If you love thought-provoking locally-made documentaries:M9 Season 2 (TVNZ+, January 20)
M9's second season sets out to inspire, empower and entertain. Photo / The Spinoff
The second season of the groundbreaking M9 sets out to inspire, empower and entertain by asking one question: “What does it mean to be a Māori athlete?” Its nine kaikōrero (speakers), who have all represented Aotearoa on the biggest stages in world sport, include rugby league legend Tawera Nikau, Silver Fern turned TV host Jenny-May Clarkson and Paralympic bronze medallist Peter Cowan. A hybrid between a whaikōrero (speech), a TED Talk and a theatre show, M9 delves into the setbacks, the triumphs, and the values that have shaped these mighty Māori athletes. Be sure to check out this illuminating kōrero.
If you like medical dramas: This Is Going To Hurt (TVNZ+, January 20)
As the title suggests, there’s sure to be plenty of moments to make you squirm during medical drama This Is Going To Hurt– the Bafta award-winning show certainly pulls no punches about everyday life at a hospital. Acclaimed actor Ben Whishaw is Adam, an overworked junior NHS doctor on an under-funded obstetrics and gynecology ward, and the series navigates the many life-and-death decisions that are hurled at him shift after shift without enough sleep or resources. It’s been described as “one of the best medical dramas to hit the small screen in years”.
If you love The Office: Abbott Elementary Season 4 (Disney+, January 22)
With all the doom and gloom in the world, the award-winning Abbott Elementary is the joyous small-screen pick-me-up we all need. The workplace mockumentary about the hijinks of a group of passionate teachers at a Philadelphia public school is “full of astonishingly rapid-fire jokes, immaculate timing and note-perfect acting”, wrote the Guardian in its five-star review. In season four, there’s slow-burn romance, sharp social commentary, plenty of belly-aching gags and even an It’s Always Sunny crossover to enjoy.
If you enjoy twisted true stories: Mister Organ (DocPlay, January 20)
Pick of the Flicks: Nightbitch (Disney+, January 24)
Director Marielle Heller has joked that Nightbitch “is a horror movie for men and a comedy for women”. The film, a howl-arious adaptation of Rachel Yoder’s novel of the same name, follows Amy Adams as an artist turned stay-at-home mum who, in the midst of raising her 2-year-old son and an identity crisis, begins to experience odd physical changes. A whip-smart cross between David Cronenberg’s The Fly and Jason Reitman’s Tully, Nightbitch is a “darkly comic exploration of motherhood and the societal expectations that come with it”.
