The Gone is back with another moody mystery – but is it enough?
Plus: Kate Hudson's new sports comedy, a review of new local film Tinā, and the new British drama based on a shocking real life scandal.
These troubled detectives are on the trail of more missing Irish tourists
Theo Richter is standing in a hut deep in the New Zealand bush, staring out the window. An animal skeleton lies next to his feet, the building peppered with bullet holes. The Irish detective points out a blood stain on a window frame to his colleague Diana Huia. “Looks like the only way out,” he growls out the window, even though the detectives came in two different doors. The camera pulls back to reveal acres of native bush in front of them. “She’s out there,” Richter broods, no doubt adding every New Zealand tree to his list of internal demons.
Welcome back to the murderous new season of The Gone, the award-winning Irish-New Zealand crime thriller that returned to TVNZ this week. In 2023, The Gone won five gongs at the NZTV Awards, including best drama, and screened in Aotearoa, Ireland and the UK. The first season followed the investigation into two Irish tourists who went missing from the fictional New Zealand town of Mount Affinity, a case that echoed another local unsolved crime from 17 years earlier.
This season? More Irish visitors go missing. Which is why Detective Richter (Grey’s Anatomy’s Richard Flood) hasn’t left the country yet, having arrived in season one to assist DS Huia (Acushla-Tara Kupe) with finding the young tourists. The search for Sinead and Ronan also drew the interest of Irish investigative journalist Aileen Ryan, who, as the new season begins, has herself gone missing after arranging to meet a contact about the unsolved “goat man” murders from years ago.
The first episode of season two delivers the same slow, moody murder mystery that feels like a cross between One Lane Bridge and The Brokenwood Mysteries. The heavy atmosphere is captured in beautiful, sweeping shots of a landscape covered in dense forest and low, looming clouds, and the pace remains unhurried. The dialogue can be a little clunky, but Kupe gives another strong performance as Diana, and is once again surrounded by a talented supporting cast that includes Vanessa Rare, Miriama Smith, Michelle Fairey and Matt Whelan.
On the face of it, The Gone is a standard crime drama that follows two detectives as they piece together an unusual disappearance. One is a brooding but brilliant loner who’s hiding many secrets, the other a cop returning home to confront the ghosts of her past. The troubled detective has become a cliched trope in crime drama – think Broadchurch, Rebus, True Detective, Strike, Unforgotten – and The Gone’s lead characters tread a familiar path worn with sadness, secrets and long stares into the distance.
But what elevates The Gone are the unique New Zealand stories woven throughout. This is a rural community where hurt runs generations deep, and storylines about big business acquiring Māori land and the legacy of colonialism make the show feel current and relevant. The trouble is that these secondary storylines are more interesting than the disappearances the show hinges on, and the characters involved – like Buster (Wayne Hapi) and Rare’s Wiki – are more complex and richly-drawn than the detectives at the helm of the show.
In fact, I found myself wishing that The Gone could ditch the Irish connection altogether, and simply be a thriller about a young Māori detective returning to her home town. This kind of multi-country production is becoming more common as television gets harder to fund, but the collaboration waters down The Gone from being a dynamic, challenging thriller that tells stories only we can tell. In a world where troubled detectives are a dime a dozen, is The Gone selling itself short?
The Gone screens on Tuesdays on TVNZ1 at 8.30pm and streams on TVNZ+.
Why you should watch: Bryn & Ku’s Singles Club
In episode three, , Bryn and Ku head into the heart of Ōtepoti’s flat party scene and meet some single students to find out more about what the dating scene and hook-up culture is like for young people in 2025. Sharing a few beverages with the residents of the Horn Palace, Brynley opens up about leaving her long term relationship and Kura gets her Tinder profile assessed by someone half her age. Are young people still looking for serious relationships? Does proper heartbreak still happen in the age of apps and social media? And just how many beer funnels can Bryn and Ku do before it is time to call it a night? Made with the support of NZ On Air.
Why you should watch: Running Point (Netflix)
In a new series from Mindy Kaling, Kate Hudson is Isla Gordon, a reformed party girl turned business executive, who is unexpectedly appointed team president of her family’s basketball team, the Los Angeles Waves. Inspired by Jeanie Buss, the first female owner of a team to win an NBA championship, Hudson must revive the failing basketball franchise and stake a place in the male-dominated sports world. The comedy also stars Brenda Song, Justin Theroux, Max Greenfield and Chet Hanks. / Thomas Giblin
Why you should watch: Tinā (in cinemas)
Madeleine Chapman watched new movie Tinā and ended up having an argument with herself about it. Tinā follows grieving mother Mareta Percival (Anapela Polataivao) as she starts a choir at a Christchurch private school, and is a tale of grief, acceptance and generosity. While Mad worked through her complicated thoughts about the film, there’s no doubt that Tinā is definitely with watching:
“The film is very clearly marketed as a wholesome tearjerker and on that it absolutely delivers. Did you cry?
Yes I did cry.
Exactly. And did you crack up at the island humour and side-eyes?
You know I did.
So what’s so hard about saying that? Review done.
Because as much as Tinā was exactly the type of movie I’d typically love, and as much as I did love parts of it, and very much love the fact that it exists, I have many other thoughts about it.”
More pop culture news from The Spinoff:
Max Johns embarks on a comprehensive tour of the current NZ music landscape, reviewing all 81(!) albums nominated for the Taite Music Prize.
Alex Casey talks to access coordinator Felicity Hamil about one of the newest jobs in the screen industry, and why it’s been a long time coming.
I loved Claire Mabey’s review of the new Bridget Jones movie, which finally gives our Bridget the fairytale ending she deserves.
“How do I stop this child talking?”: comedian, writer and Taskmaster Junior star Rose Matafeo reveals all in this week’s My Life in TV.
Liv Sisson had a cracker of a time at Electric Avenue festival: here’s what made it so great.
I’ve been loving watching 2025 Te Matatini Festival (TVNZ2, TVNZ+, Whakaata Māori and Māori+) and ahead of the finals on Saturday, Liam Rātana has everything you need to know about the festival.
As the latest episode of Bryn & Ku Single’s Club drops (it’s a cracker), The Spinoff readers share their most horrific dating stories.
After 12 seasons of gripping Married at First Sight drama, Alex Casey wonders if the pressure to constantly be serving tea is causing the show to boil over entirely.
Looking for something good to watch this weekend? Here’s our new to streaming list.
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Why you should watch: Toxic Town (Netflix)
Mr Bates and the Post Office (TVNZ+) was a true story that made people sit up and get mad, and this new series about another British scandal is sure to infuriate and horrify viewers in the same ways. Toxic Town is based on the real-life story of a group of East Midlands mothers whose children developed birth defects in the 1990s, after contaminated waste was moved from the nearby steelworks. It stars Jodie Whittaker, Aimee Lou Wood, Robert Carlyle and Rory Kinnear, and follows the parents’ battle to hold local authorities to account. Early reviews have compared the four-part series to Erin Brockovich, with Whittaker praised for her “flawless” performance as new mother Susan. Keep the tissues handy.
Before we pop off…
Great news for movie fans: viewers in Aotearoa can watch The Oscars awards ceremony live on Disney+ this Monday, starting at 12.30pm NZDT. Conan O’Brien hosts.
Even Mischa Barton couldn’t save it: Neighbours is cancelled (again) two years after Amazon breathed new life into the Australian soap, while over in Summer Bay, Lynne McGranger is set to hang up Irene’s apron after 33 years on the soap.
Aldous Harding has collaborated with Perfume Genius on a song and music video that defies explanation. As someone said in the comments, welcome back David Lynch. (In other dream collab news: Marlon and Lorde!)
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.
Bryn and Ku are awesome - That's it