Whether you're an action junkie, romance buff or in need of a laugh, Laumata Lauano Volavola has got you covered with what to binge this winter.
The Night Agent - a quick action fix
This espionage-conspiracy thriller stars Luciane Buchanan, who is Tongan (yay for Pasifika representation) as snarky-yet-hopeful tech entrepreneur Rose Larkin and Gabriel Basso as FBI Agent Peter Sutherland.
Basso's character is put on night action desk duty after those in charge find his heroic actions saving people from a bombing (Cardi B voice) 'suspicious'.
This means sitting in front of a phone for hours every night, but this hotline don't bling because it's only to be used in an absolute emergency when an agent can't reach their handler or fears they may have been compromised.
Sutherland doesn't really expect it to ring. Naturally, it does, and action ensues.
It's a good watch, intelligent, but not too convoluted. There are multiple plotlines running concurrently, and enough hand-to-hand combat, gun fights, computer hacking and running in the dark to make it an exciting watch.
I don't know if it's just me, but I caught a hint of Buchanan's Kiwi accent every so often. Accent slips aside, she does a great job.
Netflix
Bluey - not just for the kids
If you haven't heard of this Australian kids' show about a family of talking blue heeler dogs living in Brisbane, you either don't have kids or don't have TikTok (the opening theme tune was a viral/trending sound on the social media platform in 2021).
Bluey has racked up 150 episodes, at seven minutes per 'sode, and is about to go into its fourth season across the ditch.
It's about Bluey, a six-year-old loveable and inexhaustible little blue heeler puppy, her four-year old sister Bingo and Mum and Dad, Chilli (Melanie Zanetti) and Bandit (David McCormack) - yes, they're all dogs.
Bluey has captured the hearts of children and parents alike around the world. The stories are small, domestic, and instantly recognisable.
There are life lessons littered throughout, but you'll find that the kids aren't the only ones learning if you happen to catch an episode or 50.
There's something in Bluey for children and parents; children are in it for the imagination and fun, parents for experiences both relatable and confronting, but never condescending.
One or two episodes are tear-jerkers, but mostly it's hilarious. And you don't have to be a parent to watch - this show was introduced to me by friends who don't have kids.
TVNZ+
XO, Kitty - a comfort watch
XO, Kitty is a 10-episode teen romcom spinoff of Netflix's 2018 insanely popular film To All The Boys I've Loved.
It follows the youngest Song Covey sister, Kitty (Anna Cathcart), who believes she's Portland's answer to Cupid.
She moves halfway across the world to South Korea to the school her mother also attended to reconnect with her long-distance boyfriend, Dae (Choi Min-young).
What she finds is that a relationship is much more complex when it's your own feelings at risk.
With its cringe moments and a dope soundtrack, this light-hearted series is easy to rip through.
XO, Kitty embraces all of the tropes and even introduces Western viewers to Korean drama (K-Drama) tropes, by actively owning its similarities to K-Dramas with mini-parodies.
Even if you've never seen a K-Drama, these moments feel universal enough that you'll laugh along with the show.
Netflix
Succession - catch up with the Roys
I was going to write a piece about why I'm not watching the Emmy award-winning show, but then I ended up starting the first episode and getting sucked into the world of the Roy family - go figure.
Succession creator Jesse Armstrong portrays a New York media empire family whose wealth is surpassed only by their dysfunction.
Logan Roy (Brian Cox), is the aging patriarch about to hand over the reins of the family business, Waystar Royco, to his second son Kendall (Jeremy Strong), a twitchy exec cringingly seeking his father's approval. But before Kendall can declare he's king of the castle, Logan's other three adult children and third (current) wife scramble to get a bit of the family business.
There are four 10-episode seasons and they're well worth your time. Armstrong might as well have named the show the Murdochs, but it's really a scathing commentary on all wealthy families and how toxic they are.
Neon
Bridgerton - the period drama with it all
From one wealthy white family to another. If you've not yet gorged yourself on this luxurious period drama about eight close-knit siblings of the Bridgerton family looking for love and happiness in London's high society, now's the time.
In an unusual but welcome move for period dramas, the cast is diverse, with people of colour represented throughout.
The Shonda Rhimes-produced show was inspired by Julia Quinn's best-selling novels. It introduced audiences to a world of society galas, family drama and delicious gossip and it was so successful that it was renewed for a second season just a month after its debut.
While it'll make your eyes widen, your foot tap along to the popular music played as period pieces and your heart want to be swept up in romance, it won't exactly make you think too hard. That aspect alone is quite lovely.
There have been two seasons so far, and a spinoff (which I'll get into next because it deserves its own spiel).
Netflix
[Bonus Binge] Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
The easiest binge of them all. Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) and the 'Mad King' George in Bridgerton (James Fleet) have only been side characters in Bridgerton.
Charlotte makes the shadiest remarks and her love of gossip speaks to me - I just love her.
Now she has her very own spinoff series, the majority of which was written by Shonda Rhimes.
The tale is told in parallel storylines, flicking back and forth between young Charlotte's (India Amarteifio) arranged marriage to King George (Corey Mylchreest) when she was just 17 and the older Queen Charlotte's desperate desire for one of her 13 kids to produce a legitimate heir.
You will laugh, you will cry and you will swoon - but you might just re-watch this one a few times this winter.
Netflix
