Missing The Olympics? We’ve got you covered
Plus: a horror film for people who don't like horror films, and a new season of the show that's a mix of Succession and Euphoria.
Here’s what to watch next to keep your sporting dreams alive.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games came to an end last weekend, and for many of us, it’s the one time in four years where we become consumed by sports. Whether it was speed climbing or canoe slalom, high jump or high dive, the last two weeks of sport has been a joy to watch, an inspirational celebration of athleticism, dedication and unity.
Now the games are over, there’s just an Olympic sized hole in our viewing schedules. No need to panic: if you were inspired by the action, the drama and energy of the Paris games, or you simply want to keep your Olympic dream alive as long as possible, we have you covered. After several tense heats, we’ve found the finalists in our “what to watch next after The Olympics” event, featuring an impressive array of documentaries, movies and panel shows to fill the void. Good luck to one and all.
The Paris 2024 Paralympics (TVNZ+, TVNZ1)
Great news: the sporting action in Paris continues with the 2024 Paralympic Games, which start on Thursday, August 29. 25 New Zealand athletes will compete across multiple events, including para canoe, para equestrian, para swimming and para table tennis, and there’s no doubt we’re in for an exciting two weeks. TVNZ1 and TVNZ+ will have live and free-to-air coverage, with TVNZ+ hosting five dedicated pop-up channels while TVNZ1’s nightly coverage will be hosted by 11-time gold medallist Paralympic swimmer Dame Sophie Pascoe, alongside Scotty Stevenson.
Simone Biles Rising (Netflix)
Simone Biles is the greatest gymnast of all time, and Netflix’s new documentary series shows how great she really is. The series begins after the 2020 Olympics, when Biles withdrew from the competition due to mental health concerns, and follows her as she rebuilds her career in the hope of competing at Paris. It’s a fascinating insight into Biles’ talent and sacrifice, while also reminding you that no, the rolly-polly you did off the couch two Saturday nights ago was not as impressive as you first thought. A truly inspirational watch, with more episodes to come about Biles’ medal-winning redemption at Paris.
Sprint: The World’s Fastest Humans (Netflix)
This Netflix show is exactly what it promises in the title: a documentary series about the fastest people on the planet. Across six compelling episodes, Sprint follows several elite track athletes from around the world, including Noah Lyles, Sha’Carri Richardson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, as they train and compete to make it to Paris 2024. As well as interviews from former champions like Usain Bolt, Michael Johnson and Allyson Felix, the series gives a unique insight into the psychology of a sprinter, where a millisecond is often the difference between success and failure.
Young Woman and The Sea (Disney+)
I watched this charming wee film on a rainy Sunday afternoon and was swept away by the true story of American Trudy Ederle, the first woman to successfully swim the English channel. Set in the 1920s – when women were discouraged from swimming freestyle because it wasn’t ladylike – Ederle had to overcome misogyny, sexism and some gnarly jellyfish swarms to succeed where many men before her had failed. With a cast that includes Daisy Ridley, Stephen Graham and Christopher Eccleston, Young Woman and The Sea had me ready to cover myself in goose fat and get my ankles out on display (that’s what marathon swimmers do, OK?).
Wheel Blacks: Bodies on the Line (Neon, from August 19)
This new three-part documentary series follows New Zealand’s wheelchair rugby team the Wheel Blacks in their bid to qualify for the Paris Paralympics. Not only does it capture the highs and lows of life as a Wheel Black, both on and off the court, but it highlights the financial challenges the team face to compete against other top level international teams. It’s a compelling behind-the-scenes insight into the realities of this hard-hitting sport, and is produced and edited by former Wheel Black Jai Waite, who was part of the Wheel Blacks team that won gold at the 2004 Athens Paralympics.
Tour de France: Unchained (Netflix)
It’s the show that journalist Patrick Gower told us he’d “walk over broken glass” to be involved in, and it will make you see cycling in an exciting new light. Made by the team behind Drive to Survive and Sprint, Unchained is a high-energy, fast-paced series that takes you behind the scenes of the legendary Tour de France race. You’ll get to know the riders and the teams, there’s plenty of action (the crashes are extreme) and the photography is so good, it feels like you’re actually part of the peloton.
Taskmaster NZ (TVNZ+)
As I mentioned last week, having spent the last few weeks basking in the glow of Olympics coverage, the last place I expected to feel a surge of patriotic pride was Taskmaster NZ. But when Ben Hurley pulled off an astonishing athletic feat during episode two of the new season, I couldn’t have been more impressed. Taskmaster NZ is for those of us who will never get to the Olympics, but would still put in a medal-winning performance in a “push the office chair close to the line without it going over the line” competition. Plus, you can make it a truly international competition if you binge watch the British and Australian versions as well (also on TVNZ+).
Coming-of-age documentary series Takeout Kids returns next week for season two, centred on the lives of five young people growing up between the classroom, home and their parents’ shops. Episode one premieres Tuesday August 20 on The Spinoff. Made with the support of NZ On Air.
Why you should watch: Sleep (NZ International Film Festival)
I am not a horror lover (a scaredy cat in fact) but I adored this film. Yes, it's scary, but not horribly so. Sleep is a South Korean film which has been described as black comedy, horror, mystery and thriller, with marriage as its central subject. It follows a sweetly enamoured couple with a tiny dog and a baby on the way and jumps right into the plot when the husband sits up during the night and says, “someone’s inside.” Over a few nights, his sleepwalking escalates, and becomes menacing. It is truly horrifying that your loved one could turn into a monster as you sleep in an enclosed space with them. It's so tightly written and so well put together that it’s hard to believe it's the writer-director, Jason Yu’s first feature. Though the horror starts right away, it is well punctuated and perfectly balanced with lol moments and loveable characters. / Gabi Lardies
Why you should watch: Industry (Neon)
The third season of the intense and compelling drama about a group of young traders working in the City of London drops on Neon this week. “Think Succession meets Euphoria, or The Bear with Bloomberg terminals instead of kitchen knives,” The Spinoff’s Catherine McGregor wrote in 2022. “I found season one impressive but hard to love. Season two, though, was a revelation. The showrunners have spoken about realising they’d failed to inject the series with enough plot when it launched in 2020; that’s definitely not an issue this year. While I watched season one mostly for the vibes of the thing, season two was as gripping as anything I’ve seen on TV this year. If you’re coming to it fresh, watch Industry from the start – and expect it to get better and better.”
More pop culture news from The Spinoff:
Chappell Roan is the biggest name in pop right now, and Alex Casey reckons she’s coming New Zealand next year… maybe?
Journalist Patrick Gower talks climate change and fluoro shorts in this week’s My Life in TV
We’ve got all the new shows and movies hitting a streaming service near you this week.
Award-winning New Zealand musician Vera Ellen reveals how she learned to love her imposter syndrome.
Trying to choose what films to see at the NZ International Fillm Festival? Check out our bite-sized reviews from week one.
Hip hop artist Diggy Dupé shares the songs he plays to make sure the weekend is perfectly in order in this week’s My Weekend Playlist.
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Why you should listen to: Keeper of the Shepherd (Hannah Frances - Spotify)
Since I discovered Keeper of the Shepherd thanks to a Substack recommendation (!), I've been listening to this folk-jazz-hard-to-categorise album on repeat. Hannah Frances's voice stretches and lilts across the grief tinged album. Underneath her voice is the incredible instrumentation, finger-picked guitars and pianos twining in shifting rhythms. The lyrical content of the album, focused on the contradictions of loss and the solace of land, is poetic and mysterious. It makes me want to pay more attention to the signs that nature may be sending me: perfect music to listen to while you watch rain froth against the windows from the couch. / Shanti Mathias
Before we pop off…
If you were struck by the athletic beauty of the Olympics, this article takes seven stunning photographs from the Games and compares them to classic works of art.
“It was delusional. It was sublime.” As the fourth season of Netflix’s divisive series Emily in Paris drops, I enjoyed this tribute to the show from a dedicated fan (who is well aware of its many failings).
Speaking of Emily in Paris, Vulture chats with the show’s creator Darren Star, who looks back on everything from the early days of 90210 and Melrose Place to how Sex and the City should have ended.
Taskmaster NZ fans will enjoy this insight into how the challenges are chosen.
Finally, I loved this chat with the ever fabulous Tami Neilson about voicing an “unhinged cowgirl” in the latest Spongebob Squarepants movie.
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.
