WHAT'S ON THIS WEEKEND?
If you’re anything like us, chances are you’re staying in this weekend. So what’s on the box?
Never since the illumination of the first tube have we had so much choice – or so much rubbish to wade through on the way to the good stuff.
So, at no thought to personal expense or reputational risk, here’s our take on some of the hidden gems worth streaming, world. Since most of us feel like a smile right now, we’ve stuck with the quirky and fluffy.
WHITE LOTUS
You know the story - bunch of people arrive at a luxury resort on an island. Stuff happens and they leave. But unlike reality TV there’s a story and the characters feel real. Well shot, beautifully cast and captivatingly quirky. This is the show that’s had everyone talking round here – and all eight episodes are lined up and good to go.
WHERE? NEON WHY? QUIRKY AND FUN
TED LASSO
On paper this really can’t work. But on screen, it really does. It’s a fish out of water, sit-com set in a second-tier soccer club in the UK. Jason Sudekis plays the relentlessly positive Ted who believes in belief and makes magic happen for a cast of beautifully drawn, brilliantly believable characters. Ted makes everyone feel good. Must watch.
WHERE? APPLE TV+ WHY? FEEL-GOOD LAUGHS
THE KOMINSKY METHOD
Love him or hate him, Chuck Lorre is a sitcom King. This show shows that Chuck can grow up. With no laugh track but lots of laughs, Michael Douglas plays a never-really-was actor who teaches never-really-going-to-be actors how to act. Alan Arkin is his reluctantly benevolent agent and they fight like cat and dog. Charming, funny and feel good. Recommend.
WHERE? NETFLIX WHY? BUDDIES BEING BUDDIES
YOUNG SHELDON
You don’t need to love Big Bang Theory to like Young Sheldon. It’s a totally different, family-friendly sitcom set in late-80s Texas. Sheldon is a genius and the family find it hard to cope. The characters are great, the laughs are universal and Meemaw and Missie are two of the best-drawn comedy characters around. Light, easy, surprisingly good.
WHERE? TVNZ OD WHY? LOTS OF FAMILY LAUGHS
WALK THE PRANK
One for the Kids. Of any age. This is Disney doing pranks through a crew of over-enthusiastic, under acting kids and their ‘Uncle Will’ who owns a joke shop. It is what it is from craft point of view, but everyone (8-80) can hunker down to watch monsters appear and unsuspecting targets freak out. There are not many shows the whole family like. This is one of them. Rate it.
WHERE? DISNEY+ WHY? FAMILY-FRIENDLY FUN
AND MORE…
That’s just the start. We’re also rediscovering Schitt’s Creek (rich family/poor family on TVNZ), enjoying Afterlife (not-so family on Netflix) The Goldbergs (80s family chaos on Neon) and every episode of Friends, right from the start (TVNZ) - that’s the show you can watch twenty times and still laugh out loud. Enjoy.
LIKING WHAT WE LIKE?
Get more stuff like this, monthly with Hunchmail.