Movies to catch, books to read, television to bingewatch, music to dance to and podcasts to fill your ears this season.

Movies

TWIGGY

If anyone deserves the title of Cultural Icon, it has to be Twiggy, the model who defined ‘the look’ of the 1960s with her ennui, androgyny and very long eyelashes. For the first time, the now Dame Lesley Lawson tells her story, with a little help from her friends. Like Dustin Hoffman, Paul McCartney, Charlotte Tilbury and Joanna Lumley, for starters. A must-see for any fashionista.

WUTHERING HEIGHTS

Timed to drop on Valentine’s Day, this steamy adaptation of the already steamy Emily Brontë novel has more bare male torso than most movies just in the trailer! Margot Robbie is Catherine and Jacob Elordi is Heathcliff in director Emerald Fennell's iteration of the classic love story. The film is also the reinvention of Charlie XCX, who transforms from Pop Princess to industrial goth rocker with her soundtrack contribution. 

ANCHOR ME – THE DON McGLASHAN STORY

Aah, if only French horns could talk... Until then, this tracing of the musical and personal trajectory of one of our most-loved musicians celebrates the extraordinary breadth of Don McGlashan’s work. Punk angst with Blam Blam Blam; performance art with The Front Lawn; experimental percussion with From Scratch; and then ‘soundtrack of a generation’ hits with The Muttonbirds, including of course the one that lends its name to the doco. Helping to tell Don’s story are friends and collaborators Neil Finn, Harry Sinclair, David Long, Sean Donnelly, Shona McCullagh and Jennifer Ward-Lealand.

Bingewatching

TAYLOR SWIFT: THE END OF AN ERA

Christmas will come early for the world’s Swifties when this six-part documentary series behind the scenes of Tay Tay’s world-conquering Eras Tour drops. The series follows the release of the film ‘The Eras Tour: The Final Show’, which captures the tour’s finale in Vancouver in December 2024. With the doco series, the POV switches to behind the stage apron, providing an intimate look at Taylor's life as her tour made headlines and thrilled fans around the world.  

BOOKISH

This looks delicious. It’s from Martin Gatiss, half of the team behind the TV series ‘Sherlock’ (2010-2017), which cast Benedict Cumberbatch as a brilliant sleuth but a bit of a liability for Martin Freeman’s Dr Watson. Once again, Gatiss takes us into a demi-monde of delightful characters, this time led by Gabriel Book, proprietor of an antiquarian bookshop and ‘amateur detective’. It seems that to solve the mystery, you just need to find the right book.

BRIDGERTON: SEASON 4

Back we go to Julia Quinn’s reimagined Regency-era London and the tortuous lives of the Bridgerton clan as they navigate the perilous tides of polite society. Critics and viewers were as gushy about Season 3 as they were about Season 1, so we can expect another solid and sultry delivery. And in case you are wondering, the series has been renewed for seasons 5 and 6.

Reading

SEED – ELISABETH EASTHER

A comedy of manners set in the oh-so modern world of fertility clinics and dating apps, where some are desperate to conceive and others are desperate to avoid such a messy complication in their perfect life. Kiwi author Elisabeth Easther’s debut comes from the publishers of Marian Keyes and Dolly Alderton so expect trademark lashings of wry humour.

CAT ZEN: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO RAISING GENTLE AND RESILIENT CATS – MARK VETTE

We know him for his work with dogs but animal psychologist and zoologist Mark Vette can herd cats too. Or at least train them. Hard to imagine but it’s true. In his latest book, Mark invites us to see our cats in a new way and, in doing so, nurture their intelligence and social skills and address behavioural issues. Even stop them hunting. Purr to that.

NOBODY'S GIRL: A MEMOIR OF SURVIVING ABUSE AND FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE – VIRGINIA ROBERTS GIUFFRE

The last testimony of the child who became the woman who exposed serial pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was never going to be a comfortable read. The call is strong, though, to not look away and instead to bear witness to her story of courage and resilience, told here in her own words. Already those words have toppled a prince. Stay tuned.

Listening

LIVE GOD – NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ Wild God Tour, which reaches Wellington in February 2026 as part of the Aotearoa Festival of the Arts, has already spawned a live album drawn from performances on the 2024 and 2025 UK, European and North American legs of the tour. The tracklist includes performances of songs from 2024 studio album ‘Wild God’ as well as catalogue favourites such as ‘From Her To Eternity’, ‘Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry’ and ‘Into My Arms’.

UR AN ANGEL I’M JUST PARTICLES – BENEE

Five years after she burst upon the world as its new electro-pop princess, Benee is back, this time with a sound that reflects her shift to LA and her maturing as an artist and a human being. Don’t worry, you can still bop around the room to it but don’t be surprised if some of the ideas start to find a way into your head as well. 

THE WAY WE LOVE – 1 DROP NATION

Fresh beats for summer with the third studio album from Christchurch-based funk and reggae group 1 Drop Nation. The single ‘Supernova’, featuring the legendary Laughton Kora, gave punters a taste of what to expect but it’s not all big and noisy, with the album’s title track showing their softer side. 

PODCASTS

HISTORY OF AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND

An award winner that tells the story of these Shaky Isles from the time before people arrived all the way up to the year 2000. Hosted by Thomas Rillstone. 

CREATIVE MATTERS  

Multimedia artist Mandy Jakich hosts conversations with visual artists and arts practitioners from across Aotearoa New Zealand. Her guests include Banks Peninsula painter Anna Gibbs.