Recent seasons of already popular shows dominate this week's new-to-streaming listings.
Amy (Melissa Fumero), Jake (Andy Samberg) and Charles (Joe Lo Truglio) in the Season 5 episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, "The Funeral". Photo: Fox
Unlike the world of feature films, there’s a paucity of excitement in terms of new TV bingeing offers this week, but fans of certain shows will be pleased to know there are some more complete seasons landing.
Neon has the complete season 7 of The Walking Dead (2017) and all eight seasons of the serial killer thriller Dexter (2006-2013) available to stream.
Lightbox has just added all five seasons of the insanely popular college football drama Friday Night Lights (2006-2011) and the fifth season of the acclaimed (and now back from the dead) comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2018).
The cast of Finnish crime series Roba, now showing on Prime Video. Photo: IMDb
Meanwhile, Prime Video has added the third season of the Finnish cop series Roba (from 2016), described by one reviewer as “TV gold (especially for fans of Broadchurch)”. You know who you are.
Michael Douglas makes a return to regular series television - for the first time since he left The Streets of San Francisco in 1976 - as acting coach Sandy Kominsky in The Kominsky Method, a new comedy from sitcom king Chuck Lorre (Dharma & Greg, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory). Another screen legend, Alan Arkin, plays Douglas’ best friend and sparring partner.
Finally, not quite binge-able yet but four episodes in on TVNZ ON Demand, is the new Australian drama about returned servicemen and the difficulties they face back home. Fighting Season has been described by one critic as “the best Australian drama you’ll see this year” and features rising Kiwi star Marco Alosio in a leading role shot while he was still a second-year acting student at Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School.
Every week around this time, Dan Slevin highlights some of the best and most interesting TV shows that are new to Kiwi streaming services.