New to View: December 6 – 12

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

Sunday

➢ Deadwater Fell TVNZ 1, 8.30

“Deadwater Fell unravels the story behind a terrible tragedy in a sleepy Scottish village called Kirkdarroch, unfolding from the perspectives of two couples … The first episode is unnerving, desperately sad and rarely offers respite from its overwhelming sense of dread. For that reason, it inevitably won’t be pleasing to everyone’s tastes, but fans of dark crime drama will find it hard not to be reeled in by this complex and fascinating mystery.” — Radio Times.

Tuesday

➢ 60 Unforgettable Years TVNZ 1, 8.00

The jewel in the crown of TVNZ 1’s Diamond Jubilee Week of Coronation Street specials is this 90-minute commemoration of the soap’s first 10,000 episodes, complete with special appearances by Weatherfield warhorses William Roache and Barbara Knox, who have been absent from the post-COVID storylines. Fans also can enjoy nostalgic daytime specials from Sunday-Saturday.

➢ Euphoria SoHo, 8.30

“Trouble Don’t Always Last marks an extreme change of pace for Euphoria, and it’s an impressive one. It’s likely that the very stripped-down episode is the product of being shot and produced during the COVID-19 pandemic, but while this is a very different Euphoria, it doesn’t ultimately feel like it’s missing something.” — The AV Club.

➢ Transhood Neon

“Sharon Liese’s documentary follows the contrasting trajectories of four transgender children in Kansas City with engrossing, sometimes surprising results … While wholly sympathetic to the cause, Transhood isn’t just a work of blandly cheery activism: Liese frankly observes the practical obstacles and psychological swings endured by its four young subjects and their families, sometimes to upsetting effect.” — Variety.

Wednesday

➢ Diana: An Interview That Shook the World Prime, 7.30

How the “scoop of the century” — the 20 November 1995 Panorama interview with Princess Diana — was orchestrated. The Guardian thought this re-examination “a huge cut above the most backward-looking royal docs” while The Telegraph said the interview is “atmospherically recalled in this detailed account”.

➢ Whakaari: A Heroes’ Story TVNZ 1, 8.30

TVNZ 1’s variation on Three’s The Eruption: Stories of Survival focuses on young tourist helicopter pilots Tom Storey and Jason Hill, who defied official orders to fly to White Island’s active volcano immediately after the explosion.

Thursday

➢ Alice in Borderland Netflix

A video-game-obsessed young man finds himself in a strange version of Tokyo where he and other visitors must compete in deadly games to survive. “Only the first four episodes were made available for review, so it’s hard to say if the series ever rises above the level of serviceable binge fodder. The production values are sufficiently slick that viewers are unlikely to grumble that it would’ve worked better as an anime. .” — Japan Times.

Friday

➢ The Wilds Amazon Prime Video

A group of teenage girls from different backgrounds fight to survive after a plane crash strands them on a deserted island. “A cross-genre, propulsive, and heartbreaking coming-of-age tale that is Amazon Prime Video’s first entry into young adult programming. That it lands so directly is credit to the performances of the nine actors at the centre of the show.” — IndieWire.

Saturday

➢ Midsomer Murders Prime, 8.30

Season 21 opens with a murderous ballroom dancing contest. Nigel Havers and Christopher Timothy (All Creatures Great and Small) guest star.  “The Point of Balance is nicely plotted and unlike some of the other themed episodes, the dancing never feels superfluous or random … [It] has one of the show’s best casts in recent episodes and an awful lot of promise. A disappointing conclusion with a seemingly random killer and the waste of the Barnaby subplot do dampen the experience somewhat, but it’s still an accomplished start to this run.” — The Boar.