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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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Including HBO's latest crime drama, Martin Scorsese's new Beatles documentary and a season with the Chiefs.

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

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If you're a fan of cosy British biopics and Bill Nighy swearing in a lab coat, this is the film for you.

Review: Thomasin McKenzie out-sasses Bill Nighy in Netflix’s Joy

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'Whenever you're writing about TV, there's always a bit of memoir in it.'

‘You bring your whole life to watching TV’: Critic Diana Wichtel on a life in review

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'I don't know what the chant in the second half of this song means, but by golly it slaps hard and feels good!'

‘By golly it slaps’: Arthur Ahbez’s perfect weekend playlist

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A cat and mouse thriller that's worth putting your phone down for. 

Review: The Day of the Jackal is a riveting and ridiculous ride

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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.

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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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At the outset, expectations were low – but even with considerable headwinds, progress was made.

Here’s what was – and wasn’t – achieved at the Cop29 climate talks

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Hundreds of thousands of New Zealand women are impacted by stalking and harassment, and they’re being failed by the official response. 

Zeni’s experience is extreme, but it isn’t rare

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Wellington editor Joel MacManus pitches his big idea to save the capital: more statues on the waterfront. 

Windbag: If I were mayor for a day…

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Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was.

The Weekend: What would you march for?

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Is there any statistical proof behind the stereotype that poets can't drive? A non-driving poet attempts to find out. 

Can poets drive? A sociocultural investigation

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A close read of three seven-lines poems by Zen teacher Richard von Sturmer.

How to read a poem: selections from Slender Volumes by Richard von Sturmer

Intern stage manager Janaye Henry just had her first big gig running today’s alert level change announcement. Here’s how she went guiding Jacinda Ardern and Dr Ashley Bloomfield through the briefing. 

Behind the scenes of the Covid-19 media update | Janaye Henry | The Spinoff

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VIDEO | Stage manager Janaye Henry just had her first big gig running today's alert level change announcement. Here's how she went.

The Spinoff

Pop CultureFebruary 17, 2021

Stage managing the Covid-19 media update with Janaye Henry

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Pop CultureFebruary 17, 2021

Stage managing the Covid-19 media update with Janaye Henry

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