An 'absurdist comedy triumph', two new prestige crime miniseries and the search for Taskmaster's all-time champion are some of things you can look forward to this week. Photo / The Spinoff
An 'absurdist comedy triumph', two new prestige crime miniseries and the search for Taskmaster's all-time champion are some of things you can look forward to this week. Photo / The Spinoff
We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+.
If you love a haunting crime thriller: Under the Bridge (Disney+, June 12)
A huge week for fans of prestige crime miniseries, with the much-anticipated Under the Bridge, starring Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon) and Riley Keough (Daisy Jones and the Six) arriving this Wednesday. Based on Rebecca Godfrey’s book, Under the Bridge focuses on the human toll of high-profile homicide. It’s been called “an unblinking look at the ways we fail each other and, perhaps more importantly, ourselves”. Once you’re done with that, Apple TV’s Presumed Innocent comes out on June 14, following a murder case that gets turned upside down when an attorney involved becomes a suspect.
If you love a campy crime thriller: The Brokenwood Mysteries (TVNZ1, June 16)
New Zealand’s answer to Midsomer Murders returns to TVNZ1 this weekend for its 10th season, and there’s something cosy and comforting about returning year after year to these colourful small-town characters and their unbelievably absurd deaths. This season is said to feature “a brutal murder with a Jurassic twist, a spooky crime scene amidst the Day of the Dead, a lovestruck dental patient and a vicious visit to a House of Horrors”. God defend our free land.
If you love absurdist comedy: Fantasmas (Neon, June 16)
Early reviews have called this new comedy series “an immersive journey into a singular mind”, an “absurdist triumph” and “like nothing else on TV”. Created by and starring Julio Torres (Problemista, Saturday Night Live), the series has a loose overarching plot about a man being evicted from his water tower but appears to be about so much more – a critique of Hollywood, an exploration of immigrant identity, and something about hamsters. Packed with star-studded vignettes featuring Emma Stone, Aidy Bryant and Steve Buscemi as an ageing rocker with a blue mohawk, this is one for people who don’t mind a spot of buzzy viewing.
If you love New Zealanders and ultraviolence: The Boys S4 (Prime Video, June 13)
For those who prefer their superheroes with a side of swearing, nudity, gore, and commentary on the American military-industrial complex, The Boys is returning this week for a fourth season. Starring New Zealand acting legends Anthony Starr and Karl Urban, this season picks up in a world that is on the brink of chaos. A tyrant is in charge of the White House, Urban and Starr remain trapped in their Batman and Joker-inspired tension, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Walking Dead, Grey’s Anatomy) will be joining the cast in a mystery role. We’re just looking forward to seeing Starr’s famously chill high-wire scene again.
If you love Taskmaster: Taskmaster Champion of Champions (TVNZ, June 12)
The new instalment of Taskmaster features former contestants Dara Ó Briain, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Morgana Robinson, Sarah Kendall and Sophie Duker. Photo / The Spinoff
We’re big fans of Taskmaster here at The Spinoff, setting ourselves the excruciating annual task of ranking every task from the local iteration of the series. For a much more soothing experience, this one-off Taskmaster UKspecial pits the winners of the last couple of seasons against each other to crown one winner of a terrifying gold Greg Davies sculpture. Features former contestants Dara Ó Briain, Morgana Robinson, Sarah Kendall, Sophie Duker and Kiell Smith-Bynoe.
