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 The Spinoff’s weekly guide to the very best in entertainment, delivered to your inbox every Friday.

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'The best TV performance of the year is by an actor most British viewers won’t recognise, in a production that most won’t see.'

‘Deserves a Bafta’: After the Party premieres in the UK to five-star reviews 

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The new movie musical is undoubtedly a fun watch, but proof that bigger isn’t always better.

Review: The magic of Wicked and the curse of corporate greed

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'[They're] calling their Australian office 'Netflix ANZ' – but the New Zealand part of the equation is completely ignored'.

Has Netflix forgotten about New Zealand? 

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The original play's biggest fan finds out if it still delivers under the weight of stardom, a bigger stage and a real set.

Review: Camping is the hyper horny, extremely silly play we need right now

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Including a big-budget sci-fi series, a salacious 90s reboot and a historical drama set during the Blitz.

New to streaming: What to watch on Netflix NZ, Neon and more this week

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'I know America can be very strict with that kind of stuff. I just packed it in my luggage, and was like, I'll see what happens.'

‘Really worried’: What Now’s Chris Kirk on smuggling gunge out of New Zealand

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'She was so right when she wrote 'I can’t help that I need it all, the primadonna life, the rise and fall' cause sometimes it really does feel like that …'

‘Theatrical, chaotic and romantic’: Heidi Simpson’s perfect weekend playlist

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A new documentary series tells the story of a former Napier councillor accused of murder in Canada. 

In Cold Water is a must-see for true crime fans

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'It was pretty ugly, but when my life fell apart was actually when it all started.'

The rebuilding of Fazerdaze

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Christchurch does not swing, apparently, but it does dance. 

Review: Crowded House gets Ōtautahi breaking the rules

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Review: Everything happens all at once at Coldplay's sold-out show.

Coldplay and 57,000 babies at Eden Park

Stewart Sowman-Lund

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Two buzzing sceptics review the three-hour spectacle at Auckland’s Civic Theatre. 

The Lord of the Rings musical is better than you’re probably expecting

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Chris Parker, Tom Sainsbury, Kura Forrester and Brynley Stent are resurrecting Camping, the 2016 Comedy Fest hit.

The four funniest New Zealanders are ready for their holiday orgy

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Moving Houses has a new host, and he's immediately up to his armpits in slow-paced, high-intensity drama. 

Great news: New Zealand’s favourite TV show about trucks driving very slowly is back

Great news: NZ’s favourite TV show about trucks driving very slowly is back

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The mystery being an $89 electronic music festival that reveals only half of its lineup before you arrive.

Review: Inside Mystery Festival, Auckland’s most secretive concert

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Including a groundbreaking new local documentary, and compelling true crime series with a former Napier city councillor at the centre. 

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'We hope it offers comfort to rangatahi navigating their own gender journeys, while also educating whānau and allies alike.'

Why I made a ‘punk rock’ documentary about gender in Aotearoa

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'I was obsessed… her outfits were phenomenal.'

‘Such a thrill’: Chelsie Preston Crayford on seeing a sitcom legend in the flesh

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'Like, do you not feel FILLED WITH HOPE AND EUPHORIA when you listen to it?'

‘So simple, so sweet, so pure’: Rita Mae’s perfect weekend playlist

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TVNZ's stylish new Queenstown-set murder mystery series plays things remarkably safe.

The many mysteries of A Remarkable Place to Die

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Can a united front hold through to election time?

This week three parties stood together – can they withstand the storm to come?

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'Five words to describe my financial personality? Bills paid, time to shop.'

The cost of being: A clothes-mad 20-something who walks everywhere

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An interview with the acclaimed journalist ahead of his appearance in Aotearoa.

‘Everything is becoming a culture war’: Jon Ronson on conspiracies and cycleways

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Two new surveys show a dramatic shift in New Zealanders' drug use habits – and there has been a sharp discount in prices. 

Drugs are getting cheaper and easier to find in Aotearoa

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There are calls for New Zealand’s Family Violence Act to name economic harm as a standalone type of violence.

Financial forms of family violence affect one in seven of us – but the law is lagging

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My parents are finally getting divorced. So why do I feel like my stepdad's feelings are still my problem?

Help Me Hera: Should I cut contact with my ex-stepdad?

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Gang members say it will create more problems, but the government argues it's about improving public safety.

Will banning gang patches actually make New Zealand safer?

Cartoonist Toby Morris joins The Beths in the studio as they record ‘Just Shy of Sure’ off their 2020 album Jump Rope Gazers.

Spotify Embed: Just Shy of Sure

The Side Eye is a monthly non-fiction comic by Toby Morris, supported by NZ On Air. Read the rest of the series 

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Spinoff cartoonist Toby Morris spent a session in the recording studio with The Beths and got an intimate view of the beloved band at work.

The Spinoff

Pop CultureJuly 10, 2020

The Side Eye: In the studio with The Beths

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