What to watch over the Easter long weekend

The Easter holidays have been officially rained off.

The wet, windy weather of Cyclone Tam has forced everyone indoors to cosy up, hunker down, and try to ignore the stroppy conditions outside.

So once you’ve finished your book, your journaling and your YouTube yoga session, you’ll be looking for something to watch. We got you covered.

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Treat the kids (or yourself) to the confectionery classic Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. This 1971 musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved story features a roster of earworm songs, a few moments sure to terrify the little ones, and an absolutely iconic performance by the late, great Gene Wilder in the titular role. 6.30 pm, Saturday on TVNZ 2

The State broadcaster is also screening Tim Burton’s abysmal 2005 “reimagining”, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, on Friday at 7pm, but give that a miss as it’s sure to leave a sour taste.

Meanwhile, Neon has 2023’s excellent prequel Wonka, which sees Timothée Chalamet give an outstanding performance as the fanciful confectioner.

The second season of the award-winning post-apocalyptic drama The Last of Us began on Monday to rave reviews, with one critic noting that it “grabs onto thorny moral questions with its bare hands.” If you missed the first season, a rainy holiday is the perfect time to binge-watch. Streaming on Neon.

For something closer to our own timeline, but no less chilling, the final season of The Handmaid’s Tale has also just landed on Neon, offering a worrying glimpse into America’s future if it continues with its current nonsense.

And finally, a new season of the dark anthology series Black Mirror has surfaced on Netflix, to once again hold up a cracked, tech-smudged reflection of the doom that is likely awaiting us in the near future.

Our number-one family pick is Bookworm, local director and Incredibly Strange mastermind Ant Timpson’s homage to the adventure movies of his youth. It stars rising Kiwi talent Nell Fisher (soon to appear in Stranger Things) as a precocious teen, and Elijah Wood as her estranged magician father, as the two head South in search of the mythical Canterbury Panther. Streaming now on Neon.

These holidays could also be your—sorry, your kids’—last chance to catch The Super Mario Bros. Movie before it leaves Netflix. This fun, breezy animated flick based on Nintendo’s iconic mascot doesn’t outstay its welcome at a tight 92 minutes. Another surefire Netflix hit for the whole family is Plankton: The Movie, the latest entry in the SpongeBob SquarePants cinematic universe.

Watching very clever people make very silly mistakes is, invariably, very funny. So delight in The Chase: Bloopers, a special episode of the popular quiz show, celebrating the goofs and outtakes of the show’s six brainiac Chasers. Airs Monday on TVNZ 1 at 7pm.

For a more traditional comedy, the new season of The Righteous Gemstones, Danny McBride’s comedy about a family of American pastors, is a frequently offensive delight. Streaming now on Neon.

Jon Hamm leads Apple TV+’s new dramedy Your Friends & Neighbours, playing a disgraced hedge fund manager who turns to robbing his neighbours to make ends meet. It’s been described as “an acidly witty riff on Breaking Bad,”, which is high praise, big shoes, and a solid recommendation.

Also on Apple’s premium streaming service is Seth Rogen’s chaotic love letter to cinema, The Studio. This satirical dramedy series is a wild, referential romp that’s sure to please both film nerds and normies alike. Both shows are streaming now.

The Back to the Future trilogy ranks among the greatest movie trilogies of all time. As such, it’s well worth going back to. TVNZ screens the first film on Sunday at 7pm, picks up the cliffhanger on Monday with II at the same time, and returns to wrap things up with III on Tuesday. Yes, that last one is technically cheating for an Easter viewing guide, but you can’t leave yourself hanging by stopping at Part II, can you?

Hoping for their own Good Friday out on the soccer field are the Wellington Phoenix, who take on Adelaide United in a late-night A-League clash. Live coverage begins Friday at 9.30pm.

Saturday brings a classic North vs. South showdown in Super Rugby, as the favoured Chiefs face off against the proud Highlanders. Live coverage kicks off at 7pm.

Both games will be broadcast on the free-to-air channel Sky Open or streamed free via the SkyGo app or website.