No, you probably can’t watch bunnies but there’s a lot that you can watch.
We’ve found the shows you’ll want to watch on terrestrial TV this long weekend.
It’s Easter, and you deserve some quality time in front of the television. Whether you’re spending the long weekend in a remote location with unreliable internet, or planning on being stuck on the couch in a chocolate coma unable to work the remote, you may end up relying on the wonders of free-to-air TV.
Don’t panic. We’ve scoured the TV listings and found the best terrestrial options for your holiday viewing pleasure. It’s not great, but it could be worse, and we’ll always have The Chase. Happy Easter, everyone.
Good Friday
The Repair Shop (TVNZ 1, 7.00pm): Grab the tissues, fill your cup and get down with your bad selves with the nicest show on television. The Repair Shop warms the heart and feeds the soul, as a group of experts restore family heirlooms with tender loving care. Adults crying over old teddy bears has never been so comforting.
The Wizard of Oz (TVNZ 1, 7.45pm): This movie is 82 years old and should be locked away in a vault, but apparently witches and flying monkeys are timeless.
Hugh Grant and Nicole Kidman in The Undoing (supplied)
The Undoing (Prime, 8.30pm) The free-to-air debut of David E. Kelley’s thriller starring Hugh Grant and Nicole Kidman as a married couple whose life unravels when one of them is accused of murder. Continues on Saturday and Sunday nights, and be sure to read our review and also this to confirm the many questions you’ll have after the final episode.
Easter Saturday
Life of Kai (10.30am, Three) a lifestyle series that celebrates the work of New Zealand’s best Māori culinary artists, showcasing how they give Māori kai a modern flavour.
The five glorious Chasers. (Photo: TVNZ)
Beat the Chasers (5.00pm, TVNZ 1): It’s a repeat, but who cares? Five of Britain’s best brainiacs try to beat normal people in the quiz show countdown of your dreams. It’s the golden hour, it’s the hour of power, it might just be the best part of your long weekend.
Oddball (6.30pm, TVNZ 2): Kids will love this sweet Australian movie about a dog protecting a penguin sanctuary, which means you’ll get precious minutes to steal their chocolate egg stash and eat it silently in the cupboard. Blessed.
A United Kingdom (8.30pm, Māori TV): Based on a true story, this 2016 film starring Rosamund Pike and David Oyelowo follows the love story between Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana and Ruth Williams, a white woman from south London, and the public outcry after they marry.
Easter Sunday
Arctic Fabulous.
Joanna Lumley in the Land of the Northern Lights (TVNZ 1, 7.25pm): A J-Lum travel show is a treat no matter what time of year, and this time she’s headed across the Arctic Circle and Norway in search of the aurora borealis. Turn off all the lights, put on your warmest jacket and try and pretend it’s not Patsy Stone who’s sleeping in an ice hotel.
Prince William: A Planet for All of Us (Three, 7.25pm): Love to see the heir to the throne remind us that Earth is for everyone. This documentary shows William on a royal quest to protect the planet, championing the work of those advocating for change around the world. Your Nana will love this.
Stacey Morrison fronts National Treasures. (Photo: TVNZ)
National Treasures (TVNZ 1, 8.30pm): It’s the final episode in this gem of a series about New Zealand treasures and taonga and the important stories they reveal from our past. Hosted by Stacey and Scotty Morrison, both national treasures themselves.
Parasite (Māori TV, 8.30pm): Winner of the 2020 Academy Award for Best Picture, this unique Korean film is a wickedly dark satire about the parasitic relationship between two neighbouring families, the Kims and the Parks. Viewer reviews range from “a true masterpiece” to “OK film but that’s all”. You decide.
Line of Duty (TVNZ 1, 9.20pm): Season six of Jed Mecurio’s (Bodyguard) acclaimed drama hits our screens, following the investigations of a controversial police unit that aims to uncover corruption within the force. Tense, complex and a bloody good watch. Seasons 1-5 are available on Netflix.
Easter Monday
The Chase Bloopers (TVNZ 1, 7pm): The Chase, but funnier.
The Bachelor & Bachelorette NZ Tell All (TVNZ 2, 8pm): Our chance to find out what really happened during Moses and Lexie’s journeys to love. Why were there so many watersports? Did anyone ever finish one of those delicious cheese boards? Most importantly, are our pairs of lovebirds still together?
Keep going!
Just a few of the many, many things coming to streaming services in April.
Just a few of the many, many things coming to streaming services in April.
What are you going to be watching in April? With thanks to our friends at Nando‘s, we round up everything that’s coming to streaming services this month, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Neon and TVNZ on Demand.
The biggies
The Handmaid’s Tale (season four on Neon from April 29)
Our favourite dystopian nightmare is back, but after our own year of mask wearing, US political uprisings and social restrictions, will we see June Osbourne’s world a little differently now? Season three of the award-winning drama finished with June near death, but the season four trailer shows June not only surviving but thriving. The resistance is growing and June is putting herself – and everyone she loves – in the centre of the drama. Would we expect anything else from our steely-faced hero? Never. / TW
Creamerie (on TVNZ on Demand from April 19)
This dark Kiwi comedy-drama looks intense as hell, and I love it already. Set in a world where a rampant virus has killed all the men, three women accidentally stumble across the last surviving member of the male species, who they decide to secretly keep in their shed. Think The Handmaid’s Tale, but funny and set in rural New Zealand. Starring Perlina Lau, J.J. Fong and Ally Xue (the genius team behind Friday Night Bites), Creamerie also comes with a killer supporting cast that includes Rachel House, Jay Ryan, Tandi Wright and Sara Wiseman. / Tara Ward
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwaLLEZO6FM
Mare of Easttown (limited series on Neon from April 19)
I can’t believe it’s taken until April to get our annual gritty drama starring an Academy Award winning actress, but thank god it’s finally arrived. Kate Winslet stars in Mare of Easttown as Mare Sheehan, a detective in a small Pennsylvania town investigating a murder while trying to stop her life from falling apart. It sounds more like Sharp Objects than Big Little Lies, and I’m praying it’s nothing like The Undoing. / SB
New Zealand Today (on Three from April 8, also streaming on ThreeNow)
Comedy nerds rejoice! Guy Williams and his cult hit show are back. In it, Williams visits small-town New Zealand to investigate what he thinks are the most interesting stories in New Zealand today. Our very own Duncan Greive loved the first season, saying that “the best moments of New Zealand Today are when he’s out in the field, no script in sight, running with the people and figuring it out as he goes along”. Let’s hope season two brings us more of the same! / SB
The notables
Younger (season 7 on Neon from April 19)
Over six delightful seasons, the half-hour comedy-drama Younger has become a true highlight of my TV viewing year. Created by Darren Star, who also brought Sex and the City to the screen, Younger shares that show’s love for both New York and the magic of female friendship, but is an altogether sweeter confection. Now that Lisa’s deep dark secret – she’s not really 26, gasp, but actually a single mother in her 40s – is public knowledge, this final season will no doubt focus on the really vital drama: is she going to choose Josh or Charles?/ Catherine McGregor
George and Me (on TVNZ on Demand from April 12)
A fresh season of the New Zealand educational series about the human body hits TVNZ OnDemand this month. If your kids have ever wondered what happens to their food when they swallow it, or how long their intestines are (seven metres, FYI), this is the show for them. It’s the ideal choice for kids who love fun facts and wacky adventures, as George and his animated BFF Me explore all the mysterious ways that the body works. / TW
Why Are You Like This (on Netflix from April 17)
Need an Australian comedy about millennials to fill the Please Like Me shaped hole in your life? This new Netflix show will fill that hole handily. Why Are You Like This was commissioned through the same scheme that gave us Funny Girls and Mean Mums, where a network filmed five pilots and commissioned the show that got the best feedback. The series following best friends Penny, Mia and Austin, as they plunder through their early 20s in the hyper-divisive, socio-political hellscape that is 2020, leaving a path of destruction in their wake. Sounds a lot like Girls, with more shrimp on the barbie. / SB
Big Shot (season one on Disney+ from April 16)
Gather ’round everyone, your favourite TV uncle John Stamos (Full House, ER) wants to shoot some hoops. Stamos returns to the small screen in David E Kelley’s latest drama Big Shot, playing a grumpy basketball coach forced to take a job in an elite private girls’ high school. Those teenagers are about to teach John Stamos a thing or two about life, and what’s the bet there’s a heart of gold hiding underneath that sassy smoulder and hair that just won’t quit? Count me in, Coach. / TW
The movies
Savage (on Neon from April 15)
Sadly, this is not a feature length adaptation of the Megan Thee Stallion hit. No, it’s a local film inspired by the true stories of New Zealand’s street gangs across 30 years, following Danny (Jake Ryan) at three critical moments in his life as he grows from a boy into a violent enforcer. Each part of the film is set during a defining moment in the history of New Zealand gang life, from the state-run homes of the ’60s where many gang members grew up, to the emerging urban scene in the ’70s, right through to the ’80s where gangs became more structured – and violent. / SB
Thunder Force (on Netflix from April 9)
Octavia Spencer and Melissa McCarthy in a superhero comedy? Sign me up, fill three bowls of popcorn, and put me on the couch. McCarthy stars with her husband, actor-director Bel Falcone, for this Netflix original about two childhood best friends who reunite as a crime-fighting duo when one invents a formula that gives people, yup, superpowers. If I’m honest, the McCarthy-Falcone pairing has resulted in films that have had, uh, little return on investment. By which I mean, they’re not very good. I have hopes for this one, though, and I can guarantee there’s worse ways to spend time on April 9, 2021. / SB
Mad Max: Fury Road (on Neon from April 22)
It’s the best action movie of the past decade. If you haven’t seen it, close this tab, wait until April 22, and watch it. / SB
This post is made possible by our friends at Nando’s.
