Pop Culture

strong

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

The Spinoff Members

office.jpg

Only read this if you've also had John o' Groats, Fray Bentos and the sword of Damocles stuck in your head since 2002.

A complete list of things I only know about because of The Office

FeatureImage_SummerBachDVDs.png

There's nothing better than having your movies curated by a total stranger. 

An ode to the weird bach DVD collection

Claire Mabey

Screenshot-2023-06-29-at-4.05.06-PM.png

Did you love or hate season three of The Bear? We argue the pros and cons.

Does The Bear suck now? A hater and an enthusiast argue about season three

claudia-mushin-2.jpg

'It obviously spoke to the children,' says the woman responsible for promoting fish and chips at breakfast, lunch and tea.

Meet the unsung icon behind the primary school hit ‘Fish and Chips’

MLITV_FeatureImage_Jack-Tame.png

The Q+A host reflects on his career in broadcasting, and the moment he realised it was all worth it.

‘I’ve never lived it down’: The Breakfast live cross that still haunts Jack Tame

Copy-of-Copy-of-Tinas-Test-Feature-image-2.png

'For blokes, it's probably the child they never knew about. And for women, it’s probably the child they’ve never spoken about.'

‘One hell of a shock’: Why not everyone wants flowers from David Lomas

broTown.png

The groundbreaking show has had mixed reviews over the past two decades. 

Reviewing the very first episode of bro’Town, 20 years on

FeatureImage_TomtomtomtomCruise.png

I watched all 46 of Tom Cruise's films over the past 12 months. The question on everyone's lips: why?

‘The mission is clearly possible’: On watching every single Tom Cruise movie ever made

FeatureImage_murder-mystery-train.png

A dark and stormy night of mushrooms and murder, sorbet and suspicion, and more fedoras than you've ever seen in your life. 

I survived five hours on Christchurch’s first murder mystery train ride

TT100_NZTVShows_FeatureImage_MegaList.png

Presenting our full top 100 countdown for your reading pleasure.

The complete top 100 NZ TV shows of the 21st Century

MLITV_Ginette-McDonald.png

'A few old boomers still think I actually am Lyn ... I choose to take this as a compliment.'

‘A curse and a blessing’: Ginette McDonald on how Lyn of Tawa changed her life

featureNadiasFarm-HollyWallace-130.jpg

'We say to our kids every dinner time, you have no idea how lucky you are that we have all our own food here. And they just go ‘yeah yeah whatever mum'.'

‘We’d never move back’: Nadia Lim and Carlos Bagrie on swapping the hustle for the harvest

Nadia Lim and Carlos Bagrie on swapping the hustle for the harvest

eSt22saW-Craig-Parker-as-Guy-Warner-in-Shortland-Street.jpg

As he makes a surprise return to Shortland Street, actor Craig Parker takes us through his life in television.

‘We were as famous as Tom Cruise’: Craig Parker on 90s Shortland St fandom

adammcgrath.jpg

'I want to check in at the pearly gates and have them say, ‘theres nothing left here, he’s worn to a nub, put it in the bin’.'

‘I prioritise the mission, not my health’: Adam McGrath’s perfect weekend playlist

Rec-Room-20-nov.jpg

The 2024 Christmas cliffhanger screens on Monday, and you can expect the final episode to be bigger and badder than ever before. 

The one episode of Shortland Street you need to watch this year

Screenshot-2024-12-20-at-9.48.49-AM.png

A couple of weeks after Spotify Wrapped comes a much more comprehensive survey of New Zealand’s listening.

The real NZ Wrapped: Analysing the 2024 NZ Music charts

FeatureImage_MoviePopCultureFaves.png

From singing witches to horny tennis players, here's what we loved at the movies this year.

The Spinoff’s favourite movies of 2024

hartystylez.jpg

In February you'll be able to say you were an OG fan.

Banger alert: the song of the summer is ‘Harty Māori Stylez’

FeatureImage_MusicPopCultureFaves.png

From Eden Park stepping up to rappers stepping each other out, we look back at the best of music this year.

The Spinoff’s favourite music of 2024

FeatureImage_TVPopCultureFaves.png

The Spinoff’s favourite TV shows of 2024

Gabis-Feature-images-7.png

Before $2 shops and Temu, there were Arthur’s, Geoff’s and Pete’s Emporiums – and that was only the beginning. 

The true story behind New Zealand’s emporium empire

FeatureImage_FirstWellingtonian.png

Hundreds of years ago, a man named Tara founded the first permanent human settlement in Wellington. What do we actually know about him? 

The first Wellingtonian

Horse-treks-feature.png

Selena Anderson from Ahipara Horse Treks seems to have a perfect job. But what’s it like behind the scenes? 

Dream job or idle fantasy? What it’s like running horse treks in the Far North

dog-food-burger-use.png

Results ranged from surprisingly yum to soul-destroying. 

Is cooking with dog food instead of meat actually fine? I gave it a go

Bach-crib.png

New Zealanders are united in their love of holiday homes, but we remain divided on one crucial thing.

When and where does a ‘bach’ become a ‘crib’? 

FeatureImage_WeNeedMoreOrgans.png

coverstory_weneedmoreorgans-png

coverstory_WeNeedMoreOrgans.png

Aotearoa’s organ donation system is under pressure. The Spinoff investigates the problem – and how we might fix it.

‘Everything I do in life, I do it for my donor’: Inside Aotearoa’s struggling organ donation system

bOp1iZU0-FeatureImage_SallyRooney_Intermezzo-1.png

If you want to read a book that makes you feel good about your body, I beg you to look elsewhere.

In defence of Sally Rooney’s skinny protagonists

In the latest episode of their Spinoff TV segment looking at stuff white people inexplicably like, comedy group Frickin Dangerous Bro – Jame Roque, Jamaine Ross and Pax Assadi – investigate white people’s love for the colonialist hexagonal fantasy board game.

Previously: Frickin Dangerous Bro review 

Frickin Dangerous Bro: what is it with white people and Settlers of Catan? | The Spinoff TV

Watch The Spinoff TV, Fridays at 10:45PM on THREE

FDB Settlers of Catan

What is it with white people's love for the colonialist hexagonal fantasy board game Settlers of Catan?

The Spinoff

Pop CultureAugust 14, 2018

Frickin Dangerous Bro review white people things: Settlers of Catan

Loading...

Pop CultureAugust 14, 2018

Frickin Dangerous Bro review white people things: Settlers of Catan

More Reading

Loading...