Return of the 30-year-old child
Kid Sister season two lands on TVNZ. Plus: a new show about living sustainably and the quiet joy of discovering a TV classic.
Welcome back to another round of recommendations to keep you busy this wintery weekend. It’s the perfect season to stay inside and hibernate, so this week, I dived into the sharp and funny second season of Kid Sister (TVNZ). Also this week: Alex Casey has a lovely time watching TVNZ’s new lifestyle show, Duncan Greive dives into a must-watch true crime doco and and Gabi Lardies reckons it’s never to late to discover some good telly. Enjoy your weekend!
There’s plenty to love about season two of Simone Nathan’s comedy series
Lulu Emmanuel is pushing like she’s never pushed before. Her hospital bed is surrounded by a midwife, Lulu’s mother and the rest of her family, who take turns ordering Lulu to push and then screaming in terror. Moments later, the ordeal is over. An exhausted Lulu lifts her head as the midwife gently places a delicate parcel in her arms. Congratulations to one and all: it’s a beautiful loaf of challah bread.
It might have only been a nightmare, but these opening scenes of season two of Kid Sister hint at what lies ahead: chaos. Simone Nathan’s semi-autobiographical comedy series about a young woman and her Jewish-New Zealand family is back for a second season, dropping us straight into Lulu’s (Nathan) never-ending family drama. Lulu has adopted her newborn baby out to her brother and sister-in-law, her boyfriend Ollie (Paul Williams, Nathan’s real life husband) is preparing to convert to Judaism, and Lulu still doesn’t have a clue about what to do with her life.
It’s a welcome reunion with many of season one’s most memorable characters, including Lulu’s brilliantly terrifying mother Keren (Amanda Billing, stealing every scene), and Lulu’s hornbag grandad Hershey (Peter Hayden), the elderly lothario who sneaks out every night for clandestine hookups at the local rest home. There’s some charming new characters too, including Ollie’s mum Bridget (Hera Dunleavy), the liberal antithesis to Keren’s controlling matriarch (“that woman is a bacterial infection,” Keren declares), and Lulu’s quirky new flatmate Raymond (a delightful Bailey Poching).
It’s a rich world, and these lively, unpredictable characters offer light relief as Lulu struggles her way through the season. “I’m 30 years old and not a damn thing to show for it,” she announces in episode one. Lulu seems nonchalant about giving her baby up for adoption and her grand life plan to… make small clay figures? Lie down a lot?… is disrupted by her eternally-patient boyfriend’s plans to convert. As Ollie enthusiastically embraces the religious practices so important to Lulu’s family, it’s Lulu who begins to have misgivings about their relationship. “He’s morphing into exactly the thing I was trying to avoid,” she tells her mother.
Lulu constantly fights against other people’s expectations, but ultimately, she’s fighting against herself. Despite all the tremendous, life-altering experiences of season one, it often feels like Lulu hasn’t grown much – she’s still a self-absorbed, 30-year-old child who hides on the family trampoline rather than deal with her problems. Perhaps this is because the show feels less certain when it shifts from comedy into the more serious drama, and initially it feels like the show moves on too hastily from Lulu’s experience with baby Noah.
But without revealing any spoilers, don’t give up on Lulu. It’s worth staying with her until the very end, with the final episode delivering a spectacular argument, some heartfelt surprises and an unexpected musical moment that left me wearing a gushy old grin. It’s also worth noting that this is a gorgeous show to watch. From the rich mid-century vibe of the Rabbi’s house to the soft stained-glass light of Lulu and Ollie’s villa, everything about Kid Sister is stylishly and beautifully shot.
Lulu may be the epicentre of Kid Sister, but this is a show about family and all the weird eccentricities that push us apart and pull us back together. Season two gives us the hope that one day, we too will grow up and start behaving like proper adults – or at the very least, channel just a fraction of the frenzied energy of glorious matriarch Keren. There’s plenty to love about Kid Sister, and with an ending that leaves season three wide open, I’d happily come back to visit the Emmanuels again.
Kid Sister streams on TVNZ+.
Listen to episode 2 of Juggernaut – ‘The Nation Is at Risk’
Victory for Lange in 1984 comes with a cluster of economic and constitutional crises. Roger Douglas launches a revolution, to transform New Zealand’s creaking economy from the developed world’s most regulated to its most market embracing.
Follow now to make sure you get every episode.
Juggernaut was made with the support of NZ On Air.
Why you should watch: My Dream Green Home (TVNZ+)
Yes, it sounds like the fake show in The Curse. Yes, it's nearly impossible to say at pace. But TVNZ's new eco-friendly reno show is a wholesome experience that will make you marvel at the potential to build a better, more sustainable life around you (whether you do anything about it is another story entirely). Hosted by Rhiannon McCall, the show sees the homes and gardens of New Zealand families undergo dramatic transformations in the name of going green. The first episode is a wildly cute West Auckland family still dealing with the aftermath of the floods while trying to establish a food forest to help their kids learn about where their kai comes from. Informative, easy-going, inspirational viewing for fans of Nadia's Farm. / Alex Casey
Why you should watch: The Jinx Part 2 (Neon)
From some angles we're living through a golden age of documentary and docu-series – all the streamers are commissioning, with Netflix particularly attentive. There's something a little thin and formulaic about many of them though, versus the richly rendered best of HBO, the longtime champion of prestige documentary. One of the all timers was The Jinx, which closed with that famous and unforgettable hot mic moment. Season two dropped recently on Neon, and inevitably doesn’t have the same sweep as the first, but it has a similar cast of shockingly strange characters from the Bob Durst-verse, including an ad exec who nonchalantly delivers another shocker of a quote: "What do you do when your best friend kills your other best friend?" A real moral quandary for him, apparently. / Duncan Greive
More pop culture news from The Spinoff:
With only one more week of MAFS NZ to go (yes, really) don’t miss Alex Casey’s delicious power rankings wrapping up the latest marital shenanigans.
As one reality TV door closes, another creaks open: the cast of the new season of The Traitors NZ was announced this week, and there’s not a celebrity in sight.
To celebrate a whole year of My Life in TV, Alex Casey summed up everything we’ve learned from our many trips down memory lane.
Our new to streaming list has all the new films and movies dropping this week.
Post-punk quartet Ringlets share the songs for their perfect weekend playlist.
As Below Deck’s Captain Sandy sails into town, we take a look at the New Zealand crew who have appeared on the reality TV juggernaut over the years.
Huge news: The Spinoff is doing live events and you’re invited
Our popular columns, podcasts, pop culture takes and politics are hitting the road. The Spinoff Live is a 10-event series across Auckland and Wellington, featuring live chats between our writers and special guests. Tickets are on sale now and going fast. Get yours today.
Why you should watch: Shameless (Netflix)
I’m 13 years late to Shameless and you can be too. Equally disturbing and heartwarming, Shameless follows the Gallaghers, a family of six siblings with a beyond useless alcoholic father. Terrible things happen which have you throwing socks at the screen and saying “no, no, no!” You keep watching because once the episode is done you can’t help but wonder about the characters. What will Lip do about Karen? Will Sheila manage to leave the house? How will Kevin pay that electricity bill? And Fiona, oh Fiona, the glue that holds everything together. You also keep watching because it’s funny, charming and the storylines keep throwing up surprises and various new side characters. This is for people who don’t mind being late to the party, because it's still a good watch. / Gabi Lardies
Before we pop off…
It doesn’t premiere until next month, but already new local drama Madam is winning awards, picking up the Golden Nymph award for Best Creation at the Monte Carlo TV Festival.
I enjoyed this piece from Liam Ratana about how the tino rangatiratanga flag ended up in NBA icon Charles Barkley’s hands.
Temuera Morrison, Cliff Curtis and Miriama Smith celebrated the premiere of new film Ka Whawhai Tonu Struggle Without End, a fictional retelling of battle at Ōrākau in the Waikato 160 years ago.
If you enjoyed Beckham (Netflix), this is a charming chat with the documentary’s director (and Succession star) Fisher Stevens about how the series came to be.
It seems we can’t get enough of feelings, with the new Inside Out sequel movie breaking all sorts of records.
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.
