High Country is the ideal crime drama for a cold winter night
Plus: Award-winning comedy Hacks is back, there's a new must-see movie with an incredible New Zealand cast, and Troy Kingi goes to the desert.
Happy Friday everyone. I’ve been counting down the days until the new season of Hacks drops, and if you haven’t watched the award-winning comedy before, Alex Casey has all the reasons why you should put it to the top of your watchlist this weekend. There’s also the charming new doco series that follows Troy Kingi to the Californian desert, and a dark new Australian murder-mystery to binge your way through as the nights get colder. Happy watching!
ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series is a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.
High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells the story of a police detective who is transferred to the small town of Brokenridge, and begins to investigate a series of local disappearances. The more the detective delves into the disappearances, the deeper she finds herself entangled in a web of murder and lies.
What’s good?
If you love a Scandi-noir drama, you’ll enjoy High Country. The scenery is spectacular, with the snowy mountains and thick forests a refreshing change to the dry and dusty vibe of other Australian crime thrillers like The Tourist or Mystery Road. You can practically feel the damp, heavy air of High Country through the screen, and the brooding setting suits the show’s dark storyline. High Country was created by the team behind Wentworth, another Australian series that knows the power of an intense environment.
Leah Purcell (Wentworth, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart) is hugely compelling as the no-bullshit city detective Andie Whitford, who’s sent to Brokenridge to replace retiring police chief Sam Dyson (Derry Girls’ Ian McElhenny). Andie discovers a missing man even before she’s reached town, and is shocked to learn that five people have vanished in the area over the past few years, all within a 40km radius. “In the city, we call that a pattern,” she tells Sam. “Out here, it’s a fact of life,” he replies.
Purcell leads a talented cast, including New Zealander Sara Wiseman (who plays Andie’s wife Helen), Aaron Pederson, Linda Cropper and McElhenney. The series captures all of those intricate relationships that exist in an isolated rural community, a place where everyone is connected to everyone else, and they all have secrets. Andie is an outsider who struggles to connect with the community, but her investigation into these disappearances also leads her on a path of discovery about her own Indigenous heritage and culture.
What’s not-so-good
“People disappearing into the wilderness” is… not exactly a new idea for a murder mystery. And it feels like High Country ticks every box in the genre: big city cop arrives in a small town, everyone in the community has something to hide, and the police officer’s private and personal worlds are about to collide. It’s the same familiar premise that the brilliant Deadloch was poking fun at.
The first episode felt like it needed something else to make it really stand out in a crowded field, but it’s still a solid crime thriller with a great cast and plenty of twists. Purcell’s compelling performance is highly watchable, and the cliffhanger at the end of episode one left me wanting more.
The verdict: Watch it
If you’re looking for something dark and moody to hunker down with on a cold winter’s night, High Country will satisfy. The performances are strong, the scenery is stunning and the storyline will keep you interested – just don’t expect this comfortable murder mystery to venture too deep into the unknown.
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Why you should watch: Hacks (TVNZ+)
Hacks is quite simply one of the best new comedies of the last few years. First of all, here’s a comedy with two women in leading roles and one of them is over 65 and isn't even Betty White?! Second of all, the series tackles so much interesting and nuanced stuff around MeToo and cancel culture while still somehow being incredibly funny. Forcing a Joan Rivers-inspired stand-up looking to refresh her act together with a millennial moaner who has been deeply cancelled online, it's an inter-generational journey unlike any other. Don’t just take our word for it though – in our My Life in TV series, local comedy legend Michèle A’Court said that episode eight of season one is “the most beautiful, horrible, satisfying” bit of telly she’s ever seen. The third season returns today to TVNZ+, and I simply cannot wait to get stuck in. / Alex Casey
Why you should watch: Troy Kingi’s Desert Hikoi (TVNZ+)
A new documentary series on TVNZ+ follows award winning musician and actor Troy Kingi, as he takes a spiritual journey from Aotearoa to Joshua Tree National Park in California. In his search for creative inspiration, Kingi looks to the wisdom of the desert environment and its indigenous people as he records his latest album (the eighth of his 10 albums across 10 genres over 10 years) at the iconic Rancho de la Luna Studio – and meets a few of his music heroes along the way.
More pop culture on The Spinoff:
Hearing one particular piece of classical music every Sunday night during the 90s meant that it was time for bed. Anna Rawhiti-Connell delved into how the theme song for Sunday Masterpiece Theatre became so iconic.
Our new to streaming features the shows dropping this week, including the outstanding documentary Dame Valerie Adams: More Than Gold (Neon).
I spoke to the delightful Naomi Toilalo about her inspiring new show Food Waste Kitchen (ThreeNow), which challenges top New Zealand chefs to make a three course meal for the community, only using rejected food.
Don’t miss Alex Casey’s brilliant round-up of the best New Zealand music that somehow ended up in Hollywood movies.
To bring TrueBliss week to a close, TrueBliss singer and actress Megan Alatini discussed the life-changing impact of reality television in this week’s My Life in TV.
I loved Hera Lindsay Bird’s handy primer for arts spokespeople who know nothing about New Zealand art.
Why you should watch: The Moon is Upside Down (in cinemas now)
Written and directed by Loren Taylor (Eagle vs Shark), this local film features perhaps the most stacked cast list in any New Zealand film ever made. Alongside Taylor, who also stars, stands a veritable Mount Rushmore of acting royalty – Robyn Malcolm! Robbie Magasiva! Elizabeth Hawthorne! Jemaine Clement! Rachel House! Ginette McDonald! Following the stories of three women on very different life journeys in the wider Wellington region, the movie is a singular experience which Taylor described to me as "an existential cathartic dramedy". There's a mail-order bride adjusting to life in the wops, a busy divorcee going camping with her long distance beau, and a moneyed landlord on a road trip with a rather quiet passenger (her former tenant's ashes). Sometimes sad, sometimes funny, sometimes bleak, and entirely worth spending your money on this weekend. / Alex Casey
You might also like:
If Alex’s recommendation isn’t enough to tempt you, check out her interview with Loren Taylor and discover the fascinating story about how the film was made.
Before we pop off…
New Zealand drama After the Party (TVNZ+) started this week in Australia, with one reviewer concluding that Robyn Malcolm’s performance “ranks among the best television portrayals in years, from anywhere in the world”.
Tiki Taane’s concert with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra is now available to watch on TVNZ+.
The new expert who’ll join John Aiken in the upcoming season of Married at First Sight: New Zealand has been revealed – and sadly it’s not Lucinda Light.
It’s NZ Music Month, so check out what’s happening in your corner of Aotearoa.
Want to work at The Spinoff? We’re looking for a new staff writer!
That’s it for Rec Room for this week. If you liked what you read, why not share Rec Room with your friends and whānau.
