New to View: September 26 – October 2

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

Sunday

➢ Vigil TVNZ 1, 9.30

New BBC blockbuster thriller about the search for a killer on a Trident nuclear submarine that one wit dubbed was “Line of Das Booty“. The six-part series can be streamed in its entirety from midday Monday on TVNZ OnDemand. Suranne Jones stars in a gripping whodunit that seems to have been well received by everyone except submariners, who complained about its inaccuracies and being portrayed as “malevolent robots”.

Season 20 is being fast-tracked for screening within hours of the US. It was commissioned as part of a two-season deal that guarantees a 21st — not a bad run for a ‘toon that was cancelled after only four years before being brought back by pubic pressure.

Tuesday

➢ I Am TVNZ 1, 8.30

Season three of the series about Kiwis who have survived traumatic abuse opens with how a Gloriaville veteran, David Ready, challenged the leaders of the religious community into which he was born after his younger sister died.

➢ Inked Prime, 9.40

This Kiwi Mandarin drama pre-empts Succession three weeks short of its season finale and pushes back The Breakdown to 12.15am and The Late Night With Stephen Colbert to 1.25am so it can premiere during NZ Chinese Language Week. “Originally conceived as eight, bite-size 15-minute instalments, like last year’s lockdown tale INSiDE, it is now being broadcast as a single package … Immerse yourself in a slice of contemporary homegrown culture that’s reflective of our constantly evolving country.” — Stuff.

Wednesday

➢ Taskmaster TVNZ 2, 8.30

Following the success of its own version, TVNZ is poaching the latest season of the UK original from sister channel Duke and double-billing with a new season of Would I Lie to You?. “Taskmaster’s 11th series is set to be an hour of gleeful absurdity we can look forward to.” — Radio Times.

➢ Death Row: Countdown to Execution Three, 9.30

Part one of three in which Susanna Reid interviews inmates running out of time. “A thoughtful and less salacious look at life on Death Row.” — The Telegraph.

➢ The Chestnut Man Netflix

From the creator of The Killing, Søren Sveistrup, comes a new Noridic noir that opens with the discovery of a young woman’s body in a Copenhagen playground of a quiet suburb of Copenhagen.  One of her hands missing and besides her is a small doll made of chestnuts and matchsticks. “Looks to have all the usual ingredients of the genre … and should be a great watch.” — Forbes.

Thursday

➢ Pact of Silence TVNZ OnDemand

BBC thriller with a meaty moral dilemma. “You have a boozy party at work, and afterwards a bunch of you bundle your horrible, drunken, coked-up boss into the boot of a car and tie him to a tree with his trousers down in a nearby forest. Is it your fault when he subsequently dies? … The first episode was rubbish, then it found its groove.” — The Times.

➢ Luna Park Netflix

“In this Italian drama set in 1960s Rome, a young woman raised by a carnival unexpectedly crosses paths with a young woman raised by a wealthy family, and what comes next will be sure to surprise.” — Popsugar.

Friday

➢ Back to Life TVNZ OnDemand

“We pick up with thirtysomething ex-con Miri Matteson (played by Daisy Haggard, co-creator of this comedy-drama with Laura Solon) for the second series … a pure and painful delight, which can move you from tears to laughter within a single line.” — The Guardian.

➢ Maid Netflix

Adaptation of the best-selling memoir about a young mother who flees an abusive relationship and finds a job cleaning houses while struggling to provide for her child. Real-life mother-daughter duo Andie MacDowell and Margaret Qualley play mother and daughter. “The series tells a haunting, but ultimately inspiring, human story and features a next level performance from Margaret Qualley. It might also change the way you think about poverty.” — Decider.

➢ Seinfeld Netflix

The same old ‘yada yada yada’ — not that there’s anything wrong with that — but as you’ve never viewed it before: in 4K-UHD.