the showstoppers were so difficult they seemed damned-near impossible.” — Radio Times.
Twin | Rialto, 8.30
“Taking on a dead man’s identity. Leading a double life as the police slowly circle in. A web of secrets stretching back years. A loveless marriage that ends in murder. Twin sounds like a greatest hits collection of noir thriller plotlines – only none of them play out quite like you might think … There’s murder and lies and police closing in, but a lot of what makes Twin so gripping is the combination of high stakes and the small scale nature of Erik’s plight.” — SBS.
WEDNESDAY
Liar (S2) | TVNZ OnDemand
“Whereas the first series was genuinely captivating in its premise of one person’s word against another, this seems set to rely on whether the police can catch someone out on a lie about a dead rapist … Joanne Froggatt is back, having now to defend herself against a particularly ballsy, feisty etc Met officer (Katherine Kelly), who has a frankly alarming approach to the sensitivities normally demanded when dealing with a proven rape victim. Still, intrigued enough to watch at least the next two. And I’ll forgive Harry and Jack much, just for The Missing.” — The Observer.
Shades of Blue (S2) | Sky 5, 9.30
“Shades of Blue starts its second season with the kind of high stakes, gasp-worthy drama that made parts of its first season edge-of-your-seat TV: Harlee Santos (Jennifer Lopez) has just snapped the neck of her abusive ex, and now she’s got to dispose of the body. Apart from her very good rom-com work, Lopez really shines when she’s either trembling in all-consuming fear or kicking butt, and in Season 2’s opener she’s doing the visceral fraught-with-fear thing that’s delightfully suspenseful. From here though, the momentum stops and starts, and that’s one of the biggest issues with Season 2.” — TV Guide.
FRIDAY
Noughts + Crosses | TVNZ OnDemand
“Welcome to Albion, colonial outpost of The Aprican Empire and the setting for the BBC’s ambitious Noughts + Crosses. This 6×60 minute adaptation of Malorie Blackman’s YA dystopian novel is a remarkably well-observed show; hundreds of tiny details feeding into some bristling big ideas. Here, a white underclass, the Noughts, rubs up against the black ruling elite: the Crosses. Miscegenation is forbidden. And good and evil run the same race.” — Screen Daily.
Go Further South | Prime, 7.30am
Slow TV sequel to Go South: an epic, eye-popping 12-hour journey from Bluff to Scott Base, Antarctica. An edited three-hour version will screen from 8.20 and re-run from 7.25 Easter Sunday.
Modern Family | Three, 10.55
After 11 seasons, 250 episodes and 22 Emmy Awards, the frequently hilarious but frustratingly inconsistent comedy ends before wearing out the welcome mat. It goes out with an hour-long finale but no sign of the S11 making-of tribute that will precede its April 9 broadcast on ABC. But at least its Good Friday transmission will be ad-free (save for Three’s self-promotion breaks).
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Was it publicised that The Dead Lands has found its way onto broadcast TV? It’s landed on Duke on Saturday night. Of course no one knows what’s on Duke from week to week with no listings and no publicity …
Thanks for the reminder, Mike. No, TVNZ didn’t highlight it to media, which is strange — but given how publicity’s been flat out coping with COVD-19 scheduling changes, probably not a surprise. I, too, overlooked it and meant to mention it in the most recent Heads-Up post. I haven’t seen the show but thought it would have deserved a higher profile slot than Saturday night for its broadcast premiere.
April 4, 2020 
4 Comments
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April 10, 2020 at 8:23 pm
Was it publicised that The Dead Lands has found its way onto broadcast TV? It’s landed on Duke on Saturday night. Of course no one knows what’s on Duke from week to week with no listings and no publicity …
Thanks for the reminder, Mike. No, TVNZ didn’t highlight it to media, which is strange — but given how publicity’s been flat out coping with COVD-19 scheduling changes, probably not a surprise. I, too, overlooked it and meant to mention it in the most recent Heads-Up post. I haven’t seen the show but thought it would have deserved a higher profile slot than Saturday night for its broadcast premiere.
Deserves higher profile than Saturday 8.30pm. And deserves better than being buried on the television backwater known as Duke.
Couldn’t agree more one both points, Mike.