This TVNZ anthology is a new vision of motherhood
Plus: Hera Lindsay Bird's favourite Korean game show, a compelling new pop culture podcast, and a lazy couch watch for fans of buses and politics.
Mother’s Day is this Sunday, and in a world full of ridiculous stereotypes about what being a mother means, it was refreshing to dive into TVNZ’s new local series Motherhood. Premiering on Saturday, Motherhood offers five very different perspectives about what motherhood is, in a variety of intriguing and surprising ways. I’m also excited to dive into Netflix’s The Devil’s Plan after Hera Lindsay Bird’s stellar recommendation. A game show that makes no sense, yet is incredibly compelling? Yes please.
New local anthology showcases Motherhood as you’ve never seen it before
A woman is clambering up the side of her two-story house, clinging desperately to a drainpipe. Nearby, her child is perched on the edge of a window sill, refusing to listen to her mother’s instructions to go back inside. The perilous situation is every parent’s nightmare, made worse by the fact that on the other side of that window is a freaky robot nanny who has taken over the house. Can the woman trust the nanny with her child… and how long will that drainpipe hold?
This tense choice plays out in the futuristic thriller AMAH, one of five stories in new anthology series Motherhood, which drops on TVNZ+ this weekend. Motherhood is a collection of five short independent stories (each running about 22 minutes) inspired by the Māori, Pasifika, Pan-Asian and LGBTQIA+ communities of Aotearoa. Each episode tells its own unique story – there’s science fiction, rom-com, action and comedy – but they’re all joined together by the shared theme of motherhood.
It’s not often we see such creative storytelling like this on primetime, mainstream television, so kudos to TVNZ for screening Motherhoood. These five stories celebrate Aotearoa in a variety of vibrant and unexpected ways, but at the heart of each tale is the power of connection, the importance of whānau and community, and a strong sense of belonging. If you need an antithesis to the “traditional” idea of motherhood this Mother’s Day, look no further than this anthology series.
Here’s the lowdown on Motherhood – you can watch these episodes in any order.
Rule of Mum: a charming rom-com starring Jayden Daniels (Shortland Street, Celebrity Treasure Island) and Miriama Smith (Shortland Street, Celebrity Treasure Island). Daniels plays Tāne, a grown man living at home who has a suffocating relationship with his mother (Smith). When he falls for courier Hine (Marshayla Christie), Tāne has to overcome the biggest obstacle in his path to true love: his mum. Also features an all-too-short appearance from comedian Bubbah.
AMAH: If you’re a fan of Black Mirror, you’ll enjoy AMAH. Directed by Emmy-award nominated actress Michelle Ang (Fear the Walking Dead, Homegrown 3.0), this futuristic psychological thriller follows Leila (Dawn Cheong) as she enlists an Artificially Maternal Android Helper to help her juggle career and parenthood, and to help raise her child in accordance with traditional Malaysian-Chinese values. But what happens when the robot nanny gets power hungry? Lock your doors, ASAP.
Give Me Babies: We don’t see enough middle-aged mothers unleashing some hectic MMA hellfire on the telly these days, so thank goodness for Give Me Babies. When 20-something Ari (Roxie Mohebbi) decides she’d rather have an MMA career than find the perfect partner and have the perfect child, she enters an illegal underground fight and makes an enemy of the most dangerous man in town. When he tracks her down at her cousin’s wedding, chaos unfolds. David Correos and Sam Wang also feature.
Ahi and the Stars: I had a big old bawl at the end of Ahi and the Stars, which is an intriguing story about a boy who’s seeking answers about his mother’s disappearance. With the coming of Matariki and Hine-nui-te-Pō, all is revealed – and it won’t be what you’re expecting. Kura Forrester is wonderful here as Marama, and Moses Solomon plays the young Ahi.
Motherhood: A high energy story set before a vogue ball, when the newly crowned mother of a vogue house has to rely on the wisdom of her birth mother to help her get her adopted children ready for their runway debut. Starring Jessica Hunt-Auva'a, Ana Tuisila and Ata Tuiloma, this story is all about the power of belonging to your chosen family.
The Motherhood anthology screens on TVNZ 2 on Saturday 11 May at 7pm, and streams on TVNZ+.
Behind the Story is a new podcast from The Spinoff that goes beyond the bylines. Join The Spinoff editor Madeleine Chapman every Saturday as she sits down with a staff writer or contributor to gain more insight about a big story on The Spinoff from the week. Listen now.
Why you should watch: The Devil’s Plan (Netflix)
There’s nothing I love more in this world than an incomprehensible strategy-based foreign language game show, and The Devil’s Plan has gone straight to the top of my list. In this South Korean reality show, 12 contestants compete in a game of wit and strategy to be the last player left standing, and win a cash prize. The contestants are a mix of professional gamers, policy advisors, lawyers, television personalities, and even one “freelance announcer”, whatever a freelance announcer is.
This isn’t one of those game-shows where the players must work together to build a ten-piece puzzle of a grazing giraffe. The games, which change each week, are legitimately, mind-bogglingly hard, and the rules are preposterously complex and often take a full 15 minutes to explain. Some games are based on deception and social strategy, others reward high-level creative thinking. I watched all 12 episodes in one week, and was on the edge of my seat the whole time. It was like watching a John LeCarre movie - almost impossible to understand the nuances of what’s going on, but at the same time, utterly captivating. Consider me a lifelong fan. / Hera Lindsay Bird
Why you should listen to: Sixteenth Minute (of Fame)
Jamie Loftus is kind of like if Harriet the Spy grew up, became extremely online and started making podcasts. Her largely self-produced body of work includes a behind-the-scenes of Mensa (it’s toxic!) and a feminist reevaluation of Lolita (it’s misunderstood!); she has also written a book about hot dogs. In her new podcast, which launched this week, she tracks down people who became memes and online characters of the day to tell their side of the story. The first one is about the “hide your kids, hide your wife” guy, who went viral at the height of the autotune the news era in 2010, and explores the side of the story the meme erased. Long story short: it’s complicated! / Calum Henderson
More pop culture on The Spinoff:
It’s not too much to ask, surely. Anna Rawhiti-Connell just wants to watch the horny tennis movie at a reasonable time.
It seems Australia has fallen for After the Party too, with several rave reviews of the New Zealand drama (it’s on TVNZ+ – and if you haven’t watched it yet, get to it).
Let me introduce you to the cast of Married at First Sight NZ, which starts on Three later this month.
We’ve got everything that’s new to streaming this week, including Barbie and the new Melanie Lynskey series The Tattooist of Auschwitz (Neon).
Dame Susan Devoy was all over The Spinoff this week, spilling some Celebrity Treasure Island secrets in this excerpt of her new autobiography and this cracker of a My Life in TV profile.
Why You Should Watch: The Girls on the Bus (Neon)
This show follows four journalists as they cover a recent but fictional US presidential race. There’s a Hilary Clinton-like figure, and it’s based on a 2018 memoir about covering that campaign. Three of the women represent a thinly-veiled proxy for recognisable institutions like the New York Times, the Washington Post and Fox News, while the other is a social media influencer whose followers care about democracy and her spon-con.
In good conscience, I can’t say this show is objectively good. It struggles with what it wants to be. Four unlikely gal pals on a bus sound fun and feminist, a bit like The Bold Type, but the fashion is drab and political and racial tensions are clumsily waved away in a bid to hold onto the froth. It does have some hooky and indulgent aspects, especially for fans of shows that exist in the perilously difficult junction of covering politics, contemporary America and journalism. I can recommend it as a lazy couch watch. Turn your brain off and hop on board. / Anna Rawhiti-Connell
Before we pop off…
What Now is getting New Zealand musicians to perform Little Gigs at schools and kindies, and Vera Ellen singing at Aro Valley Preschool will warm the coldest of hearts.
Do you remember Baz Lurhmann’s Everybody’s Free…To Wear Sunscreen? This article tells the story about how that late 90s hit came to be. (For audio preferrers, Switched On Pop also made a really great podcast episode about this topic!)
Two new Lord of the Rings films have been announced, but this time Gollum is directing.
I adored this wholesome story about NZ Idol winner Ben Lummis surprising a longtime fan at his wedding, and then staying for three hours because he had such a good time.
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.
