Screening Guide: Kiwi musos’ 8-hour charity gig for cyclone victims and Yellowjackets buzzes back

New Zealand singer Bic Runga will perform at the fundraising concert #Maranga Rise Up Aotearoa, broadcast on Whakaata Māori, TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+

#Maranga Rise Up Aotearoa

(Whakaata Māori, TVNZ+ & TVNZ 2)

If you’ve missed the telethon era, where charity literally began at home albeit in front of the television, then this could be the televised good cause you’ve been looking for. While #Maranga Rise Up Aotearoa isn’t running the full weekend like the telethon days of yore, it will still take up most of your Saturday.

The eight-hour live charity concert is raising funds for the communities and whānau hit by devastating Cyclone Gabrielle. It kicks off at 11am and runs until 7pm and boasts an impressive constellation of Aotearoa’s musical stars on its line-up. We’re talking Bic Runga, Teeks, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Troy Kingi, Stan Walker, Che Fu, Anna Coddington, Muroki, Ardijah, Louis Baker, Ria Hall, Rob Ruha and King Kapisi to name but a few who will be taking the stage.

Keeping the show running will be TVNZ Breakfast presenters Matty McLean and Jenny-May Clarkson, who will be joined throughout the day by guests like Stacey Morrison, Moana Maniapoto, Neil Waka, and Matai Rangi Smith who will be on the ground at the gig.

This is also where you can be if you fancy experiencing the show in person rather than from in front of your screen. The free concert takes place at West Auckland’s Parrs Park. It’s a family-friendly event so leave your booze at home and be sure to give generously. For those watching along at home, there are a few ways to donate but the easiest will be to simply text KOHA to 206 to make an instant $3 donation.

Running all day Saturday from 11 am.

Yellowjackets

(Neon)

The stinging cult smash returns for a second season of dual timeline, survival horror, psychological thriller and murder mystery shenanigans. Which, yes, is a lot for one series to juggle. Yellowjackets, however, masterfully manages to keep these balls in the air.

Melanie Lynskey as Shauna in the second season of Yellowjackets. Streaming on Neon.

If you missed it, the show’s about the survivors of a teenage girls’ soccer team whose plane crashes in the woods. It splits its two timelines between the teens’ Lord of the Flies-style existence surviving the harsh winter in the wilderness and the girls all grown up in the present day dealing with the trauma and secrets behind their survival. One of which may or may not, but most probably does, include cannibalism.

The show’s strikingly original and thoroughly addictive and features a killer cast including Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis and our very own Melanie Lynskey in the lead. Advance reviews are saying the new season is living up to the lofty expectations set by the first with one critic calling it “even better than its buzzy predecessor”.

Streaming from Friday

Wellmania

(Netflix)

This eight-part dramedy follows a young woman named Liv who embarks on a wellness journey after a major health crisis. Embracing wellness with the same enthusiasm that she embraced her former life of, er, unwellness - too much booze, bad food etc. - she discovers that downing pinot is a lot easier than doing pull-ups.

Comedian Celeste Barber as Liv Healy in Wellmania. Streaming on Netflix from Wednesday.

The Aussie series stars comedian and Instagram star Celeste Barber in the lead. It’s loosely based on the well-received, non-fiction book of the same name by journalist Brigid Delaney that investigated the claims of the wellness industry while also living them.

In advance press, Barber promised the show centred around “interesting, dynamic and complex lead female characters”, which sounds just s-well.

Streaming from Wednesday.