We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+.
If you like award-winning local drama: Madam (ThreeNow, July 4)
Madam is the latest local production arriving from Te Puna Kairangi, the premium fund that’s given us glossy thrillers such as Dark City: The Cleaner and critical smashes like After the Party. Based on the true story of an American woman who started an ethical brothel in small town New Zealand, Madam boasts a jaw-dropping cast including Golden Globe winner Rachel Griffiths (from Six Feet Under!), Rima Te Wiata, Martin Henderson, Danielle Cormack and Robbie Magasiva, plus a slew of cameos from local comedy legends. We’ve seen the first few eps and bloody loved it, but don’t just take our word for it - Madam recently won the Golden Nymph award for Best Creation at the Monte Carlo TV Festival. We’re… (m)adamant you should pencil this one in (sorry).
If you like murderously good reality TV: The Traitors NZ (ThreeNow, July 1)
The reality TV format that’s swept the world returns to New Zealand screens for a second season, and mates, it looks good. A new group of amateur sleuths enter a spooky mansion near Timaru to play a hectic murder-mystery game in the hope of winning $100,000, and while last season featured a hectic mish-mash of celebrities and normal people, season two is entirely made up of “normies”. Who will become the traitors, who will annoy host Paul Henry, and who will end up sitting in a bath of maggots? Can’t wait to find out.
If you miss the 90s: Gladiators (TVNZ+, July 4)
One of Britain’s biggest light entertainment shows of the 90s has been rebooted for 2024, this time hosted by father and son duo Bradley and Barney Walsh. The format is exactly the same: brave everyday people (the contenders) compete against gladiatorial super-athletes called Nitro, Phantom and Giant, in a series of intense physical challenges. Whether the rebooted version will have the pulling power of the original is up for debate - but if it’s not spicy enough for you, there’s always the 2023 Netflix documentary about the shocking behind-the-scenes drama of the US version.
If you miss the 80s: Brats (Disney+, July 5)
If you’re a fan of classic 80s teen movies like Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink, then the new documentary Brats is for you. Actor Andrew McCarthy - who’s now 61, if you can believe it - was one of the original “Brat Pack” of young actors who ruled American cinemas in the 1980s. Four decades later, McCarthy sets out to reunite with many of his fellow Brat Packers – including Demi Moore, Ally Sheedy, Rob Lowe and Emilio Estevez – to find how the term defined their lives and careers, for better or worse. Were they really brats, or just teenagers riding the pop culture wave of a lifetime?
If you like a whodunnit: Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (ThreeNow, July 1)
Based on the bestselling novel by Holly Jackson, the BBC’s Good Girl’s Guide to Murder will be a must-watch for fans of a good mystery. Set in the fictional town of Little Kilton, the story is centred around teen protagonist Pip Fitz-Amobi, who decides to crack open an allegedly “solved” murder case from five years prior. In attempting to unearth what really happened in their sleepy small town, Pip starts to unravel a giant mystery which appears to be part Lord of the Flies, part Agatha Christie, part Twin Peaks. Find your old pipe and magnifying glass and get involved ASAP.
