It's in Campbell's Live old spot and is surely the cheapest reality show on air right now. But is Come Dine With Me actually a genius move by TV3?

A kid ate hash brownies on Shortland Street this week. This can only mean one thing: the whacky winter season is well and truly under way.

The dancing ‘soldier boys’ perfectly translate human strength and fragility in the war, writes Bernadette Rae.

A man with a bomb for a head cradling a baby. A human puppet controlled by chains. A war machine coming apart at the seams. And a cartoon rocket smiling as it drops bombs disguised as teeth.

The promos aired for weeks, showing people - some short, some disfigured, some in wheelchairs - all united by their desire to find love.

This miniature portrait of a girl running away from her troubled mother evokes a lot of short words. Red Leap Theatre's Dust Pilgrim opens in a bleak desert dystopia.

Creepy and strange goings-on in new mystery/thriller series keep the cliffhangers coming for Karl Puschmann.

Here's a recent headline from the New York Post: "A$AP Rocky had three acid-fuelled orgies at SXSW."

As the cast go about their work it is clear that Hamlet is in the hands of seasoned professionals deeply committed to their craft and passionate in their engagement with Shakespeare’s language.

Once you know the story about Unknown Mortal Orchestra frontman Ruban Nielson's experience with polyamory while this album was in creation, it's hard to forget.

A small war in the contested Black Sea state of Abkhazia is the backdrop to this gripping and focused chamber piece, which made the final five in the best foreign film category at this year's Oscars.

Australian electronic duo Hermitude mix synth keys, deep bass and drums to create the sound of their fifth studio album, Dark Night Sweet Light.

Five Game of Thrones fans share their thoughts on season five's eighth episode, Hardhome.

Even by reality TV standards it seems a thin concept: take 10 public figures in varying stages of decline or repose, and see if any of them can learn to dance.

Death and the Maiden steers away from specific political considerations and takes on the more difficult issue of how to respond to the dehumanising effects of sanctioned cruelty.

There are many different forms of Enlightenment and in the hands of award-winning British playwright Shelagh Stephenson it becomes a cool, sophisticated piece of theatre.

Silicon Valley is the Apple of comedy. A show that's so smart, even dummies like me can get into it, writes Karl Puschmann.

The final half hour of this daily current affairs show rose above its remit to become an event, writes Karl Puschmann.

There's nothing to make you yearn for the good ol' days of music quite like a 19-piece jazz orchestra.

Overshadowed by other seismic shifts in our TV landscape, Maori TV recently debuted local Friday-night comedies Brown Eye and Find Me a Maori Bride.

French director Anne Fontaine talks to Dominic Corry about her new film, Gemma Bovery.

Four Game of Thrones fans share their thoughts on season five's seventh episode, The Gift.

This doco, made and heavily branded by the V&A, is likely to be as close as fans here will get to it without an airfare.

Poltergeist 2015 is a faithful tribute, produced with an eye to introducing the Steven Spielberg-produced original - and the phrase "they're here" - to a new audience.