I watched My Family Mystery and now I want to tell Sonia Gray all my problems
Plus: a creepy new police drama and a New Zealand film festival gem.
The answers are out there, and Sonia Gray will do everything she can to find them
Sonia Gray is sitting in a warehouse somewhere in New Zealand, looking off into the distance. In front of her is a desktop computer and a world of hope, because she is on a hunt like no other: a mystery hunt. In her role as host of TVNZ’s new series My Family Mystery, Gray leads a team of experts in helping everyday New Zealanders discover the truth about a family conundrum. No mystery is too big or too small, whether it’s finding out your great grandfather’s real identity or reuniting some old war medals with their rightful owners.
The show is a cross between The Repair Shop and David Lomas Investigates, and it’s clear that Gray – Lotto presenter, podcast maker and esteemed My Life in TV guest – loves a mystery, maybe even more than she loves a $50 million Powerball draw. She gives a warm welcome to every guest, she’s fascinated by every object she encounters, and she nods sympathetically at all the right times. Best of all, whenever Gray hits a hurdle in her search, she never gives up. Instead, she stares thoughtfully into the distance.
The answers are out there, and Sonia Gray will do everything she can to find them.
This is what makes me want to tell her all my problems. What I wouldn’t give to walk into a suburban warehouse with a stylish industrial vibe, watching my new BFF smile kindly as I place my first mysterious object – we’ll start with an empty glasses case – in front of her. “Tell me about this,” Sonia will say thoughtfully, and I’ll pour my heart out about the time in 2015 when I went to Disney on Ice in Wellington with my daughter and somewhere between One Red Dog and TSB Arena I lost a pair of expensive prescription glasses that were not only necessary for me to see but were also extremely flattering to my big old moon face.
Sonia Gray is so serene in My Family Mystery that she wouldn’t judge me for wasting her precious time with my bullshit, despite having far more important and serious mysteries to solve. In last week’s episode of My Family Mystery, Gray met Finn, who arrived with some war medals that didn’t belong to anyone in his family, and Anneka, who was looking for her father and came with nothing more than a text message from a stranger who knew him years ago. They were different kinds of searches, but the team of experts treated each one with the same care and respect.
Google and Facebook searches did a lot of heavy lifting here, but regardless of how simple or complex each mystery is, it’s the answers that matter. When Sonia gently confirmed to Anneka that her father had passed away but that she had a large whānau who wanted to meet her, I welled up. By the time Anneka met her uncle for the first time and discovered her whakapapa, both Gray and I were bawling. It was an intimate moment that could have easily felt awkward or exploitative, but with Gray asking thoughtful questions and giving Anneka and her uncle the space to get to know each other, this felt genuine and uplifting.
My Family Mystery shows how these human connections bring the past to life. If you have a family mystery ratting around the attic of your own heart, this show could inspire you to kickstart your own research – and it’s a reminder why you should. My Family Mystery isn’t about how much these objects are worth financially, but rather, everything those objects represent: belonging, understanding, identity. In a world that feels increasingly fraught and disjointed, we should cling to these moments of discovery and joy, however big or small they might be. Sonia Gray, call me. I have another pressing family mystery involving a Harry and Meghan commemorative wedding tea towel that you simply won’t believe.
My Family Mystery streams on TVNZ+ and screens on TVNZ1 on Sundays at 7.30pm.
Why you should watch: The Red King, ThreeNow from August 4
If you like your true crime with a few more creepy masks, burning candles and tarot card vibes, then The Red King might be one for you. Set on the fictional Welsh island of St Jory, the series follows a sergeant sent to be the single copper in charge of a small community of spooky weirdos. Once dominated by a cult called The True Way, it soon becomes evident that something sinister remains lurking on St Jory. With a reportedly excellent performance by lead Anjli Mohindra, The Red King was also praised by The Guardian as a “a wickedly playful new spin on The Wicker Man”. Light it up! / Alex Casey
Why you should watch: We Were Dangerous (NZ International Film Festival; also in cinemas from August 22)
After reading Alex Casey’s review of the new film written by New Yorker cartoonist (and My Life in TV guest) Maddie Dai and the feature debut of director Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu (Waru), I can’t wait to see new film We Were Dangerous. “It’s 1954 inside Te Motu School For Incorrigible and Delinquent Girls, an institution established on an island formerly populated by lepers. ‘If the island can contain leprosy it could probably manage a few girls on heat,’ one of the male head honchos says. Ruled by a withering woman known only as The Matron (Rima Te Wiata) – who interrupts the above dancing and punishes accordingly – the island faces a huge threat in a rebellious trio of pals plotting to bring it down.” Alex reckons the film is much more than just a coming of age caper, and despite its dark subject matter, is also “funny, uplifting and joyous”.
More pop culture links from The Spinoff:
As her new TV show Gypsy Rose: Life After Lockup (TVNZ) hits our screens, Alex Casey had 15 minutes with Gypsy Rose Blanchard to discuss everything from prison reform to the Kardashians.
Don’t miss these 10 must-see films at this year’s NZ International Film Festival.
With the final episodes of The Traitors NZ screening next week, I loved chatting about reality TV with former traitor and real-life funeral director Whitney in this week’s My Life in TV. Plus, don’t miss our penultimate Traitors NZ power rankings.
Two worlds collide: The Dunedin Study had an unexpected cameo on a recent episode of The Kardashians, and Alex Casey was across it all.
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend in My Perfect Weekend Playlist.
Have you been wondering what the wildest Brokenwood Mysteries death of all time is? We have the definitive answer.
We also have all the new shows and films hitting your favourite streaming service this week.
Why you should watch: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Docplay/rent)
I recently rewatched Laura Poitras's Citzenfour documentary about Edward Snowden, and compared it to All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, a more recent documentary. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is a portrait of activist and artist Nan Goldin, whose photography documented the HIV/Aids epidemic. More recently Goldin was involved in running a campaign against the Sackler family, pharmaceutical mogul whose Oxycontin pills have contributed to the opioid epidemic in the US and beyond. Poitras has been an acclaimed film-maker for decades, but in All the Beauty... she particularly leans into stylish shots of the activists' artistic interventions against art galleries funded by the Sacklers, without deviating from Goldin's moving personal history of family and creativity. It's moving and beautiful – I was riveted the whole way through. / Shanti Mathias
Before we pop off…
Renowned New Zealand musician Martin Phillips from The Chills died this week, remembered by Don McGlashan as “one of the first musicians who showed us that you could wear your heart on your sleeve and be an artist in this strange country.”
An episode of the latest season of The Bachelorette US was filmed in New Zealand, featuring a passionate rugby game between the bachelors and cameos from Olympic gold medallist Stacey Waaka and All Black Caleb Clarke.
Duncan Greive looks back on the ways that book publishing, video games and recorded music faced the enormous power of the internet 20 years ago, and how things have turned out today.
In the same week I discovered my Samsung TV has a dedicated Come Dine with Me channel that runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, I adored this look back on the show’s most bonkers moments.
I also loved Toby Manhire’s recap of an Olympic-sized case of mistaken identity.
If you’ve ever wondered how realistic the storm chasers are in Twisters, this piece takes you right into the eye of the storm.
Bluey fans rejoice: Bluey is releasing a new album in October, featuring 16 new tracks from Joff Bush and the Bluey Music Team. Highlights include a new vocal version of the Bluey theme tune and a driving rock song called ‘Muffin Drive’.
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.
