Tara Ward: The Iris Affair, Murdaugh: Death in the Family, The Diplomat

The Iris Affair - (TVNZ+) A new British thriller, created by Neil Cross (Luther) and starring Tom Hollander, about a genius who goes on the run with a secret code and must work out what technology it could awaken before she is caught. 

 

Murdaugh: Death in the Family - (Disney+) Patricia Arquette and Jason Clarke star in this true-crime drama series about a prominent South Carolina family involved in several mysterious deaths. 

 

The Diplomat - (Netflix) A new season of the very bingeable thriller that sees Keri Russell play a reluctant American career diplomat who is made ambassador to the UK. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to this Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from newstalk ZB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Twenty five past ten, which means it's screen time time.
Tara awards our screen time experts. She's here with three
shows for the weekend.

Speaker 3 (00:20):
Get I Tara, Good morning.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Let's begin with the show on TVNZ plus. Tell us
about the Iris Affair.

Speaker 3 (00:27):
Yeah, this is a new British thriller that's just landed
on TVVZ plus and it's quite a wild ride. You
sort of have to suspend belief for this one and
just go along with what happens. This is created by
Neil Cross, who made the show Luther, and it's about
a woman named Iris who is a maths genius, a
very clever puzzle solver and Iris wins this global scavenger

(00:49):
hunt organized by an eccentric entrepreneur who's played by Tom Hollander,
and the prize is that Iris gets to visit this
underground bunker where there is this top secret, highly dangerous
and powerful supercomputer and the entrepreneur needs to crack a
secret code that will bring the computer to life. And

(01:10):
there are a few time jumps in the show, but
Iris essentially takes off with the code and then it
is chased in a game of hide and seek across Italy.
This show is tense from the opening scenes. The start
throws you right into the action and there are lots
of moments in this where you won't know what's going on,
but I think hanging there. The story is a bit
like a puzzle itself. You kind of have to put

(01:31):
it together. It's filmed in Italy during the summer and
it looks incredible. It almost has a bit of a
James Bond kind of feel to it. It is preposterous,
but if you like a twisty kind of thriller, this
is a lot of fun.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
Nice. Okay, that's the Iris Affair. It's on TVNZ plus
on Disney Plus. Murdoch Death in the Family.

Speaker 3 (01:49):
Yeah. This is a new American true crime series about
a very bleak set of murders that took place in
South Carolina a few years ago. And some people might
already be familiar with this story. Netflix did a big
documentary series about this a few years ago, and the
case has been in the news even quite reads quite recently,
and now it's been turned into this eight episode dramatized

(02:10):
mini series and it's about the Murdoch family, who were
one of South Carolina's most powerful and prominent families, and
it follows what happened in the family and the lead
up to the murders. There's a suspicious death, there's a
cover up, there's addiction, and there's a lot of bad behavior.
And the show is about how power and wealth and
privilege can make people behave in the worst possible ways.

(02:33):
The performances and this are really strong. Jason Clark and
Patricia Arquette Starr and this as the parents, and there's
a great supporting cast as well. I think if you've
read the book and listened to the podcast and watched
the documentary, I don't know that this drama adds anything
more to the story. It's largely rehashing what's already out there.
But I think if you're coming to this series without

(02:53):
knowing much about it, you'll probably find this a lot
more compelling because it is such a shocking and outrageous story.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
Yeah, right, Okay, that's Murdoch Death in the Family. It's
on Disney Plus and on Netflix. The Diplomat.

Speaker 3 (03:08):
I know you've been looking forward to this one, Jack.
This is a new season of the of the very
fun political thriller, And if you're looking for something smart
and entertaining and not too heavy to watch this weekend,
I can recommend this season three drop this week. It
stars Kerrie Russell and she plays an American diplomat who
is suddenly appointed ambassador to the UK during an international

(03:31):
political crisis, and she doesn't want the job, she reluctantly
takes it, and she also has to deal with her husband,
who's paper rufus seul, who is a liability, and who's
who pulling a lot of strings behind the scenes to
further his own career. And what I like about The
Diplomat is that it's a political thriller, but it's not
dry or boring. It's funny, it's well paced, the dialogue

(03:53):
is punchy. Lots of Cliffhanger's great cast Alison Janny is
in this, Celia and marias in this as well. You know,
it is over the top and probably a bit soapy,
but it doesn't take itself seriously as well, and it's
having fun without dumbing anything down. So very bingeable. And
yeah it makes politics entertainment, Yeah.

Speaker 2 (04:12):
Yeah, it does. It does move perhaps unrealistically quickly at times.
But yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean there's a fair
amount of dramatic license as you would expect, but yes,
I love it. I'm into it and very excited about
the new series. So that's The Diplomat. That's on Netflix.
Season three. Mood Off, Death and the Family is on
Disney Plus, The Iris Affair is on TVNZ Plus, and

(04:33):
all three shows are on the News Talks ZEDB website.

Speaker 1 (04:36):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to Newstalks EDB from nine am Saturday, or follow the
podcast on iHeartRadio.