1pm Daily Update

I made sure I had my lunch ready (freshly baked lockdown loaf out of the oven) and the TV on at 1pm sharp today to tune into the 3rd series of what has become a cult telly show in Aotearoa/NZ.

Jacinda seemed a bit strident I thought in her role. Maybe as the season goes on she will chill out a bit but the good Doctor Ashley is still playing his role of McDreamy really well. Good looks, charm, GSOH and most importantly, intellect. Swoon.

Speaking of swoon, we haven't seen that cutie pie Darryn Webb, Assistant Chief of Defence on this show for a while. He was a hottie. Hopefully the producers might bring him back this season?

Anyhow I digress. Today's pilot was good. A bit long I thought however, although I appreciate there's a lot of information out there for the team of 5 million to take in.

I did think season 1 and 2 were a bit samey samey, but I have the impression already that the Delta variant theme for this season might just shake things up a wee bit.

The dynamic duo are back on our screens giving us our daily dose of information. Season 2 has already started with a bang, what will happen next?

Sometimes you think you know where the series is going but then BOOM a whole new alert level. The subtle humour and the smirks about the conspiracy theory backstories are classic. Best duo since Mulder and Scully.

After the exciting season 1 finale, I really didn't think I wanted to endure a second season, gotta admit I've not missed an episode! Keep seeing memes and social media posts everywhere. It's viral y'all.

This debut series from little-known studio, Beehive, portrays an eerie pre-apocalyptic dystopia that depicts a country battling to save itself from a deadly virus ravaging the rest of the planet.

There have been several overseas adaptations which have flopped in comparison to New Zealand's roundly-praised "1pm Daily Update", most notably "Oval Eyes" from Washington-based production powerhouse White House Fiction, which was abruptly cancelled after the main protagonist was pulled from the show - widely believed to be down to a long-standing casting blunder which still baffles viewers to this day.

Airing every weekday, each episode of "1pm Daily Update" is set in one room, with minimal set-dressing. Fans of classics such as 12 Angry Men and Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight will appreciate how the confines of the set emphasise the drama that plays out.

The pilot episode aired with little fanfare, but Beehive's breakout series has had domestic audiences gripped ever since - thanks in part for deploying a risky screenplay technique whereby the cliffhangers occur at the beginning rather than the end of each episode, with each opening scene providing the latest plot turn before the audience learns how the latest twist unfurled.

It's this kind of subversion of the serial drama genre that has rightly won the show plaudits nationwide, not to mention the two main protagonists' command of the screen who were rightly recast in a surprise second season.

The fact each episode is filmed in one take is often overlooked, and is a credit to the studio's faith in its cast and production crew. Furthermore the mysterious host of characters behind the camera - who are only ever heard and not seen - has had audiences scrambling for months to figure out their identities, motives and relationships with the two lead characters, and has ignited online discussion forums to levels not seen since the ill-fated Game of Thrones finale.

Unlike that show, viewers and critics alike were happy with the conclusion of the first season of "1pm Daily Update" when it came to a close earlier this year.

Its sudden return to our screens is sure to have a nation gripped once again, but many have signalled it will be more uncomfortable viewing than the first season.