We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+.
If you love the Olympics of kapa haka: The Road to Te Matatini S2 (TVNZ+, February 6)
In season two of The Road to Te Matatini, Wairangi Koopu will again travel up and down the motu visiting teams poised to perform at Te Matatini.
Te Matatini is the premiere event for competitive kapa haka in Aotearoa, and the road to the event, as described by The Spinoff’s Charlotte Muru-Lanning, is “long, hard and totally life-changing”. In season two of The Road to Te Matatini, rugby league legend Wairangi Koopu will again travel up and down the motu visiting teams poised to perform at Te Matatini. He’ll learn about the mahi performers have put in to grace the hallowed stage and also explore the link between kapa haka and whānaungatanga. Hear the call of The Road to Te Matatini and check out this enlightening look into the Olympics of kapa haka.
If you’re wed to reality TV: Married at First Sight Australia (ThreeNow, February 3)
MAFSAU's 12th season might be the most diabolical yet.
Season 12 of the Australian reality behemoth might just be the most diabolical yet. Here’s Alex Casey on what makes it so great: “There are barely the words to describe the stronghold that MAFSAU has over those who are wed to it in holy reality matrimony. The gargantuan task of watching four 90-minute episodes a week for months is not for the faint-hearted, but those who brave the experiment will be rewarded with endless entertainment, unbelievably deft storytelling techniques and genuine revelations about the complexity of the human experience and the quest for connection. Even if it has become a Monster of the Week show, I truly believe it is the greatest reality show on Earth. Nobody does it like the Australians, and frankly nobody else should.”
If you enjoy true-ish crime thrillers: Apple Cider Vinegar (Netflix, February 6)
If you were on the internet in the early 2010s you might remember Belle Gibson, an Australian wellness influencer who beat brain cancer by healing herself with an all-natural diet she promoted through her insanely successful app. Turns out that it was all a con – she never had brain cancer. Netflix has now turned the outrageous story of Gibson into Apple Cider Vinegar, a riveting six-part satirical thriller that traces the rise and fall of the conwoman’s wellness empire. Starring American Kaitlyn Dever doing a choice Australian accent, the show is sure to be a stinging exploration of the dark side of wellness and influencer culture.
If you love heart-felt comedies: Clean Slate (Prime Video, February 6)
Produced by the legendary Norman Lear, trail-blazing activist Laverne Cox stars in the hotly-anticipated comedy Clean Slate. Cox is Desiree, a New York art gallerist who returns to her rural Alabama hometown after 20 years to reveal to her estranged father that she’s now a proud trans woman. A side-splitting show about family and unconditional love, the two work to repair their fraught relationship whilst facing coming-of-age milestones that they previously missed out on. With a charming blend of pathos and laughter, Clean Slate is the perfect after-work pick-me-up.
If you’re a foodie: Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros (DocPlay, February 3)
The 93-year-old master-documentarian Frederick Wiseman has been called “one of the most important and original filmmakers working today”. His 44th and possibly last documentary, the transportive Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros, reveals the inner workings of Troisgros, a ludicrously expensive French fine-dining restaurant that’s held three Michelin stars for more than 50 years. Without music, on-screen text and voice-overs, this mammoth four-hour documentary is an acquired taste. But take a chance and set an evening (or three) aside to digest this “graceful and captivating movie”.
Pick of the Flicks: The Order (Prime Video, February 6)
If you’ve seen Snowtown or Nitram, you’ll know that acclaimed Australian director Justin Kurzel is drawn to outlaws and outsiders. He’s on familiar territory with The Order, an 80s-set cat-and-mouse thriller set between a hard-drinking FBI agent (Jude Law) and a violent neo-Nazi gang led by the magnetic Bob Mathews (Nicholas Hoult). Based on real events and premiering at the Venice Film Festival, one critic described the film as an “absorbing, beautifully shot, impressively acted crime thriller”. Echoing Trump’s America, The Order might not be an easy watch, but it’ll to be a bloody good one.
