A British Baptist preacher fluent in te reo Māori is the subject of one of this year's Loading Docs. Photo / supplied
A British Baptist preacher fluent in te reo Māori is the subject of one of this year's Loading Docs. Photo / supplied
Loading Docs (TVNZ On Demand)
Loading Docs' latest slate of thought-provoking short documentaries are available to stream on TVNZ On Demand or the Loading Docs website from today. This year's batch is based on the theme of impact, looking at Kiwis making waves and leading change in their fields. There'sa 22-year-old scientist working to eradicate didymo in New Zealand rivers; a unicycling duo who are also vegan activisits; Mojo Mathers, Aotearoa's first deaf MP, and a British Baptist preacher fluent in te reo Māori. There's plenty more where that came from and the documentaries are all a wonderfully bite-sized three minutes each, meaning you can be educated in less than the time it would have taken you to scan through Netflix for something to watch.
Ride Upon the Storm (Lightbox)
Morten Hee Andersen in Ride Upon the Storm. Photo / supplied
Scandi-noir takes on religion in Ride Upon the Storm, a Danish series following two sons of a priest who struggle under his God-like behaviour in a twist on the Cain and Abel story. From the writer of Borgen, Ride Upon the Storm stars House of Cards' Lars Mikkelson as Johannes, the oppressive priest. The award-winning series earned international praise for its slow-burning narrative with fully-realised, compelling characters. The full season is available from Monday.
Kiernan Shipka in Netflix's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Photo / supplied
Sabrina the Teenage Witch gets a peak-TV reboot from Netflix with Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, a 10-episode series that looks like it leans heavily into the "chilling" of its title. Starring Mad Men's Kiernan Shipka as the titular half-witch, half-mortal, the new series is a coming-of-age story that folds in elements of horror, borrowing from genre greats such as The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby. It's from the executive producers of Riverdale, so you can be assured there'll be a strong dose of teenage drama to weigh out the scares. The series also boasts a great supporting cast, with Miranda Otto, Ross Lynch and Lucy Davis.
Instinct (Neon)
Alan Cumming stars in Instinct. Photo / supplied
Another James Patterson book gets a screen adaptation in Instinct, a new procedural drama starring Alan Cummings as Dr Dylan Reinhart, a CIA operative-turned-psychology professor who's coaxed out of retirement by the NYPD after a serial killer begins using Reinhart's own book as an instruction manual to murder. Instinct is of note for being the first American primetime broadcast drama with a gay lead character – further strengthened by the fact that he's played by an openly gay actor. Season one is available from next Tuesday.
