Hot Takes: The Handmaid's Tale, Song Exploder and more

Elisabeth Moss and Alexis Bledel in The Handmaid's Tale. Photo / supplied

WATCH

You know you've found a good TV show when a season of 10 hour-long episodes feels far too short. Last week saw the finale of the first season of The Handmaid's Tale, and I haven't been thinking about much else since. The cast was impeccable, with astonishing turns from Elisabeth Moss, Samira Wiley and Yvonne Strahovski (to name a few). The show did an excellent job at expanding on Margaret Atwood's terrifyingly relevant novel, and it's one of those rare cases where it actually feels like a good idea for the on-screen adaption to continue beyond the original story. Thankfully, a second season has been announced for 2018; for now, season one is available on Lightbox.

LISTEN

I often struggle to keep my millennial attention span focused on podcasts, but when I started listening to Song Exploder, I couldn't stop. On Song Exploder, musicians unpack their songs and describe the stories of how they came together, with host Hrishikesh Hirway weaving isolated, individual pieces of the tracks together with interviews with the artists to reveal how different songs come to life. It's an incredibly engrossing listen that's peppered with surprisingly moving, poignant moments. Solange, Grimes and Bjork are among the artists who've taken part - and each episode runs at a deliciously concise 20 minutes. A literally perfect podcast.

GROOVE

Lorde proved her staying power last week when she released the excellent Melodrama, which was well worth the four-year wait - but it's not the only recent album that deserves praise. I cannot get enough of SZA's CTRL; it's an intricate, elegant R'n'B debut that instantly feels as timeless and era-defining as Solange's A Seat at the Table or Frank Ocean's Blonde.

I've also got Amber Coffman's City of No Reply on repeat - an excellent alt-pop record infused with a sunny, confident finesse that proves the former Dirty Projectors star is an expert artist in her own right.

SEE

I made the mistake of not seeing Hudson and Halls Live! when it first premiered in 2015 and received widespread rave reviews. Thankfully, Auckland audiences have been granted another chance to see the acclaimed play; Silo Theatre is bringing it back next week to celebrate the company's 20th anniversary. Starring Todd Emerson and Chris Parker as the titular characters, the play profiles New Zealand's "original great gay love story" of Peter Hudson and David Halls, the iconic 1980s TV personalities who hid their relationship in plain sight during a time of homophobia. The winter season begins next Tuesday, and runs through to July 9.