Latest news with #TVNZ+
Scoop
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Chaos, Comedy And Competition: Meet The Cast Of Taskmaster NZ Season 6
Bree Tomasel – Pax Assadi – Jackie van Beek – Jack Ansett – Alice Snedden: Five fresh faces are stepping up to the plate – or, more accurately, into the chaos – as Taskmaster NZ returns for its sixth season this August on TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+. This year's fearless cast includes ZM Drive Host Bree Tomasel, bringing her signature wit and wild energy to the mix; acclaimed comedian, actor and writer Pax Assadi; the sharply funny Jackie van Beek; rising comedy force Jack Ansett; and the razor-sharp writer, comedian and TV powerhouse Alice Snedden. Across 10 brand-new episodes, this eclectic crew will surrender their dignity and sanity to the mighty Taskmaster, Jeremy Wells, and his ever-loyal assistant Paul Williams – all in the name of victory, glory, and points that may or may not make sense. Expect the unexpected, as tasks range from the seemingly simple to the absurdly complex – whether improving the National Anthem, breaking up with an egg on a rollercoaster, or finding a cake and eating it too. Points will be won, pride will be lost, and hilarity is guaranteed. But who will take home the coveted Taskmaster trophy? Taskmaster NZ will premiere on Monday 18 August, 7.30pm on TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+ and continue on Tuesday for a double dose of chaos each week. Notes: TVNZ+ is the home of Taskmaster with Taskmaster NZ, Taskmaster, Taskmaster Australia, Junior Taskmaster, Taskmaster: Champion of Champions, Taskmasterclass, and New Year Treat, all available to stream. Taskmaster NZ is co-produced by Kevin & Co and Avalon with support from NZ On Air. BAFTA and Rose d'Or winning and International Emmy nominated format, hosted by critically-acclaimed comic Greg Davies as The Taskmaster, was created by British comedian Alex Horne, who also stars as the Taskmaster's Assistant, and originally produced by Avalon (Breeders, Starstruck, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, Everything's Gonna Be Okay, Catastrophe).
Tom's Guide
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
How to watch new drama 'The Hunting Wives' online from anywhere for *FREE*
"The Hunting Wives" has arrived with quite a splash, offending and delighting critics and audiences alike. Not a new reality format, unfortunately, but an eight part drama that has been called both a "bonkers bi-sexual culture war soap" and "'Desperate Housewives' with the addition of streaming-TV-level sex"... Ok, calm down, we'll tell you. Here's how to watch "The Hunting Wives" online from anywhere with a VPN. "The Hunting Wives" premieres in New Zealand on Tuesday, July 22 and is available to stream for FREE on TVNZ+.• FREE STREAM — TVNZ Plus (New Zealand)• Canada — Crave • Australia — Stan • U.S./ U.K./ Rest of the World — Netflix• Watch anywhere — try NordVPN 100% risk-free But there's a lot more to the show than just sex. Sophisticated East Coast political PR executive Sophie O'Neill (Brittany Snow) has moved to East Texas, reactionary right-wing Republican country, with her husband and a backstory full of secrets. She's in good company, everybody in this show has secrets. And issues. Substance abuse, swinging, bisexual liaisons and infidelity are all very vanilla in "The Hunting Wives." And so we also have stalking, kidnap and murder. Just throw it all into a huge pot with characters who have everything turned up to 11, season with preposterous plot devices and BINGO! A smash hit series for summer 2025. Read on to find out how to watch "The Hunting Wives" online and from anywhere "The Hunting Wives" premieres in New Zealand on Tuesday, July 22 and is available to stream on TVNZ+. It is also completely FREE. As a Kiwi abroad, you can stream "The Hunting Wives" free on TVNZ Plus from anywhere in the world with a VPN. Full details on how to do that just below. We recommend NordVPN. Away from home at the moment and blocked from watching "The Hunting Wives" on your usual subscription? You can still watch the drama series thanks to the wonders of a VPN (Virtual Private Network). The software allows your devices to appear to be back in your home country regardless of where in the world you are. So ideal for viewers away on vacation or on business. Our favorite is NordVPN. It's the best on the market: NordVPN deal: FREE $50 / £50 Amazon gift card Boasting lightning fast speeds, great features, streaming power, and class-leading security, NordVPN is our #1 VPN. ✅ FREE Amazon gift card worth up to $50/£50✅ 4 months extra FREE!✅ 76% off usual price Use Nord to unblock TVNZ+ and watch "The Hunting Wives" online with our exclusive deal. Using a VPN is incredibly simple. 1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite. 2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance, if you're away from New Zealand, and want to view TVNZ+, you'd select an NZ-based server from the list. 3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to your usual streaming service and watch "The Hunting Wives" online. "The Hunting Wives" is available to stream now on a variety of platforms listed below: 🇨🇦 Crave in Canada, 🇦🇺 Stan in Australia 🇺🇸 Netflix in the U.S.🇬🇧 Currently unavailable in the U.K.. Visiting the U.K. and can't watch "The Hunting Wives"? Tune into your usual streaming service using a VPN like NordVPN. Season 01 Episode 01: "Strange and Unfamiliar Places" - New to East Texas, Sophie O'Neil bonds with the alluring Margo Banks, who shows Sophie another side of life. Meanwhile, an injured woman runs frantically through the woods. S01 E02: "Knockin' Boots" - While Jed considers a run for governor, Margo aims to protect their privacy as the Hunting Wives navigate behind closed doors. Meanwhile, the dead blond woman in the woods is found. S01 E03: "Sunrise Tells the Story" - Margo has a surprise for Sophie, and Callie's jealousy grows, as does Jill's concerns over Brad and Abby. A chilly discovery is made about the unidentified dead woman. S01 E04: "Cheat Day" - Starr demands justice be served for Abby's death as the community mourns her daughter. The wives come to the aid of each other as the Sheriff's office begins its search for the killer. S01 E05: "Not Her First Rodeo" - Sophie desperately tries to manage her situation while Callie navigates possible inroads back to Margo. Meanwhile, Jill is determined to protect her son at all costs. S01 E06: "Deep in the Heart of Texas" - Determined to prove her innocence, Sophie searches for answers while Margo hits the campaign trail. Meanwhile, Brad begins to question his alibi and Nina's fondness for Pete grows. S01 E07: "Shooting Star" - New information in Abby's murder investigation threatens to seal the fate of Sophie and the Hunting Wives. Meanwhile, Starr discovers an unbearable truth. S01 E08: "Sophie's Choice" - Sophie and Margo rest easy knowing the murder is solved… or so they think. Malin Åkerman as Margo Banks Brittany Snow as Sophie O'Neill Dermot Mulroney as Jed Banks Chrissy Metz as Starr Jaime Ray Newman as Callie George Ferrier as Brad Katie Lowes as Jill Evan Jonigkeit as Graham O'Neill Chosen Jacobs as Jamie Branton Box as Sheriff Jonny Madison Wolfe as Abby Jason Davis as Reverend Clint Abigail Rhyne as Nina Paul Teal as Pastor Pete Hunter Emery as Deputy Walter Flynn Karen Rodriguez as Deputy Wanda Salazar Yes, it is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by May Cobb - published in 2021.
Tom's Guide
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
How to watch 'Stranded on Honeymoon Island' online – stream Australian reality TV from anywhere
It's a new reality show from the makers of MAFS and "Stranded on Honeymoon Island" does pretty much what it says on the tin with attractive fame-hungry wannabes trying to find romance while enjoying their 15 minutes of fame. Here's how to watch "Stranded on Honeymoon Island" from anywhere with a VPN and potentially for FREE. "Stranded on Honeymoon Island" season 1 is already available to stream for free in Australia. Release dates for other territories are still TBC.• FREE STREAM — TVNZ Plus (New Zealand)• AUS — 7Plus• Watch anywhere — try NordVPN 100% risk-free In what must surely be the last format of televised matchmaking imaginable (watch this space) "Stranded on Honeymoon Island" sees couples paired up by experts taken to a tropical island in the South Pacific with nothing but their wedding outfits. They are then dumped there. It remains to be see how expert the experts actually are but several pre-broadcast leaks from the show suggest that they might not be involved in the next season. That said, if you have seen the gossip, it could well be worth watching to see how the producers deal with several tricky situations. A British version is also on the way, and no doubt an American edition will follow. For now, you can only watch the original Australian series. Read on to find out how to watch "Stranded on Honeymoon Island" online and on TV. The first season of "Stranded on Honeymoon Island" is available to stream for free on TVNZ+ right now. You can stream "Stranded on Honeymoon Island" free on TVNZ Plus from anywhere in the world with a VPN, as a Kiwi abroad. Full details on how to do that just below. Away from home at the moment and blocked from watching "Stranded on Honeymoon Island" on TVNZ+ or your usual subscription? You can still watch the reality TV dating show thanks to the wonders of a VPN (Virtual Private Network). The software allows your devices to appear to be back in your home country regardless of where in the world you are. So ideal for viewers away on vacation or on business. We recommend NordVPN. There's a good reason you've heard of NordVPN. We specialize in testing and reviewing VPN services and NordVPN is the one of the best VPNs. It's outstanding at unblocking streaming services, it's fast and it has top-level security features too. With over 7,000 servers, across 110+ countries, and at a great price too, it's easy to recommend. Get 70% off NordVPN with this deal Using a VPN is incredibly simple. 1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite. 2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance, if you're away from New Zealand, and want to view TVNZ+, you'd select an NZ-based server from the list. 3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to your usual streaming service and watch "Stranded on Honeymoon Island" 2025 online. "Stranded on Honeymoon Island" Australia is made by and available to stream on 7Plus in Australia. The Australian version of "Stranded on Honeymoon Island" will not be broadcast in the UK but a homegrown version presented by Davina McCall is due on the BBC later this year (per this BBC statement, Mar 1, 2025). Read about it here first. Unfortunately there are no release dates at yet for the Australian version of "Stranded on Honeymoon Island" in the U.S., U.K. and Canada. In the meantime, viewers from New Zealand can tune in for free, as you usually would using a VPN like NordVPN. Georgia & Chad: Georgia, 35, was dumped by her fiancé three days before the wedding so knows all about being stranded. Chad is a 47 year old arthroplasty expert who has been single for most of his life. Your guess is as good as mine. Amy & Mike: Amy, 30, is a TikTok influencer and Mike a comedian and television host. Amy wants to try 'something different to be successful in love.' Jess & Sam: 38-year-old Jess is a professional relationship coach who is... erm.... single. Perhaps Sam, a 31 year old personal trainer from NSW, can show her where she's going wrong. Dani & Emanuel: Emanuel, 33, is a music producer ready to settle down while 35-year-old career coach Dani is all about "You Only Live Once.' What could possibly go right? Emily & Tom: Ambitious corporate executive Emily, 29, is with business analyst Tom, 30, so if it doesn't work out they can work out why with a spreadsheet and run it up a flagpole to see who salutes it. Brie & Byron: Dancer Brie, 29, wants someone who is 'hot, beachy, smart, kind, bad boy, introverted, silly, funny, committed and adventurous [man] with good hygiene'. Is year-old electrician Byron any of those things? We'll soon find out. Amy & Mike: Amy, 30, is a TikTok influencer and Mike a comedian and television host. Amy wants to try 'something different to be successful in love.' Season 01 Episode 01: Six unlucky in love Aussies have been matched and will now be married and stranded together for 21 days to see if in the wildest ever dating experience they can find everlasting love. S01 E02: Three new couples say 'I do' and are whisked away to Honeymoon Island with nothing more than the clothes on their back. S01 E03: It's the first Couples Cove for the newlyweds and sparks are set to fly. S01 E04: Day six hits on our Honeymoon Islands and our couples deep dive into an intimacy crate after washing up on their shores. S01 E05: It's day eight and the couples receive another surprise crate and face off at the next Couples Cove. S01 E06: While some relationships thrive, others face challenges, with the aftermath of Couple Cove's still lingering in the air. S01 E07: As one couple pulls the flare and leaves the experience for good, two couples ignite fire in another way - taking their relationship to the next level. S01 E08: A peek into life beyond the island's shores will burst their love bubbles and the newlyweds will be left to contemplate if they can truly see a future with their partner. The show is narrated by radio host Jackie O (Henderson). She has previously presented shows such as "Popstars", "Big Brother Australia" and "The Masked Singer Australia". We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
1News
19-07-2025
- 1News
Haunting memories: new doco explores horror of growing up in 'care' in NZ
Journalist Aaron Smale has been covering the issue of abuse in care in New Zealand for over a decade and has now been involved with the making of a powerful documentary featuring adult survivors of our children's homes and other institutions. He reflects on the process of sharing part of a story, the whole of which is too big and too ugly to ever truly be told. Watch The Stolen Children of Aotearoa on TVNZ+. How do you tell the story on film of how more than 200,000 children were abused when they were in the custody of the state and how that abuse is connected to colonisation, Māori urbanisation, incarceration, gangs and a decades-long policy by the government to cover it all up? Short answer – you can't. The story is simply too big to be conveyed in any form. But myself and the team at Awa Films made an attempt at it – the result is The Stolen Children of Aotearoa, a nearly two-hour documentary that speaks to more than 20 survivors and also a line-up of advocates and experts. A new documentary tells of a shameful chapter in our history - one of systemic abuse in state care. (Source: Supplied) While I am primarily a print journalist, both a writer and photographer, it was virtually impossible to convey not only the magnitude of the abuse but the damage it has done to so many individuals and generations of whānau. In the last ten years I've written tens of thousands of words and also collaborated on a podcast on the Lake Alice adolescent unit where children were tortured in the 1970s. But there was always so much I couldn't get across. I've also worked intermittently in broadcasting and I knew that there would be something incredibly powerful about seeing and hearing survivors tell their story directly to viewers on a screen. As I have found out, film-making is a long and arduous business that requires a lot of people collaborating to bring a vision to a screen. I know the director Julian Arahanga, an old school mate, would agree that this project was more difficult than others for a number of reasons. The biggest problem we had was there was so many strong stories and compelling moments in the interviews we did with survivors and others. It was agonising making decisions about what to put in which inevitably means a decision about what to leave out. Furthermore, the survivors were not only telling their own individual stories, they were telling the stories of thousands of others that went through similar experiences. Many of them were friends and whānau and many didn't make it. At least two of those on the screen have since passed away. One of the most difficult decisions was around the descriptions of abuse and what to include in a limited timeframe. Although many of the survivors' accounts of abuse that are included in the documentary are horrific, they are by no stretch the worst incidents we heard. But there was a risk of turning the whole documentary into a trauma-porn, which obscures the human being experiencing that trauma. In the end there is enough there to give the viewer a sense of the seriousness of what thousands of children went through. And sometimes the most poignant moments are the silences as survivors struggle to find the words. While most of the survivors are Māori and the historical background is focused on Māori experience, there are also Pacifika and Pākeha voices. Although Māori communities were targeted by police and welfare authorities, so were working class whānau, which included Pākeha and Pacifika. If it was impossible to be comprehensive and answer every question in the documentary, at the very least I hope it raises not only understanding but also further questions for the audience. Why is it, for example, that New Zealand has removed more indigenous children from a smaller population in a shorter space of time than either Canada or Australia, but we are only now having a public reckoning with those events? Why are the stories of the Stolen Generations in Australia and the indigenous residential schools in North America globally known, but what happened in New Zealand is barely known even in New Zealand? Why is is that the connection between the violence inflicted on tens of thousands of children and the violence of prisons and gangs is repeatedly ignored in public discourse, particularly by the media and politicians? How is it that politicians prance around every election competing with each other about how tough they're going to be on crime, when no one was properly held responsible for this mass crime that has been going on for generations? The documentary touches on all these subjects, but the answers have broader implications beyond this immediate issue. For example, part of the reason the New Zealand public is so ignorant of these events and a major reason the state has failed to provide justice to victims of its own abuse is due to what was, in my opinion, the silencing of those victims by the Crown, denying the victims justice because it posed a significant threat of legal and financial liability. Perhaps the most troubling thing I have discovered in ten years of covering state abuse is not just the rape and torture of children, but the calculated ways lawyers, bureaucrats and politicians have gone about covering it up. The documentary implicitly speaks to this institutional willingness to not only abandon its victims but to inflict further harm by perverting and weakening the processes of accountability. One of the very special moments during a screening of the documentary at the Māoriland Film Festival in Otāki was the first moment when the late Moana Jackson comes up on screen. There was a collective gasp and then what I would describe as murmurings of aroha as people heard him speak. It reinforced the decision that we'd made to dedicate the documentary to him. In a conversation I had with Moana once, that didn't make it into the doco, he made the observation: 'Never mind tikanga. The Crown can't even obey its own laws.' I would encourage viewers to consider Moana's observation when watching the documentary and also when they next hear a politician on a soapbox about crime and punishment. I could repeat here some of the words of the victims from the documentary, but I think it best you see and hear them for yourself. There is also an accompanying podcast that is hosted on RNZ. One of the guiding kaupapa for all my work on this subject, including this documentary, is that one of the main objectives of telling these stories is to give survivors the dignity of being heard. For so long they have been silenced, ignored and even told by the Crown that they were lying, despite the Crown having a mountain of evidence that what they were saying was true. The survivors that participated in this documentary and the many other stories I have told are both dignified and heroic. Despite its limitations, I can only hope that it honours them and the many others that they represent. Watch The Stolen Children of Aotearoa on TVNZ+.
1News
14-07-2025
- Business
- 1News
Trump threatens Russia with tariffs and boosts US weapons for Ukraine
President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened Russia with steep tariffs and announced a rejuvenated pipeline for American weapons to reach Ukraine, hardening his stance toward Moscow after months of frustration about unsuccessful negotiations for ending the war. The latest steps reflect an evolving approach from the Republican president, who promised to swiftly resolve the war Russian President Vladimir Putin started when he invaded Ukraine three years ago. Trump has often criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for allowing the war to happen, but more recently has expressed growing irritation toward Putin. 'It just keeps going on and on and on,' Trump said. 'Every night, people are dying.' Trump said he would implement 'severe tariffs' unless a peace deal is reached within 50 days. He provided few details on how they would be implemented, but he described them as secondary tariffs, meaning they would target Russia's trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economy. 'I use trade for a lot of things,' Trump added. 'But it's great for settling wars.' ADVERTISEMENT See more on this story on TVNZ+ Trump also said that European allies would buy 'billions and billions' of dollars of US military equipment to be transferred to Ukraine, replenishing the besieged country's supplies of weapons. He made the announcement in the Oval Office alongside NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Included in the plan are Patriot air defence systems, a top priority for Ukraine as it fends off Russian drones and missiles. Doubts were recently raised about Trump's commitment to supply Ukraine when the Pentagon paused shipments over concerns that US stockpiles were running low. Rutte said Germany, Finland, Canada, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Denmark would be among the buyers to supply Ukraine. He said: 'Speed is of the essence here,' and he said the shipments should make Putin 'reconsider' peace negotiations. Trump exasperated with Putin President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House (Source: Associated Press) ADVERTISEMENT Trump has long boasted of his friendly relationship with Putin, and after taking office in January, repeatedly asserted that Russia was more willing than Ukraine to reach a peace deal. At the same time, Trump accused Zelensky of prolonging the war and called him a 'dictator without elections'. But Russia's relentless onslaught against civilian areas of Ukraine wore down Trump's patience. In April, Trump urged Putin to 'STOP!' launching deadly barrages on Kyiv, and the following month said in a social media post that the Russian leader 'has gone absolutely CRAZY!' as the bombardments continued. Meanwhile, Trump's special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, met with Zelensky in Kyiv on Tuesday. Zelensky said he had 'a productive conversation' with Kellogg about strengthening Ukrainian air defences, joint arms production and purchasing US weapons in conjunction with European countries, as well as the possibility of tighter international sanctions on the Kremlin. 'We hope for the leadership of the United States, because it is clear that Moscow will not stop unless its ... ambitions are stopped by force,' Zelensky said on Telegram. Talks on sending Patriot missiles People look at a damaged residential building following Russian air attack in Lviv, Ukraine (Source: Associated Press) ADVERTISEMENT Russia has pounded Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv, with hundreds of drones and cruise and ballistic missiles that Ukraine's air defences are struggling to counter. June brought the highest monthly civilian casualties of the past three years, with 232 people killed and 1343 wounded, the UN human rights mission in Ukraine said. Russia launched 10 times more drones and missiles in June than in the same month last year, it said. At the same time, Russia's bigger army is making a new effort to drive back Ukrainian defenders on parts of the 1000-kilometre front line. Trump confirmed the US is sending Ukraine more badly needed Patriot air defence missiles and that the European Union will pay the US for the 'various pieces of very sophisticated' weaponry. While the EU is not allowed under its treaties to buy weapons, individual EU member countries can and are, just as NATO member countries are buying and sending weapons. Germany has offered to finance two Patriot systems, government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said Tuesday in Berlin. As for other European countries financing more systems, that would have to be discussed in talks, he said. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius was travelling to Washington on Monday to meet with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. Germany has already given three of its own Patriot systems to Ukraine, and Pistorius was quoted as saying in an interview with the Financial Times that it now has only six. ADVERTISEMENT 'Weapons flowing at a record level' Firefighters work at the site of Russian air attack in Lviv, Ukraine, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (Source: Associated Press) A top ally of Trump, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said Monday that the conflict is nearing an inflexion point as Trump shows growing interest in helping Ukraine fight back against Russia's full-scale invasion. It's a cause that Trump had previously dismissed as being a waste of US taxpayer money. 'In the coming days, you'll see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves,' Graham said on CBS' 'Face the Nation.' He added: 'One of the biggest miscalculations Putin has made is to play Trump. And you just watch, in the coming days and weeks, there's going to be a massive effort to get Putin to the table.' Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's envoy for international investment who took part in talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia in February, dismissed what he said were efforts to drive a wedge between Moscow and Washington. 'Constructive dialogue between Russia and the United States is more effective than doomed-to-fail attempts at pressure,' Dmitriev said in a post on Telegram. 'This dialogue will continue, despite titanic efforts to disrupt it by all possible means.'
