Latest news with #Homebound3.0
The Spinoff
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
Welcome back to the chaos and comedy of Homebound 3.0
Tara Ward watches the return of New Zealand's funniest romantic comedy. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In a week where good news has felt scarce on the ground, it was with unexpected joy that I found myself sitting on my couch and chuckling loudly over a fake pregnancy, some emotional karaoke and an Uber driver who just won't quit. Homebound 3.0 returned to our screens this week for another season of Sam Wang's delightful local romantic comedy, which follows the weird and wonderful love story between aspiring writer Henry Li (Wang) and dermatologist Melissa Wu (Michelle Ang). Season one of Homebound 3.0 saw Melissa and Henry's desperate attempt to stop their parents from interfering in their lives by pretending to be in love – but their bizarre plan went awry when they actually started to develop feelings for each other. 'Wang's Chinese-New Zealand spin provides a fresh and engaging take on the [romcom] genre, and the show is laugh-out-loud funny,' Naomii Seah wrote in her season one review. 'From the larger-than-life personalities to the sparkly stage set of Aunty Linda's eponymous restaurant, there's a lot to love about Homebound 3.0.' There's a lot to love about season two of Homebound 3.0 as well. The new season picks up where the first ended, with Melissa and Henry deciding to give their fake relationship a go and their families rejoicing over Melissa's positive pregnancy test. Melissa isn't actually pregnant, but if she and Henry can keep up the audacious ruse for three short weeks – long enough to claim a distant relative's inheritance and buy a house in Auckland – then Melissa will be set up for life. A reluctant Henry agrees by applying his own weird logic to Melissa's bizarre idea. If faking a romance helped him and Melissa to actually fall in love, then pretending to be responsible adults can only strengthen their new relationship. Right? If only it were that easy. In the real world, nothing about Homebound 3.0 would stand up, but the show's whip-smart writing and the committed performances make every over the top, implausible moment seem entirely believable. Even when Homebound's characters are at their worst – Melissa and Henry lie, scheme and trick the people they love the most, manipulating a fake pregnancy to get their hands on a huge wad of cash – we're still on their side. It's a credit to the show's humour and warmth that these characters' bad decisions are still so endearing. It also helps that they are surrounded by an ensemble of loveable, charming characters. The competitive family dynamics between Henry and Melissa's parents (played by Irene Siu, Gabriel Ren, Xiao Hu and Patrick Leung) are a highlight, as are the scene-stealing performances from Henry's book agent Jen (Hannah Marshall) and reformed conspiracy theorist Vaughn (Aaron McGregor). David Correos is a welcome addition as the Uber driver who charms his way into their friend group, while Pax Assadi pops up as a mortgage broker won over by Vaughn's dodgy scheme to draw down Melissa's inheritance ('who knew it would be so simple as refinancing our homes and opening a few offshore trusts in each other's names?'). But it's Michelle Ang's vibrant, flawed Melissa who holds Homebound together. Ang breathes life into Melissa with both ferocity and vulnerability, turning this sharp-tongued tornado into someone you can't help but cheer for. It's obvious where this season will take us (if Henry and Melissa's scam relationship saw them fall in love, then surely the scam pregnancy will result in a real baby), but with a romance this unconventional, there's no guarantee about how we'll get there. The first two episodes canter along at a cracking pace, but I do wonder how many more messy misunderstandings Homebound can serve up before it tests our patience. Fingers crossed we go deeper into Henry and Melissa's relationship, giving us a little space to watch their warped love story unfold. Whatever happens, Homebound 3.0 is not your traditional romcom – and thank goodness for that. Wang has created a fresh and funny take on a familiar genre, and while the show tells the tale of two Chinese-New Zealand families (plus the occasional Uber driver and mortgage broker), its themes of love and acceptance will resonate with everyone. Melissa and Henry are on a bumpy filled journey to love, and Homebound 3.0 is taking us all along for the ride.
NZ Herald
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
On The Up: Homebound 3.0 Kiwi comedian David Correos on turning ‘no' into comedy success
'It was a nice switch-up. It was almost like a blessing to end one chapter and then begin another.' A stint at broadcasting school also wasn't to be, but the rejection only fuelled Correos' desire to take every opportunity that came to him. 'I feel like there were other people that really wanted it more than I did, and the tutors never saw what I was going for,' he said. Once he found stand-up and the doors it could open, everything 'kind of clicked into place'. He's since starred in hit shows such as 7 Days and Homebound 3.0, toured Australasia with stand-up routines, and hit the stage of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. 'It's really funny because all of these schools and training institutions that I signed up for, I ended up getting to do the work anyway, just doing it sideways through stand-up,' he said. 'You get to put every hat on, and quite early I was like, oh, that's a really powerful thing.' Correos mused that if he wasn't rejected in those early stages, he might not have taken things as seriously and charted his own path in a way that worked for him. 'I think that's definitely coming from my weightlifting background of learning about failures. I think the failures are more powerful than the wins.' Stand-up isn't just a career for Correos, it's an outlet that's deeply personal to him. He credits it as a form of expression and as an outlet for other sides of himself. 'Comedy means a lot to me, the live version especially. During the Covid pandemic when there was no stand-up, I think I went a bit depressed'. His wild, irreverent, and often cheeky humour often comes from a place of exploring the 'acting up' he did during his teenage years. 'I probably act up less because of stand-up, because I've got a platform to kind of be that version of myself'. A recent comedic skit where Correos performed a DJ set in a 24-hour gym went viral online. While he received a written warning for the hilarious stunt, he's still allowed back, which came as a surprise to him. 'It's crazy, you can do whatever you want, but they still won't cancel your gym membership. They still want your money, which is pretty funny.' Advertise with NZME. With the second season of Kiwi series Homebound 3.0 scheduled to hit screens this month, Correos said it was purely by luck that he landed the role of Dave, the Uber driver turned friend. The hit series follows the story of a struggling writer who is forced to move back home and deal with the disappointment of his Chinese parents. 'I get a call on the Friday from [production company] Kevin and Co. going, hey, we had someone drop out of the show and we need someone to fill this role. 'They were like, it starts filming on Monday. I went, all good, looking at my calendar like I wasn't doing anything over the next month and a half.' Working with Kiwi talent such as Kimberley Crossman and creator and writer Sam Wang helped Correos stretch his comedy muscles even more, he said. 'I was around a lot of people that were at a high calibre. After a couple of weeks of filming with them, I felt like I really got into my groove'. Advertisement Advertise with NZME. Correos' advice for young up-and-comers wanting to break into the comedy scene is that exposure to the craft and its community works wonders. 'Check out your local scene. Just look up stand-up comedy in your city and see if there's anything going,' he said. 'A lot of the scenes are very, very friendly, so just keep on working, keep on talking, and keep on getting your name out there.' Homebound 3.0 Season 2 kicks off on Three and ThreeNow from Thursday, May 15. David Correos: Noise Zealand (as part of the NZ International Comedy Gala), May 14-17 in Auckland and May 20-24 in Wellington. Tickets can be found at
