Schedule Watch: August 17

August 17, 2019 0 Comments

On this weekend’s Sunday (TVNZ 1, 7.30), ahead of Three’s Jonah premiere, John Campbell goes inside the Manu Samoa camp, as they prepare for the Rugby World Cup, to explore the increasingly popular choice of Pasifika players leaving their home nations for European contracts.

Three isn’t holding back on its hyperbole in hailing Jonah (8.30 Sunday and Monday) as “the year’s biggest drama” — or the August 26 premiere of the mini-series it will be promoting during its broadcast, The Gulf, as “NZ’s answer to Broadchurch“. And if you couldn’t get enough of Love Island UK, Love Island US has just landed on ThreeNow. Watch also for 7 Days’ 10th anniversary special on August 30.

Said Stuff’s Steve Kilgallon of Jonah: “How to pour one man’s life into under three hours’ television time? That was the challenge and the undoing of Three’s ambitious Jonah, the life and times of the great, late Jonah Lomu. I liked it, and I didn’t, because some of it was great, and well, some of it wasn’t.”

Sky Sport promises an “alternative, gravity-defying way” to watch the Black Ferns and All Blacks play today, when viewers have the option to enjoy both test matches via a live dedicated Spidercam channel. The new viewing experience will be available to Sky rugby fans on Sky channel 50. Viewers will also have the ability to use Spidercam as a second screen with the use of Sky Go on a separate device. The All Blacks post-match press conference will be broadcast live on Sky Sport News (Sky channel 50) at roughly 9.45pm.

Appearing on this week’s Real Time With Bill Maher (SoHo/SoHo2, various times) are:

Sheldon Whitehouse, the junior Democratic Senator from Rhode Island and author of Captured: The Corporate Infiltration of American Democracy
Carl Hulse, Chief Washington Correspondent for The New York Times and author of Confirmation Bias: Inside Washington’s War Over the Supreme Court, from Scalia’s Death to Justice Kavanaugh
Betsy Woodruff, politics reporter for The Daily Beast
Rick Wilson, a Republican strategist and author of Everything Trump Touches Dies
Trigger Warning’s Michael Render.

On Sunday’s 60 Minutes (Prime, 10.30): Jon Wertheim reports on a retired couple who figured out how to win millions in state lotteries and Steve Kroft profiles Samuel L. Jackson.

Monday’s Fair Go (TVNZ 1, 7.30) goes undercover to get to the bottom of weekend surcharges at a WOF workshop in Christchurch. And connectivity might sound like a good thing, but at what cost?

Tuesday’s 20/20 (TVNZ 1, 9.30) explores the facts of the tragic Watts Family homicides, a year after Shannan and her children were murdered in their home, and speaks with family members on the lasting impact. The programme screened eight months ago on ABC and includes a shocking statement from Chris Watts, in which he describes how he killed his wife.

Booked this week for Prime’s The Late Show With Stephen Colbert are: