Pop Culture

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

The Spinoff Members

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For the past three decades, there’s only been room for one Dr Love in Ferndale. Until now.

Conan O’Brien just gave us the weirdest two minutes of Shortland Street ever

Tara Ward

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From Chris Warner’s beard to Newshub’s tearful goodbye, these are the TV moments that gripped the nation this year.

The most memorable local television moments of 2024

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From Holmes to Sheeran, a look back at some of the more memorable visitors Ferndale has ever seen.

A brief history of celebrity cameos on Shortland Street

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Move over meat and dairy – these are our highest quality exports. 

How does New Zealand produce so many successful child actors?

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New documentary gives insight into what is driving the country's youth to carry out ram raids and why prison might not be the answer.

Review: Ram Raid Mums provides a blueprint for breaking the cycle

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‘If I didn't do it, no other bugger would.’

The small town cinemas holding on at the edge of the world

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Including a new Christmas eve action film to rival Die Hard, good news for Inside Out fans and a 90s romantic classic. 

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

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'That's the thing about live TV, and especially live sports ... there's always that element of jeopardy.'

‘Damn near knocked me out’: Scotty Stevenson’s biggest live TV headache

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'This laid down a challenge that I couldn’t ignore, and haunted me for much of my life...'

‘Māori Bass should be its own genre’: Mokotron’s perfect weekend playlist

Gabi Lardies

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Some much-needed life is being breathed back into Auckland's all-ages scene. Two former underage gig-goers enter the mosh once more.

Review: Double Whammy’s first all-ages gig proves punk is for the children

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A few all-time classics, a couple of new releases, some that stretch the definition of 'Christmas movie'... and Lindsay Lohan in a pear tree.

Our favourite Christmas movies and where to watch them

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There are better ways to support the artists who got you through 2024.

A reminder about your Spotify Wrapped 

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In a Q+A interview on Sunday, the prime minister said 'what I say to you is' 26 times in 30 minutes. 

A journey through the 26 times Luxon said ‘what I say to you is’ on Q+A

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Meticulously put together, energy sky high, not a single moment or movement or cowboy hat wasted.

Review: Troye Sivan turns Spark Arena into a sexy, sweaty spectacle 

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Including another side of ram raids, a new Star Wars adventure, and the Marmalade-loving bear we all need right now.

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From meditative surfer types to raps that rhyme Hone Heke with 'teke', here's the best bits we caught at The Others Way festival on Saturday.

Six hours and 10 acts at The Others Way

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The comedian takes us through his life in television, including the genius of Spongebob and the pitfalls of being 'the Burger King guy'.

‘Blood everywhere’: David Correos on his shocking Give Us a Clue appearance

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From naughty grooves to rock'n'roll that refuses to sink into the swamp – 10 tunes that make Sam Fowles' weekend perfect.

‘It’s so funky here, you can smell it’: Sam Fowles’ perfect weekend playlist

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Here's your chance to catch up on the best local shows you might have missed this year.

Where to watch all the big winners from the NZ TV Awards

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It's the first Disney film in an indigenous language to premiere at the same time as its English equivalent – and it could be a game-changer for Aotearoa.

Moana 2 Reo Māori makes history

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The Friday Poem: ‘Cash register ding’ by Eliana Gray

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New short stories from Owen Marshall, and the finale to a sci-fi series that fans have been hanging out for. 

The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending December 13

Shanti Mathias

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Gifts can be a source of joy this Christmas even if you hate capitalism.

A gift guide for people who really don’t want to buy shit

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'Squirrel the small stuff, splash on something big.'

The cost of being: A 30-something dad with a mortgage and a bike

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A whistlestop tour through a big week in the news.

The week in two minutes and 10 stories

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ICYMI: that festive pileup of opinion polling, in one snapshot.

All those recent political polls: a quick recap

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Immigration NZ could have made any decision on the controversial speaker's visa and it would've been better than a minister intervening. 

What we should have done with Candace Owens is nothing

The Spinoff presents TGI Funny Girls, an exclusive look at a brand new Funny Girls sketch every Friday.

is well underway and the Spinoff are proud to present a first look at one of the sketches featuring in tonight’s episode. ‘Stuck for life’ is a parody of a family sitcom with an existential twist. What more could you want from a Friday afternoon? Have a watch, have a laugh, have a few surprisingly grim thoughts.

The Spinoff

Pop CultureOctober 14, 2016

TGI Funny Girls: the grim reality of sitcoms

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Pop CultureOctober 14, 2016

TGI Funny Girls: the grim reality of sitcoms

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