24 It's four years since Adele released her mega-album 21, the follow-up to her debut, 19. Will we finally get to hear 25 - or 26 - this year?
27 Justified, the great unsung American crime show originally based on the writings of Elmore Leonard starts its sixth and final season on SoHo in New Zealand.
FEBRUARY
tbc
Sometime this month TVNZ will be screening latest Marvel offshoot
Agent Carte
r - starring Haley Atwell in her Captain America role - and Shonda Rhimes' latest drama,
How to Get Away with Murder.
Haley Atwell in her Captain America role
8 Better Call Saul, the Breaking Bad offshoot starts screening in the US and on Lightbox in NZ soon after.
21 Dave Grohl's Foo Fighters return to Auckland, playing at Mt Smart Stadium.
23 The 87th Academy Awards hosted by Doogie Howser himself, Neil Patrick Harris.
26 Out today is hacker thriller Blackhat, this month's Chris Hemsworth movie.
MARCH
tbc American subscriber video on demand giant, Netflix will arrive - legitimately - in New Zealand this month and looks like it will cost around $11 a month. It will include a multitude of top shows, including Orange is the New Black and House of Cards (which will have a new season ready to go) plus new shows like Marvel superhero drama Daredevil, and the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the new creation of Tina Fey.
4-22 The Auckland Arts Festival, starring Neneh Cherry among others, comes to the City of Sails
10 The 15 tracks Madonna hasn't already tried - and largely failed - to sell off her new album, Rebel Heart, after much of it leaked online, will be available.
12 Chappie, the latest movie from District 9's Neill Blomkamp and and the first of the year's mad/bad robot movies (see also Terminator: Genisys) hits cinemas.
13-15 Womad, starring Sinead O'Connor among others, comes to New Plymouth.
14 & 15 The Eagles, possibly the only American band that has never allowed Dave Grohl to play drums with them, plays at Mt Smart Stadium.
Chris Hemsworth
19 In the Heart of the Sea, about the events that inspired that whale of a tale Moby Dick - and this month's Chris Hemsworth movie - opens.
APRIL
tbc Season five of Game of Thrones should be arriving sometime early this month - or late the previous one-- which this time round features our very own Keisha Castle Hughes in the role of Obara Sand, one of the eight "Sand Snakes" who are the daughters of Oberyn Martell, one of the blokes who met a grisly death in season four.
Various dates The cleaners at Auckland's Vector Arena will be clocking up overtime this month with a shows at the venue Ed Sheeran (April 10), Rod Stewart (13 and 14), Ricky Martin (April 17), The Black Keys (April 19), Sam Smith (April 22 and 23).
tbc
The seven-episode second half of the final season of groundbreaking show
Mad Men
should be screening about now - how will Don Draper and cope with life after the 1960s? Like for one thing, who took away all the hat stands?
Mad Men's Don Draper
tbc If the timing lines up with the previous 2013 instalment, the second series of The X Factor NZ should be starting sometime this month.
23 Avengers: Age of Ultron, another of the year's mad/bad robot movies - that's Ultron voiced by James Spader - and this month's Chris "Thor" Hemsworth movie hits cinemas for what s sure to be a very lucrative time.
MAY
1 It's the start of the 15th ever New Zealand Music Month. Yay.
Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road
14 Australian George Miller who first made his name as a director in 1979 with his first Mad Max movie, returns with what looks like a remake of his second, 1981's Road Warrior with Mad Max: Fury Road . This one stars Tom Hardy in the Mel Gibson role and Charlize Theron as "Imperator Furiosa" - which is not to be mistaken as a spell from Harry Potter.
JUNE
tbc The second season of HBO's True Detective, this time starring Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams and Vince Vaughn should be upon us, give or take a month.
11 The king of the mad/bad dinosaur movie franchise, Jurassic Park, gets another reboot with Jurassic World, which is set 23 years after the 1993 original when the island has been turned into a theme park. Steven Spielberg is involved only as executive producer. Chris Pratt is involved as the guy being chased by the dinosaurs.
18 Inside Out, the long-awaited next offering by animation giants Pixar, goes on release. The story is about a tween girl's competing emotions - which are depicted as characters inside her head. Yes, a cartoon that is actually about mixed feelings rather than just inspiring them. Clever.
18 Hey, Kanye West. We're gonna let you finish your new album but if it's not about by today, that's two years since you dropped Yeezus. Peace.
Arnie returns as a Terminator
JULY
1 The king of mad/bad robot movie franchises, Terminator, gets another attempt at reboot with Terminator: Genisys, which sees Arnie back as old his T-800 cyborg and stars Game of Thrones princess Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor.
16 Ant-Man, Marvel's second big splash at the cinema this year after Ultron will be this one about the shrinking but strength-enhanced superhero, starring funny guy Paul Rudd in the title role. So How did he get the part? He put some feelers out. Boom boom.
16 Out today is Pan , a prequel to the Neverland story about how Peter Pan came to be. Stars a very bald Hugh Jackman as pirate Blackbeard.
AUGUST
1 Good news. It's only 138 days until the release of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Otherwise, it appears nothing is happening in entertainment this month. A good time for U2, Radiohead, or Beyonce to drop a new album on us without warning, then.
SEPTEMBER
17 Today sees the release of Everest a thriller based on the 1996 expedition to Mt Everest when a blizzard killed eight people including New Zealand mountain guide Rob Hall. Hall is played by Australian actor Jason Clarke and his wife Jan Arnold - who he called at home as the weather left him unable go on - is played by Keira Knightley.
27 The second anniversary of the release of Lorde's debut, Pure Heroine. Doesn't look like there will be a sophomore effort this year. If so, it would have to be out by the end of this month if it was going to be up for 2016 Grammy consideration.
OCTOBER
9 The Jungle Book, a performance-capture take on the Rudyard Kiping tale - best known for its 1967 Disney animated version - heads to cinemas. The cast includes Bill Murray (Baloo), Christopher Walken (King Louie), Benedict Cumberbatch (the tiger Shere Khan) but no Chris Hemsworth.
19 A 74-year-old Neil Diamond will bring his very big songbook back to Vector Arena.
NOVEMBER
1 Good news. It's only 46 days until the release of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.
19 Spectre, the 24th Bond film and Mockingjay Part 2, only the fourth Hunger Games movie, are released on the same day. A thought: Katniss Everdeen would have been a good Bond girl name.
19 Rihanna probably would have released something by now but if not, by now it would be three years since Unapologetic - and before this gap she released seven albums in eight years.
21 A 68-year-old Sir Elton John will bring his very big songbook to Wellington's Westpac Stadium.
DECEMBER
17 Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Apparently, it's the most anticipated film of the year to hit cinemas.
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