SECOND SEASON SUCCESS
Sequels, more often than not, have diminishing returns, but sometimes - just sometimes - the stories bounce back. The creators behind Fleabag and Big Little Lies had ruled out second seasons, feeling satisfied with the way their initial stories had concluded. But both found new, compelling reasons to return to their characters; Fleabag 2 explored its structure in an absolutely genius way, while Big Little Lies 2 has found new depths in the aftermath of tragedy (and in a sinister new character played by Meryl Streep). Now, as Dead to Me, Russian Doll and Bodyguard announce returning seasons after brilliant first runs, it seems that sometimes, more is more.
THE MOVIE SEQUEL SLUMP
While TV might be having a run of good luck with its sequels, the same cannot be said for movies this year. Sequels and reboots like Men in Black, The Secret Life of Pets, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Shaft, Godzilla, Glass and more came and went, leaving a trail of disappointment in their wake. Avengers and John Wick seemed to do well enough, but their success doesn't quite outweigh the resounding cries from Hollywood that the sequel might finally be dead - or at least, that perhaps it should be.
LOCAL TV GAMBLES PAYING OFF
Local TV seems to come in peaks and troughs, but 2019 is definitely a peak. A slate of innovative, creative new shows straddling a range of genres has hit our screens - including black comedy Fresh Eggs, political thriller The Bad Seed, improvised comedy Educators and the wonderful second season of The Casketeers. That only scratches the surface of everything else in production β Golden Boy, Straight Forward, The Gulf, The Luminaries and a second season of Wellington Paranormal are all on the horizon. It seems the peak TV era has finally hit on a local level: networks are becoming less risk-averse, and New Zealand creators are cleverly exploring modern platforms. It's a golden age for local content right now, and we're absolutely spoilt for choice.
REALITY MEETING FICTION
2019 seems to be the year of the docu-drama, mixing real-life events with fictional storytelling for ultimate impact. Just look at the insane β and totally unexpected β success of Chernobyl; a series which was probably meant to drop quietly in the background but suddenly became the highest rated TV show ever. Similarly, Ava DuVernay's When They See Us has been the most watched show on Netflix every single day since it released on May 31, and Netflix has just announced another docu-drama called Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan, which is set to release later this year.
