How to cope with the looming content crisis
We appear to be running out of TV. That may not be a bad thing. Plus, Ahsoka steadies the Star Wars ship, and everything you need to plan your weekend's entertainment.
We didn’t know how good we had it. Every week seemed to deliver another wave of content washing over us. It felt like we were drowning in the stuff. How quickly things can change. With no sign of an end to the writers’ strike, or the actors’ strike, and streaming services struggling to find a model that works, the content creation system is showing serious signs of speed wobbles. As a result, TV release dates are being delayed and movies are being postponed. Looking ahead to the rest of the year, the pipeline is slowing to a trickle. But that doesn’t mean the good days are over. In fact, this could be a great thing! Confused? Let me explain…
-Chris Schulz, Rec Room editor
What do you watch when there’s nothing new to see on TV?
It was the weekend. It was raining outside. There was nothing to do. I’d been to the movies to see Barbie, Oppenheimer and Gran Turismo (don’t judge me, I have a 13-year-old son). I needed a TV show. You know the kind: something I could easily binge four episodes of then find myself dusting off the popcorn crumbs while looking at the clock going “How is it 2am already?”
From – yes, the name of the show is From, probably the most un-Googleable show in the world – seemed like it might do the job. “From the creators of Lost,” screams one tagline. It’s got a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Reviews are promising. The trailer shows plenty of suspicious spookiness. All promising signs.
Here’s the premise: a random selection of people are stuck in a small American town. They can’t call for help. They don’t know why they’re there. They also can’t leave: all roads lead back to the town. At night, they have to lock their windows and doors or they’ll be captured by spectral figures wafting around outside.
It’s a mystery box show, kind of like Wayward Pines and Under the Dome hanging out in a forest with The Blair Witch Project doing arts and crafts with twigs.
By the end of From’s first episode, a new family has turned up, a small girl’s been grabbed through an open window by a ghoul and a very stressed sheriff (played by Harold Perrineau, another Lost link) has found a few reasons to wave his gun around. There’s also something strange going on with the rock totems hanging on everyone’s walls. Everyone could be dead? Perhaps it’s purgatory? Theories abound. Why are they here? It’s that kind of show.
From isn’t a new show – it’s taken 18 months to find its way onto local screens. The fact I only heard about it last week is an indication of just how much content there’s been lately. Every week brings a deluge of big new shows to choose from. We’ve been spoilt for choice. Just a few months ago, I was juggling episodes of Dead Ringers, Succession, The Bear and Silo all at the same time, an embarrassment of riches.
This appears to be coming to an end. The cupboards are bare. The writers’ strike is now into its fourth month, and the actors’ strike into its second, with few signs of a deal being struck any time soon. Right now, writers are not writing and actors are not acting. They’re picketing streaming services, protesting over low pay, a lack of support and the potential for AI to take over their jobs. Here’s Bob Odenkirk, along with his Better Call Saul cast mates, donning handprinted tees and enjoying the Los Angeles sun.
For us at home looking for shows to watch, it means the pipeline is slowing to a trickle. With no one available to promote them, few big shows are being given launch dates. On Vulture’s recent list of its 37 most anticipated shows for the rest of the year, I found about four that I was really, truly excited about, and even that was a stretch. Severance isn’t coming back anytime soon. Neither’s House of the Dragon or The Rings of Power.
The glory days appear to be over. But that might not be such a bad thing. Three months ago there was too much content, so much it seemed impossible to stay in the loop and keep up with the zeitgeist. Now, you have time to catch up on all that content you missed. Didn’t have time for Wild Horses or Hijack on Apple TV+? Go for it! Missed out on Prime Video’s Deadloch or Dead Ringers? Now’s your chance!
Get creative. Go digging. Find some back catalogues to dive into. Now is the time to sink your teeth into all five seasons of What We Do in the Shadows, or to gasp at Netflix’s depressing documentaries about extreme sports athletes in The Deepest Breath and The Alpinist. Re-watch Breaking Bad, then chase it with Better Call Saul. Personally, I’ve been loving Alone, the extreme Survivor show that has one season on Netflix and Three on TVNZ+. Painkiller, the Netflix series about the opioid crisis, is also calling me.
Apparently everyone in the US is ripping through Suits again, even though the legal drama finished after nine seasons in 2019. If that’s not for you, you could get among all those corporate crash stories like The Dropout (Disney+), Super Pumped (Neon) and WeCrashed (Apple TV+). Or maybe you want to divert your streaming dollars to sport – there are rugby and cricket World Cups just around the corner, and the European football season is back underway.
I know someone who has still never seen a single episode of The Sopranos. His time is now. You’re free to go exploring, take some risks, indulge. Turn the content crisis into a content adventure. Become the David Attenborough of streaming. You don’t know what riches await you. Whatever you do, please share you finds with me. Pretty soon, if these strikes don’t let up, we might all need a little help looking for things to watch.
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Far North is a hit because of course it is
It's been a long time since we've had news worth celebrating about a local drama shows. Finally, we have some: Far North, the show Rec Room called a "Guy Ritchie-style misadventure ... that's all too real", is a bonafide hit. After airing four episodes of the six-part series, Three says the Northland drug caper has delivered "spectacular results" to become the number one local show on ThreeNow, pipped only by MAFS Australia for the overall top spot. Nearly half a million viewers tuned in for episode one. “It’s a massive win for the television industry as a whole,” says South Pacific Pictures CEO Kelly Martin. Let’s hope she’s right. Clearly, we want to watch our stories, and our people, on TV. Let's make more shows like Far North, pronto.
Where’s the third season of How to With John Wilson?
I feel like I’m becoming a stuck record. Last week’s complaint was about the third season of Reservation Dogs showing no sign of landing on local screens. This week I’m wondering the same thing about How To with John Wilson. Right now, you can’t see any of the show’s first two seasons, or its recent third and final season. That’s a huge shame. Shot in and around New York by Wilson on a handicam then compiled into ridiculously compelling narratives about everything from scaffolding to trash, it’s really, really good, in a very Nathan Fielder kind of way (Fielder is an executive producer). Neon says it’s “not currently on our schedule”. Big boo to that.
All the new stuff you can watch this weekend
Star Wars desperately needs a hit on its hands. With Ahsoka, the latest Disney+ series pulled from the Jedi multiverse, it may have found one. “The female-led cast offers … powerful and stunning visuals,” says Variety about the eight-part series starring Rosario Dawson as the feisty Clone Wars favourite. Others seem to agree. “[It] brings mystery back to the Star Wars universe” says The Verge, while THR calls it the “anti-Andor”. Star Wars diehards should note there are incredible lightsaber battles.
Elsewhere, Apple TV+ debuts the second season of Invasion, its big budget creature feature show about an alien takeover of Earth. Season two is bigger and better, early reviews suggest. Elsewhere, Disney+ unveils the 16th season of the comedy show that never stops never stopping, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Netflix has Who is Erin Carter? a drama about a British schoolteacher caught up in a Spanish robbery, and TVNZ+ has the Irish gangland drama Kin.
In theatres, controversial low budget action film Sound of Freedom finally makes it onto screens (Stewart Sowman-Lund explores the controversy here). Liam Neeson keeps Liam Neeson-ing in Retribution, which reboots Speed but exchanges the bus for a car. “Quite violent,” declares one Google reviewer. On streaming, John Cena’s Vacation Friends 2 suggests Hangover-style lols on Disney+, while Adam Sandler’s daughters star in You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah. Consider yourself warned.
For more try our weekly New to Streaming guide.
Everything you need to know
Wondering why more streaming services are getting ads? The Hollywood Reporter breaks down why even ad-supported streaming tiers are hiking prices.
Billy McFarland, the fraudster who went to prison over Fyre Festival and sparked not one but two documentaries, is back with Fyre Festival 2. Make it stop, please.
A Spider-Man fan’s homemade film has gone viral for all the wrong reasons, reports The New York Times (paywalled).
Netflix is finally getting with the times and calling an end to its DVD mail order service (in the US). Vulture reports customers can opt in to receive a 10-disc surprise in the mail like it’s 2007 all over again.
Calling all gaming fans: they’re finally making a sequel to Alan Wake, and it looks super spooky. Kotaku has more.
The Ringer tries to rank the streaming services and there’s no surprises about the winner. But the trends it unveils are very interesting.
Finally, here’s the trailer for the third season of Starstruck, Rose Matefeo’s surprise hit rom-com that is doing huge things. Judging by this, it doesn’t seem to be running out of steam just yet. (Tune in next week for more on Starstruck.)
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.
Where did you watch From? Can’t seem to find it! Thanks