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 local comedy series: Kid Sister (TVNZ+, June 17)
Kid Sister is a semi-autobiographical series created by, written by and starring Simone Nathan. Photo / TVNZ, The Spinoff
Welcome back to local comedy Kid Sister, the semi-autobiographical series created by, written by and starring Simone Nathan. Nathan plays Lulu, a young woman who last season struggled to navigate some of life’s big issues, including juggling the expectations of her Jewish-New Zealand family while also coming to terms with an unexpected pregnancy. Season two picks up a few months after season one, and dives deep into Lulu and Ollie’s (played by Paul Williams, Nathan’s real-life husband) relationship. Can they withstand the realities of their differences, and will Lulu manage to find her place in the world?
If you want to live more sustainably: My Dream Green Home (TVNZ+, June 19)
My Dream Green Home is ready to inspire New Zealanders to transform their homes. Photo / TVNZ, The Spinoff
New lifestyle series My Dream Green Home is ready to inspire New Zealanders to transform their homes “from eco-nightmares to eco-fabulous”. Each week host Rhiannon McCall will be joined by a team of experts who will help a new family or group transform their home and lifestyle to be more environmentally friendly, providing affordable life hacks to help viewers at home. Experts include the Two Raw Sisters, organics chefs and authors Rose and Margo, renovator and influencer Jen Jones, and award-winning garden designer Bayley LuuTomes.
If you love a New Zealand film: Uproar (Neon, June 20)
Julian Dennison, Rhys Darby, James Rolleston and Minnie Driver star in this 2023 film set against the backdrop of the 1981 Springbok tour protests. Dennison plays Dunedin high school student Josh, who experiences a cultural awakening that jolts him out of his teenage ambivalence and sets him on a dramatic course for self-discovery and belonging. Currently sitting at 100 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, critics called Uproar “heartwarming and inspirational” and “an engaging and affecting story of confusion, anger, bravery, and rebellion, but also of love, freedom, and joy.”
If you love a sports documentary: Federer: Twelve Final Days (Prime Video, June 20)
You don’t need to know much about tennis to know that Roger Federer was one of the greatest players the game has ever seen. Prime Video’s new sports doco captures the world champion’s final two weeks before his retirement in 2022, with footage that was originally captured as a home video. The film shows Federer at his “most candid and vulnerable self”, as he prepares to say goodbye to the game that had defined his life for so many years.
If you love a big budget drama: House of the Dragon (Neon, June 17)
A new season of the Game of Thrones prequel drops this week, with season two delivering as many impressive special effects, compelling drama and political angst as the first. “The endless double-crossing and manoeuvring were some of the greatest pleasures of Game of Thrones, and House of the Dragon looks set to continue in that tradition,” we wrote when season one dropped in 2022. “That’s not to say the show lacks wow moments – the dragons in particular look incredible, and with a rumoured $15-$20 million per episode budget so they should. But it’s plain from the very first scene, when a young Viserys (Paddy Considine) is made royal heir over cousin Rhaenys (Eve Best), that family dynamics and political alliances will be the driving force of all that is to come.”
