Netflix’s Utopia, TVNZ’s In the Long Run among great shows to stream this weekend – Stuff.co.nz

CREAMERIE (TVNZ ONDEMAND)

Despite the premise, initial aesthetics and the presence of the luminous Tandi Wright, a dystopian drama akin to the under-rated, sadly short-lived This is Not My Life, this Kiwi black comedy is not. Instead, its an, at times anarchic, kind of anti-Handmaids Tale thats not for the easily offended.

Our main trio are messy, complicated, straight-talking women and those unfamiliar with the production teams previous shows Flat3 and Friday Night Bites could be in for either a hilarious surprise, or rude shock. Fans of the work of JJ Fong, Perlina Lau, Ally Xue and director Roseanne Liang, who also serves as one of Creameries four writers, will be delighted to see them tackle another genre and network prime-time with their sensibilities and subversiveness intact.

IN THE LONG RUN (TVNZ ONDEMAND)

A British sitcom created by and starring Idris Elba, this has the Luther and Thor star playing Sierra Leone-born Walter Easmon. A factory shop steward, he's made a life for himself in his adopted country with wife Agnes (Madeline Appiah) and son Kobna (Sammy Kamara).

However, their ordered, low-profile assimilation is upset by the arrival of Walter's younger brother Valentine (Jimmy Akingbola). A former football star and wannabe DJ, Valentine has spent sent by his and Walter's Mum because he needs his older sibling's "guidance".

Much of the comedy comes from Valentines fish-out-of-water status, while Bill Bailey is a scene-stealer as the familys upstairs neighbour. Reminiscent of the kind of characters and scenarios Lenny Henry used to specialise in back in the 1980s, In the Long Run isn't groundbreaking comedy, but it does provide plenty of laughs.

Supplied

Utopia, Teine Sa and In the Long Run are among the great shows available to stream this weekend.

READ MORE:* Vegas: Smart direction, impressive cast keep TVNZ's new Kiwi drama on the boil* The Last Blockbuster: Nostalgic doco investigates the death of the video store* Twelve terrifically terrifying dystopian-future tales (& where you can watch them)

Netflix

Jupiter's Legacy is now streaming on Netflix.

JUPITER'S LEGACY (NETFLIX)

Based on Kick-Ass and Kingsman author Mark Millers comic-book series of the same name, this eight-part action-adventure explores what happens when the next generation of superheroes have to live up to their forebears exploits. Transformers Josh Duhamel headlines a cast of relative unknowns.

Jupiter's Legacy eases the story to the viewers gracefully, without dousing them with a plethora of exposition this is a sensible yet satisfying superhero story, wrote Ready Steady Cut's Daniel Hart.

LOVE, DEATH & ROBOTS VOLUME 2 (NETFLIX)

From wild adventures on far-flung planets to unsettling encounters close to home: this Emmy-winning, animated anthology returns with another crop of eight provocative tales.

Executive produced by David Fincher and Tim Miller, the vocal performers include Michael B. Jordan.

Objectively, the shorts in volume 2 are less edgy and violent, trading in gratuitous nudity and gore for poignant storytelling. It's more mature this time around and less messed-up, which makes for stronger viewing, wrote Polygon's Petrana Radulovic.

Volume 2 of Love, Death + Robots is now available to stream on Netflix.

SHADOW AND BONE (NETFLIX)

Based on Leigh Bardugos beloved series of fantasy books, this eight-part series is set in a war-torn world where lowly soldier and orphan Alina Starkov has just unleashed an extraordinary power that could be the key to setting her country free. Newcomer Jesse Mei Lei and Ben Barnes star.

Stunningly gorgeous and mesmerising, this enchanting series is the rightful heir to the Game of Thrones throne, and solid proof that TV adaptations can improve on their source material, wrote Common Sense Medias Joyce Slaton.

TEINE SA (NEON)

These five, roughly 10-minute tales are terrific entertainment, closer to Roald Dahls Tales of the Unexpected than Rod Serlings Twilight Zone, as each offers an absorbing mix of hot-button contemporary topics and Pasifika goddesses of legend. Evildoers get their comeuppance in these morality plays, as they tackle sensitive subjects like internet dating, online sex videos and disregard for cultural values.

Headlining four of the stories, Frankie Adams does a magnificent job in crafting a quartet of very distinct and fully formed creations within such short chunks of screentime.

Supplied

Four seasons of the Australian sitcom Utopia are now available to stream on Netflix.

UTOPIA (NETFLIX)

From the creators of Frontline and The Castle, this Logie Award-winning comedy follows the lives of members of the Nation Building Authority, a government organisation responsible for overseeing major infrastructure projects.

Thirty-two episodes across four seasons are now available, with Frontlines Rob Sitch creating another memorable character to rival Mike Moore, in the form of chief executive Tony Woodford.

As satire of the modern world, Utopia does a brilliant job of reminding us of the extent to which our lives are ruled by the decisions of faceless, unelected bureaucrats, processes supposedly designed to simplify our lives, the chicanery of so-called public private partnerships and the ease with which corporate jargon and spin are used to cover up events that might be more plainly called scandals, wrote The Sydney Morning Heralds Paul Kalina of the most recent season. While it may have some large and obvious targets in its sights, it never wavers from its faith in human comedy or the possibility of a stuff-up resulting in something at least half-good.

WYNONNA EARP (TVNZ ONDEMAND)

Part Buffy the Vampire Slayer, part Supernatural, part Justified, this gleefully subversive, cynical, fantasy Western horror mixes visceral thrills with gunslinging action and acerbic one-liners.

Based on the comic-book series, first published in 1996, by Beau Smith, it follows the adventures of eponymous Wynonna, the great-great-grand-daughter of legendary lawman Wyatt Earp.

A series that doesnt pull in any punches and constantly aims to smash expectations, Wynonna Earp isnt for the faint-heart or easily offended. But if dialogue like, why dont you slip into something more comfortable, like a coma, is what youre here for, then this will quickly become your new favourite binge-watch.

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Netflix's Utopia, TVNZ's In the Long Run among great shows to stream this weekend - Stuff.co.nz