Your TV is positively bursting at the seam this week with new shows. From weapons manufacturing to spooky fairy tales to spray-tanned youths dressed as tropical fruits, there’s something for everyone to sink their teeth into…..
Grimm
Fairy tales seem to all the rage on TV (Once Upon A Time) and at the movies (2 different kinds of Snow White!) at the moment, but new series Grimm puts a darker spin on what were already some pretty terrifying stories.
The show has been described as a “cop drama - with a twist”. Portland, Oregon homicide detective Nick Burkhardt (David C. Giuntoli) is a distant relative of the infamous Brothers Grimm, and shares their gift for perceiving the supernatural beings who live amongst us. Using his newfound skill to solve crime, Nick is the bridge between the realms of the mythological and the living.
Grimm also stars Silas Weir Mitchell (Prison Break) as Monroe, a reformed Grimm who helps Nick navigate the strange new world he finds himself in. Find out whatkind of creatureyou would be in the Grimm-iverse.
Grimm airs Monday 18 June, 8.30pm on FOUR.
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The Pillars Of The Earth
Fans of historical fiction are in for a treat this month when Sky airs epic mini-series The Pillars of the Earth. Based on Ken Follett’s best-selling novel of the same name, this drama about the building of a cathedral, and the secrets and lies that are stirred up as a result, took a year and US$40 million to produce.
As England emerges from the Dark Ages, it becomes engulfed in turmoil once again when King Henry (Clive Wood) loses his only son in the sinking of the White Ship, causing a huge disruption to the succession of the English Crown.
The series has attracted a stellar cast with Rufus Sewell (The Illusionist) as protagonist Tom Builder and Ian McShane (Deadwood) as ungodly Bishop Waleran Bigod. Ken Follett fangirl Oprah Winfrey also gave the series her gold-plated seal of approval.
Part One of The Pillars of the Earth airs on Soho, Monday 18 June, 8.30pm
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A Jubilee Tribute to The Queen by the Prince of Wales
Recently broadcast in the UK as part of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and seen in recent news snippets, this personal tribute to Her Majesty the Queen by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales will air for the first time in New Zealand this week.
Eldest son and heir Chuck rummages through dusty family archives to bring you rare and unseen footage of the Royal family.
The documentary made news headlines around the world when it premiered in Britain earlier this month with audiences revelling in the never before seen royal images.
Prince Charles, a friendly corgi and Princess Anne enjoy a sand sauna.
Through previously-unseen photographs and cine films from Her Majesty's private collection - many of them shot by the Queen herself - the prince reflects on various public events and private family moments during the sixty years of the Queen's reign. In some cases, the Prince himself is seeing the footage for the first time.
The Prince is filmed in the private quarters of Windsor Castle and Balmoral, as well as at Buckingham Palace and Highgrove.
A Jubilee Tribute to The Queen by the Prince of Wales will premiere Tuesday June 19 at 7:30pm on UKTV.
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True Blood
Season five of True Blood will air on Prime just 11 days after the world premiere debuted in the U.S. (to monster ratings).
Christopher Meloni (formerly of long-running series, Law & Order: SVU) joins the cast as Roman Zimojic, the 500-year-old head of the Vampire Authority who seeks to forge a peace between vampires and humans. Creator Alan Ball characterises Roman as “a politician who has a dream”, while Meloni says “Think Obama with very long incisors.”
Season 5 will also feature new characters Salome and Nora, plus aburgeoning bromance between Bill and Eric. Valentina Cervi, who plays Salome, blogged about her experience joining the cast and sharing a connection with Anna Paquin through New Zealand director Jane Campion. Lucy Griffiths (Robin Hood) has also signed on as a season 5 regular in the role of Nora, Chancellor of the Vampire Authority and ‘sister’ to Eric.
FansofTrueBlood andloversoftheSookieStackhousesource novels are in for a treat come August. Charlaine Harris, author of the bestselling series of books which spawned the critically acclaimed TV show, will be touring New Zealand for the first time.
True Blood season 5 airs this Thursday 21 June, 9.40pm on Prime
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Bomb Girls
Academy Award nominated actress Meg Tilly (Agnes of God) stepped away from the soundstage to raise her children, but now she’s back in acclaimed series Bomb Girls, which follows the lives, loves and longings of a group of women working in a Canadian munitions factory during World War II.
Liberated from social and cultural restrictions, these women embrace their newfound freedom, changing their lives – and the world around them – forever. Tilly stars as Lorna Corbett, the matriarch of the factory floor and a woman struggling with the irony that the weapons she helps to build might also end the lives of her enlisted sons in "friendly fire."
We talked to Meg Tilly about her return to acting, and what drew her to the role of Lorna.
“I really wasn’t planning on
doing it, and it wasn’t until I met with (producer) Adrienne Mitchell and read
with her and she had such insightful direction with this character that then I
saw Lorna, all the colours that (writer) Michael McCullen had written in his
beautifully written script”
Bomb Girls debuts Thursday 21 June, 8.30pm on Vibe.
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Episodes
Matt LeBlanc won a Golden Globe at this year’s awards for his turn playing a version of himself in this sitcom, which also features former co-stars Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Grieg (Green Wing).
When successful British husband and wife comedy team, Beverly (Greig) and Sean (Mangan) are lured to Hollywood to produce a new version of their hit TV series for a US network, they're initially thrilled at the prospect.
But things begin to unravel as soon as Sean and Beverly arrive in LA. It becomes clear that the network president has never even seen their show. To make matters worse, he insists that they replace their brilliant lead actor, an erudite Royal Shakespeare veteran, with Matt LeBlanc (Friends).
Episodes premieres Thursday 21 June, 10.10pm on TVOne
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Big Fat Gypsy Weddings
The perma-tanned men and women of England’s gypsy communities are back for another season of outrageous weddings and wholesome beddings - while they like to flash the flesh, there's a strict no-sex before marriage rule amongst the traveller community.
This series delves deeper and explores issues ranging from how travellers are affected by crime, punishment, honour, heritage, money, eviction laws, education, family, and their complex relationship with the non-gypsy community.
As well as meeting new faces, we also catch up on the lives of some familiar favourites, following the births, engagements, marriages, qualifications, evictions and divorces that have happened since the last series.
The new season of Big Fat Gypsy Weddings starts Thursday 21 June, 8.30pm on TVOne
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