LINE OF DUTY (TVNZ ONDEMAND) Newbies to
this much-loved British police procedural (now in its sixth season) may find it takes a little while to learn the lingo, but persevere, and you’ll find cracking drama amongst the seemingly scrupulous attention to detail. These are stories where often the crime comes secondary to the law enforcers’ conduct or potential corruption and where you’ll find your impressions of guilt and innocence change many times over the course of a series. Even before the end of episode one, there’s enough doubt, suspicion and potential bias laid before the audience to leave you hopelessly addicted and hanging out for the next installment to drop.
CALLS (APPLE TV+) Based on a French show of the same name, this nine-part series of short episodes, chronicles, via a series of interconnected phone conversations, the mysterious story of a group of strangers whose lives are thrown into disarray in the lead-up to an apocalyptic event. Among those lending their vocals are Danny Huston, Jennifer Tilly, Karen Gillan, Lily Collins, Pedro Pascal, Aubrey Plaza and Rosario Dawson.
Calls works in part because it represents a change of pace, built around the notion that the horrors conjured by our imagination often surpass anything that millions of dollars in special effects can visualise,” wrote
National Treasures screens on Sunday nights at 8.30pm on TVNZ1, with episodes also available on TVNZ OnDemand.
REVIEW:
National Treasures is a show that lives up to its name. Debuting on TVNZ1 earlier this month (Sunday nights 8.30pm, then available on TVNZ OnDemand) without much fanfare, this
Antiques Roadshow-meets-
Get It To Te Papa had the potential to be this decade’s
That’s Fairly Interesting, but is instead something far deeper, resonant and emotionally satisfying. It’s the televisual love child of Jeremy Wells’
The Unauthorised History of New Zealand and James Belich’s
The New Zealand Wars we didn’t know we needed.