We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+.
Baddies (TVNZ+, June 30)
Set in contemporary Aotearoa, but with the nostalgic feel of local classics like Sea Urchin, Under the Mountain and Children of the Dog Star, Baddies follows 13-year-old Jack, a roguish scamp who is sent to a crumbling correctional camp after stealing a police car from his father. At Camp Halliwell he joins forces with three other baddies and attempts to fly the coop, but soon uncovers a nearby gang of bumbling bank robbers which leads the gang on a wild, life-changing adventure. The A-Team ain’t got nothing on these baddies.
Devotion: The Gloriavale Story (ThreeNow, June 28)
After more than a decade of controversy, the fundamentalist Christian community on the West Coast opens its door for Devotion: The Gloriavale Story. This powerful docu-series features unprecedented access to those within the community, and testimonies from former members of Gloriavale who paint a stark picture of its strict and deeply patriarchal traditions. Helmed by Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker Nicole Rittenmeyer, Devotion: The Gloriavale Story isn’t an easy watch, but it’s an essential one.
Elle (Prime Video, July 1)
Elle, the 90s-set TV show prequel to the cult comedy Legally Blonde, follows the titular fashion icon as she’s forced to relocate from her Barbie dream house in California to dreary Seattle. Starring newcomer Lexi Minetree as Elle, the future Harvard student must now negotiate the tumultuous and formative waters of her new high school in this joyful, Y2K era “reminder of girlhood before the digital age.” Already renewed for a second season, Elle is boldly going where no blonde has gone before.
The Fabelmans (MĀORI+, July 4)
The jury is still out on Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day, but it’s safe to say that The Fabelmans is a “late-career masterwork.” The semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama follows Gabriel LaBelle as Sammy Fabelman, aka a young Spielberg. Centred around “the conflict between artistic drive and personal responsibility, as well as the mysteries of talent and happiness,” the disarmingly simple film is Spielberg’s most personal film to date, a bittersweet victory lap that is bound to pull on your heartstrings.
Twin Peaks S1-S2 (Neon, July 1)
From the mind of the late great David Lynch, this iconic murder mystery TV show follows FBI special agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) as he investigates the murder of local teenager Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee). Considered by many to be “the high point of TV as a medium,” this miracle of a whodunnit is a tough nut to crack for those unfamiliar with Lynch’s surreal puzzle boxes, but if you stay with Twin Peaks as it drifts into the foreboding darkness, you’ll be richly rewarded.
Make That Movie (Neon, July 2)
From Sam Campbell, the subversive Australian comic who broke through with his appearances on Last One Laughing and Taskmaster, comes the “funniest TV show of the entire year.” In the absurd mockumentary Campbell plays a version of himself who was once a big name director, but has fallen from grace, and now spends his time travelling England making bizarre low-budget feature films based on the ideas of everyday people. A celebration of so-bad-it’s-good cinema, Make That Movie will have you roaring with laughter.
Pick of the Flicks: Shiva Baby (Neon, July 1)
Featuring Rachel Sennott in her breakout role, the nail-biting cringe comedy Shiva Baby follows the Bottoms and I Love LA star as Danielle, an aimless young Jewish woman. Taking place in real time in one location, Danielle attends a shiva and to her horror she runs into Max (Danny Deferrari), the man she has been seeing for money, and Maya (Molly Gordon), her ex-girlfriend that she may still be in love with. Described as a “deftly crafted comedy of discomfort,” Shiva Baby is sure to shred your nerves.
The rest
Netflix
The Rest is Football (June 28)
Ryan Hamilton: This Just Hit Me (June 30)
Summer ’36 (July 1)
Worst Neighbor Ever (July 1)
Enola Holmes 3 (July 1)
The Office (U.S.): Season 1 (July 1)
Super Subbu (July 2)
Survival of the Thickest: Season 3 (July 2)
Human Vapor (July 2)
Footloose (July 3)
Spit (July 3)
Proclivitas (July 3)
Fast & Furious (July 3)
American Beauty (July 3)
Sinners (July 4)
TVNZ+
Baddies (June 30)
Madonna & Graham (July 1)
MĀORI+
Come Back Anytime (June 29)
Mosley (July 3)
The Personal History of David Copperfield (July 3)
Go! (July 4)
The Fabelmans (July 4)
The Great Escaper (July 5)
ThreeNow
Devotion: The Gloriavale Story (June 28)
Neon
Shiva Baby (July 1)
South Park S8 (July 1)
Twin Peaks S1-S2 (July 1)
Crookhaven (July 1)
Ready, Steady Wiggles S8 (July 1)
Rugrats S6 (July 1)
Make That Movie (July 2)
The Hunger Games (July 2)
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (July 2)
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (July 2)
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (July 2)
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (July 3)
Friday Night Lights S1-S5 (July 3)
Neighborhood Watch (July 4)
Die Hart 2: Die Harter (July 5)
Drive (July 5)
Havoc (July 5)
Monster (July 5)
Running Scared (July 5)
The Upside of Anger (July 5)
A Working Man (July 5)
Prime Video
Elle (July 1)
Apple TV
Silo S3 (July 3)
AroVision
Obsession (June 30)
Anchor Me: The Don McGlashan Story (July 1)
Don’t Be Prey (July 1)
The Christophers (July 2)
HBO Max
Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story (July 1)
Lee Cronin’s The Mummy (July 3)
