New to View: November 8 – 14
November 8, 2020 
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A weekly guide to what’s new of note on air and online
Sunday
➢ Rebuilding Paradise National Geographic, 8.30
“As America’s west coast continues to burn, this quietly harrowing Ron Howard-directed documentary tells of the aftermath of the 2018 wildfires in Paradise, California … Rebuilding Paradise might easily have blazed with righteous fury, but its conclusions are quieter and bleaker.” — The Guardian.
Monday
➢ Harry & Meghan: The Price of Freedom TVNZ 1, 8.30
The publicity promises the other side of the Sussex’s story from alleged sources close to the couple and recently disclosed accounts. Was there ever a chance this mold-breaking couple would just fit in or was freedom the goal from the start?
➢ Ross Kemp: Behind Bars Prime, 8.30
2017 documentary about Her Majesty’s Prison Barlinnie in Glasgow. The Guardian’s verdict? “Despite a few misguided stunts, the TV hard man provides a thorough look at our struggling penal system with a journey into the notorious Scottish prison.”
➢ Being Beethoven Sky Arts, 8.30
“A three-part look at the life and times of the composer, this was that increasingly rare thing: an intelligent piece of programming, which allowed viewers to come away feeling, not simply that they’d learnt something, but also uplifted by what they’d learnt.” — iNews.
➢ We Hunt Together BBC UKTV, 9.30
“Forget cat-and-mouse crime shows. We Hunt Together is cats-and-mice, plural, with a pair of mismatched cops and criminals chasing around one another through a fog of hormones and splattered blood. It’s twice as gory, twice as creepy, and twice as much fun as anything else you’ve seen this summer.” — Reason.
➢ Roadkill TVNZ OnDemand
A populist political outsider’s ambitions are jeopardised when the learns he has an illegitimate daughter in prison. “Hugh Laurie is reliably solid, but Roadkill is riddled with plot holes — though those okay with a bumpy ride may find it a diverting enough drive.” — Rotten Tomatoes.
➢ The South Westerlies Acorn TV
A high-flying Norwegian energy executive goers undercover as a tourist in a small Irish town where the company’s latest wind farm development is facing passionate opposition from residents. “The South Westerlies is billed as comedy drama, the usual pre-emptive excuse for a show that’s neither funny nor dramatic. But, like all transcontinental productions, its chief plot-drivers are geographical.” — The Times.
Tuesday
➢ A Teacher Neon
Triple-episode premiere of a drama about the complexities and consequences of a predatory relationship. “It’s a #MeToo parable. Claire (Kate Mara), a high school English teacher, begins an affair with a senior, Eric (Nick Robinson), who is just 17 when they first sleep together. She is in a position of authority; he is a minor; it is, unambiguously, exploitation. But what A Teacher does well, in 10 tightly written half-hour episodes, is convey the fantasies both Claire and Eric are swayed by—without ever losing sight of how damaging their relationship is.” — Vanity Fair.
➢ Art, Passion, Power: The Story of the Royal Collection Sky Arts, 8.30
Four-part BBC4 series about one of the world’s largest art collections. “Although this is an amiable amble through royal treasures, the history is not sharp enough and the focus blurry.” — The Arts Desk.
Thursday
➢ The Graham Norton Show Three, 8.30
Ironically, the chat show king resumes his studio-based format here the same time he has to abandon his live audience in the UK because of the Covid-19 resurgence. At least Three has six weeks’ worth of eps to take it through to Christmas. S28 opens with guests Dolly Parton, Rupert Everett, Lolly Adefope, Riz Ahmed, Sara Pascoe and musical guest Róisín Murphy.
➢ Industry SoHo, 8.30
“The initial public offering of HBO’s Industry will likely be met with amused skepticism by those who actually work at a ‘pre-eminent financial services organization’ like the show’s fictional Pierpoint & Co. For the rest of us, it won’t matter: An often exhilarating, eight-part drama centered in the City of London, the series presents a world that’s thoroughly believable, frequently appalling and fully enthralling. This is, in large part, because it doesn’t care what you know: Viewers are dropped into a maelstrom of numbers, jargon and deals and as a result will be swept up, and away.” — Wall Street Journal.
Friday
➢ Anika Moa Reunited TVNZ OnDemand
Anika Moa finds out what’s happened to Fur Patrol, Push Push, Herbs and other vintage Kiwi bands, and reunites them to sing their iconic hits.
➢ Grey’s Anatomy/Station 19 TVNZ OnDemand
The latest seasons of the sister shows premiere here on the same day as the U.S. Expect the Covid-19 pandemic, which cut short the previous season of the perennial hospital drama, to feature in S17 storylines; S4 of the fire station drama opens with the lingering effects of Pruitt’s death hanging over the crew.
➢ James May: Oh Cook! Amazon Prime Video
“In his trademark jokey and occasionally irritable fashion, May squares up to the stove for this new series to whip up a few dishes while delivering lessons in food history, sipping white wine and joshing with the camera crew. May is excellent company and, seeing him burn Spam fingers and frequently call for help, a refreshing change from slick TV chefs.” — The Telegraph.
➢ The Minions of Midas Netflix
Inspired by rather than adapted from Jack London’s 1901 short story, this six-part Italian thriller revolves around a wealthy publisher who’s blackmailed by the Mob: if he doesn’t wire €50 million to an anonymous account, innocent people will be murdered.
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