New to View: October 11 – 17

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

Sunday

➢ Late Night Big Breakfast Duke, 8.30

“At 50, the crown prince of cringe Kiwi comedy is bringing back Late Night Big Breakfast, a cult favourite from his huge back catalogue of pisstake programming,” Stuff said of the show’s first season in five years. First up: Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins. (Also screens 9.55 Tuesday on TVNZ 2.)

Monday

➢ Love Life TVNZ 2, 9.20

HBO Max comedy about a single girl and sex in the city. “Love Life’s first season breezes by on Anna Kendrick’s charms, but those looking for a real connection may find its featherweight familiarness frustrating.” — Rotten Tomatoes.

➢ Penance Acorn, TV

“Penance, a sombre three-part British miniseries that comes on the heels of Gold Digger, should stand as assurance, if any were needed, that the subject of middle-aged women besotted with men young enough to be their sons, or younger, isn’t about to lose its fascination for filmmakers anytime soon.” — The Wall Street Journal.

Tuesday

➢ Fear the Walking Dead Neon

“It’s hard to think of a show that has gone through more reinventions than AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead. It started as a family drama. Half a season was a thriller set on a boat. One time, they were trying to grow vegetables in an abandoned stadium. And in Season 6, showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg (who have been with the series since Season 4) have reimagined Fear the Walking Dead as The Mandalorian of the zombie apocalypse.” — Decider.

Wednesday

➢ Mad About You TVNZ 2, 10.35

“Mad About You is back, 20 years older and as genial and inoffensive as ever … the revival can best be described as the television equivalent of a shrug emoji … It’s agreeable, familiar, a little meh.” — Entertainment Weekly.

➢ Newshub Decision 2020: The Euthanasia Question Three, 8.30

Patrick Gower quizzes experts about the implications of voting yes or no for legalising euthanasia ahead of Thursday’s final leaders debate (TVNZ 1, 7.00).

Thursday

➢ Social Distance Netflix

Orange is the New Black’s Jenji Kohan is behind this Covid-19 themed anthology series that the producers promise will reflect the “new, bizarre, bewildering reality we are all experiencing … Through a broad spectrum of tales and moments, some seismic and some mundane, we hope to capture a moment in time. And we hope that Social Distance will help people feel closer to one another.”

➢ Friend of the Friendless TVNZ 1, 8.00

“An overdue, but exceptionally well done, look at the trial, and at the storied life of defence lawyer Greg King. King was already as well known as any lawyer in the country for his work on the Scott Watson appeal. But his team’s defence of Ewen Macdonald would make him a household name.” — The Dominion Post.

➢ The Guru Who Wants to “Upgrade Civilisation”/ Rebel Rabbis Vice, 7.30/8.00

The former is billed as an “inside look” at Bentinho Massaro, the spiritual guru who claims 9/11 was an inside job, that he can change the weather, and that humans might one day join forces with aliens. The latter embeds with the London branch of the Neturei Karta, a group of controversial Ultra Orthodox Jews who campaign against Zionism and for the immediate dismantling of the state of Israel.

Friday

➢ Meet the Chimps Disney+

Jane Lynch told People magazine of this series set in Chimp Haven, one of the world’s largest wildlife sanctuaries that’s home to more than 300 rescue chimps: “I’m honoured to narrate this joyful journey as we explore chimps’ complex relationships and their capability for love, grief, curiosity, and unbridled happiness.” Or, as the publicity its it, expect “food squabbles, alliances, romances, bromances, tears, tantrums, high jinxes, and heartbreaks”.

➢ Grand Army Netflix

A disparate group of teenagers are forced into lockdown when a terrorist bomb detonates near their high school. “Joins the few projects that give us an authentic view of teenhood and the emotional saga of high school without exploiting its young people or hiding behind a glaze of Hollywood tropes.” — The AV Club.

➢ Star Trek: Discovery Netflix

Will season three restore restore themes of optimism and exploration? “Star Trek: Discovery had begun a course-correct in season 2, when the writer and showrunners brought in Anson Mount’s Captain Pike. He proved so popular he’ll be starring in the spinoff series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and evidently the reaction to Pike’s optimism has inspired the creative team to double down on that theme. The timing really couldn’t be better, because with everything going on right now, the real world needs the optimism of Star Trek. It will be so good to have it back.” — ScreenRant.

Saturday

➢ Election Night Coverage TVNZ 1/Three/Maori TV, 7.00

And the winner on the night will be … ? Three’s legacy as a broadcaster in this country. Even TVNZ 1’s coverage will be anchored by ex-Three identities John Campbell and Hilary Barry.