ScreenScribe

In the Dark | Lightbox, from Monday ☆☆☆☆ “The BBC’s new crime drama doesn’t break the mould with its themes of corruption, lies and unwanted pregnancy – but its dark strands still draw you in … In the Dark is not Happy Valley, shifted south a little, down the Pennines. This is something louder, less involving, […]

The Bay | TVNZ 1, 8.30 Wednesday ☆☆☆☆ “The Bay is Broadchurch in Morecambe. I would even bet half my David Tennant memorabilia collection that was the makers’ pitch in its entirety. Why not? It’s perfect. I would have bought it as a commissioner, and as a viewer I was entirely sold … Suspects and police officers […]

Camping | SoHo2, 8.30 Thursday ☆☆☆☆ “Girls collaborators Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner have adapted the British version of this comedy into a wickedly funny, unnerving eight-episode romp about an anxiety-ridden control freak, Kathryn (Jennifer Garner, in her first series work since Alias), who organises a weekend camping trip among friends to celebrate the 45th birthday […]

Mosaic | SoHo, 8.30 Friday ➢ “Populated by series like Broadchurch, Happy Valley, Top of the Lake and various versions of The Bridge, a TV subgenre has flourished in recent years: It depicts the aftermath of a serious crime in a relatively enclosed community. It’s a niche that the Steven Soderbergh-directed Mosaic fits into comfortably; the […]

The Tunnel – Vengeance | SoHo, 8.30 Tuesday ➢ “The Tunnel is, of course, the Anglo-French reworking of The Bridge, which, along with The Killing, changed the face of detective drama. Clémence Poésy is outstanding as the nerveless Gallic version of The Bridge’s Saga, Stephen Dillane similar as the understated Brit counterpart. The plot, which […]

Doctor Foster | TVNZ 1, 8.30 Monday ➢ “The joy of the second series of Doctor Foster (BBC1) is that we now know it is not aiming for gritty drama and failing, but aiming for histrionic melodrama and succeeding beyond its wildest expectations … We can now run gleefully towards the waves of madness – already […]

The Loch | Lightbox, from Friday ➢ “As a murder mystery, this Broadchurch-a-like drama sounds promising on paper. The Loch has been penned by none other than Stephen Brady, formerly of Fortitude, Vera and Silent Witness. It also stars The Missing’s Laura Fraser as ambitious local detective Annie Redford tackling her first murder case, and […]

Fears that Three had abandoned primetime to reality TV after wall-to-wall scheduling of the genre earlier this year have been put to rest by news that it’s licensed the rights to Tin Star. The 10-part thriller from the producers of Broadchurch and Humans is set in the Canadian Rockies and stars Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) as a […]

Apple Tree Yard (TVNZ 1, 8.30 Sundays) “Apple Tree Yard is an adaptation of Louise Doughty’s best-selling novel, starring Emily Watson and Ben Chaplin as two unknowns who enter into a wild and impulsive affair that ultimately rips their lives apart. The book itself is excellent, and Doughty’s story will serve as a strong backbone […]

   It wasn’t a happy Easter for The Bachelor NZ, with Monday’s episode getting crushed by the HD competition. It averaged only 2.6% of Three’s target audience, 25-54 year-olds, compared to 5.9% for TVNZ 1’s Saving Mr Banks and 6.6% for TVNZ 2’s My Kitchen Rules. TBNZ’s low turnout also was bad news for lead-out The […]