New to View: August 30 – September 5

August 31, 2020 0 Comments

A weekly guide to what’s new of note on air and online

Monday

➢ Criminal Minds TVNZ 1, 8.30

The lurid procedural returns for its final 10 episodes, including a two-hour final in which not only the series rests in peace — which won’t be news to those of you who have already streamed it on-demand.

➢ Patrick Gower: On Lockdown Three 8.30

In part one of two, Gower unmasks the decision-makers behind NZ’s COVID-19 response and progress towards developing a vaccine.

➢ Demolition NZ Prime, 9.25

Season two opens with a double-episode that includes the demolition of Wellington’s old teachers’ training college.

➢ Magnum PI Three, 9.30

The Tom Selleck reboot returns on a new night and in a later slot after not enough viewers said “Aloha” to the first season. CBS improved its US ratings with “major changes” and by double-billing it with Hawaii Five-O for crossover opportunities (it also became the lead-in for Selleck’s Blue Bloods, which has now lasted longer than the original Magnum).

Tuesday

➢ Inside Buckingham Palace Prime, 7.30

“For a programme billed as going Inside Buckingham Palace, this new three-part Channel 5 series did nothing of the sort. Even scenes that looked like they could have been filmed inside the London landmark were labelled as reconstructions. So not, as the title suggested, a fly-on-the-wall documentary about life inside (one of) the royal residences, this was instead a potted history of royal gossip brought to life via interviews with those on the peripherals and some very strange dramatisations.” — Independent.

➢ Instinct Prime, 8.30

S2 of the procedural about a a behavioural psychologist and ex-CIA agent turned bestselling author who helps the NYPD to solve crimes. “The most frustrating show on broadcast TV this summer is Instinct, because it’s obvious that the writers, actors, and filmmakers are itching to make a weirder, more enjoyable and original series than circumstances allow … Casting Alan Cumming as the first gay lead in a network drama and then turning him to a borderline Merchant Ivory study in repression is the sort of perversity that serves no one.” — Vulture..

➢ Monkeys: An Amazing Animal Family Maori TV, 8.30

In part one of three, Dogs biologist Patrick Aryee retraces the primate family’s astonishing rise to power through the twists and turns of its family tree.

➢ How to Die a Better Death? Three, 9.20

Rare chance to see a BBC Horizon documentary in primetime on NZ TV. “More cheery than it sounded. This thought-provoking film found Dr Kevin Fong asking questions which face not just the medical profession but every one of us.” — The Telegraph.

Wednesday

➢ The Deceived TVNZ OnDemand

“For its first ten minutes The Deceived seemed to be ploughing a very well-farmed furrow. Pretty young student at Cambridge University. Tick. Obsession with her charismatic lecturer. Tick. Affair. Tick. Punting on the river. Tick, tick. Didn’t we have a similar ambience last year in ITV’s Cheat? But then it pulled the rug, changed its clothes and suddenly we were in Donegal at the heart of a dark psychological thriller. I wasn’t expecting that.” — The Times.

➢ Young Wallander Netflix

“Follows the early years of the eponymous detective’s career in law enforcement, as he investigates a crucial case that serves as an important formative experience for him in his hometown of Malmo … Flawed but fairly gripping.” — Radio Times.

➢ Absentia SoHo, 8.30/Neon

S3 of the crime drama opens with suspected FBI agent Emily Byrne trying to rebuild her life after S2’s devastating finale. “Darker than ever, if that is possible with this series.” — Old Aint Dead.

Friday

➢ Away Netflix

“Netflix’s new drama series starring Hilary Swank as the astronaut leading an international expedition to Mars. Created by Andrew Hinderaker and boasting executive producers including Jessica Goldberg, Jason Katims, and Matt Reeves, the series has all the markers of a prestige consideration of what it means for humanity to take flight, but leans so heavily on inspirational tropes of the genre that it never, itself, soars.” — Variety.

➢ The Boys Amazon Prime Video

“The Boys Season 2 will make you laugh, cry, and throw up all at the same time. Unfortunately you won’t be able to binge it all at once — the first three episodes drop on Sept. 4 and the remaining five will air weekly — but consider it appointment viewing. What’s a better way to spend a pandemic than watching a show that feels as insane as we do?” — TV Guide.

➢ Dream Jobs With Chris Hoy Discovery Turbo, 8.30

Sir Chris Hoy, the six-times Olympic gold medallist, takes part in motor sport challenges, from driving monster trucks to competing in Formula E. “He picked up rallycross — collision-heavy circuit racing — remarkably quickly. After a few laps, he was within a tenth of a second of his instructor’s time.” — Sunday Times.