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, […]

Gentleman Jack | SoHo2, 9.30 Wednesday ☆☆☆☆ “A rollicking eight-episode series that … draws upon the diaries of the real Anne Lister, who told her life story in millions of words, many of them in a code based on mathematical symbols and the Greek alphabet that was not broken until the 1980s. She was a woman who […]

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 […]

Bravo TV One for screening the outstanding Happy Valley on three consecutive nights over two weeks. The strategy builds momentum and interest in serialised storylines and viewers who are slow to catch on can always catch up on-demand (a pity the box set of season one wasn’t available online, too). Overnight ratings for the first three episodes were solid and […]

HAPPY VALLEY ☆☆☆☆☆ TV One, 8.30 Monday-Wednesday West Yorkshire’s Calder Valley – it’s the place where old Coro actresses go to … well, hope they can shake off the Weatherfield mantle. Not only the hero cop – played by Sarah Lancashire – but the hero cop’s colleague’s wife: Julie Hesmondhalgh, who played a man who […]

NZ’s definitive guide to what’s airing nightly free-to-air in 1080i Saturday Trade Zone Gone Fishin’ (TV3, 5.00) Ados Addicted to Fishing (Prime, 5.00) The Goldbergs (TV3, 5.30, 5.1, R) The Middle (TV2, 6.30, 5.1, R) Hyundai Country Calendar (TV1, 7.00) Movie: Ella Enchanted (TV2, 7.00, R) Britain’s Got Talent (TV1, 7.30) Coronation Street (TV1, 8.45) Movie: The Tourist (TV2, 8.50, R) Prime Rugby: Blues vs Crusaders (Prime, […]

After swamping viewers with a rash of American mediocrities, from long-in-the-tooth vets like Criminal Minds and Castle to toothless newcomers Blindspot, The Family, Code Black, Secrets & Lies and The Astronaut Wives’ Club, TV One at last is about to rediscover what used to distinguish it from the competition: premium British drama. In a bold […]

Kiwi streaming service Lightbox has added 37 Days to its line-up of exclusive dramas. The acclaimed three-part BBC series dramatises what happened in the final days before the outbreak of the First World War. It aired two years ago in the UK, where The Independent described it as “a political thriller that grippingly uncovers the countdown to war … “Narrated […]

In a week of season and series finales, TV One’s Sunday night line-up went out on top. Our Big Blue Backyard, Happy Valley and Secrets and Lies largely won their slots with the network’s target audience, 25-54 year-olds. Backyard averaged 5.3% – 9.1% to win or be competitive in each of the major demos while […]

Gotham’s mid-season finale on Sunday scored the Batman prequel some of its best ratings so far, averaging 6.2% – 9.1% of the key demographics. It easily won the 8.30 hour for TV2, although it faced fierce competition from TV One’s Happy Valley (2.2% – 7.3%) in the 25-54 and household shoppers demos. No such threat […]