New Zealand has always had a history with TV from both home and abroad.
Television broadcasts began in the 1960s with the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation. Initially, most broadcasts were of popular British and American TV shows and were only available in Auckland.
Later, TV broadcasts expanded to other areas of the country and with more New Zealanders owning TVs, the NZBC started producing news, dramas, and documentaries specifically for the domestic audience.
The NZBC became the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand (BCNZ) and eventually Television New Zealand (TVNZ). In 1980, it became state-owned.
Almost a decade later in 1989, New Zealand's first privately-owned television network was launched, TV3.
With digital television in the 2000s, more channels popped up and nowadays, streaming on services like Netflix, Disney+, etc. is allowing more New Zealanders access to both domestic and international TV shows and movies.
So which are New Zealand's biggest TV shows?
Let's take a look.
800 Words
800 Words is a New Zealand comedy-drama TV series about a journalist who moves from Sydney to a fictional New Zealand seaside town called Weld.
The show ran for three seasons from 2015 to 2018 before it was cancelled. It was initially aired on the Seven Network in New Zealand and in Australia. The show was later aired in the United States and the United Kingdom.
A remake was made for Dutch television with the main character moving to Zeeland in the Netherlands, which gave the country of New Zealand its name!
Being Eve
Being Eve is a comedy-drama TV series that was initially aired on TV3 in 2001 and 2002. It's about a teenage girl and her problems, including the fact that her divorced parents are currently neighbours.
The show stars Fleur Saville in the titular role. Saville also appeared in other television series like The Tribe and Shortland Street.
The show ran for two seasons with both seasons being released on DVD. It's now available on various streaming platforms around the world.
bro'Town
bro'Town is an animated series that aired for five seasons between 2004 and 2009. The series was created by Elizabeth Mitchell and the comedy group The Naked Samoans.
bro'Town satirised New Zealand and Pacific Island culture, particularly within an urban setting and while sometimes criticised for its portrayals of both, it also received acclaim for accurately representing both, albeit in ways that offended some viewers.
The show regularly featured guests including All Blacks rugby players, former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, and some of New Zealand's most famous actors including Russell Crowe, Lucy Lawless, Flight of the Conchords, and even the current King of England, Charles.
Eating Media Lunch
Eating Media Lunch was a parody news show that ran from 2003 to 2008 and constantly flirted with controversy.
Complaints to the Broadcasting Standards Authority | Te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho (BSA) were common, but the show was likely only cancelled due to TVNZ budget cuts in 2009 following the recession. On the other hand, it did win Best Comedy at the 2008 Qantas Film and TV Awards.
We can't guarantee that it would have been renewed without the cuts, but it had aired for 8 series before that.
Filthy Rich
Filthy Rich was a comedy-drama series that aired in 2016 and 2017 on TVNZ 2. The show is about the death of a wealthy man in New Zealand and his three newly discovered illegitimate children who stand to inherit part of his fortune alongside his direct heir.
An American version of the show was made but production problems following the COVID-19 pandemic led to the show only having 5 episodes before being cancelled.
Go Girls
Go Girls was a show that ran from 2009 to 2013. This comedy-drama series focused on three girls and one boy on Auckland's North Shore.
The main cast was present in the first four seasons, but the fifth season centred around an entirely new core cast. The show was cancelled after the fifth season.
During its airing, Go Girls received generally good reviews, but not everybody was a fan and some critics absolutely panned the show.
Mataku
Mataku was a TV series that featured 30 dramas based on Maori legend. The show was introduced by Temuera Morrison, one of New Zealand's most famous actors and one who's appeared in many of the greatest New Zealand films.
The show explored Maori folklore and contemporary stories in New Zealand, showcasing Maori storytelling and perspectives through horror and psychological suspense.
The show was critically acclaimed and won many awards.
Mercy Peak
The TV series Mercy Peak aired on TV One between 2001 and 2004. It focused on a doctor who moved from the city to a small town.
It won Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Script at the 2002 New Zealand Television Awards.
Several of the show's creators and directors would go on to be involved in the production of Outrageous Fortune.
Nothing Trivial
Nothing Trivial was a comedy-drama series that aired on TV One for three series and focused on a group of people who'd met as part of a pub quiz.
The show was very successful when it aired, breaking viewing records for a locally-made drama debut and being met with a lot of critical acclaim.
Outrageous Fortune
Outrageous Fortune was a crime drama that aired between 2005 and 2010 on TV3. The show is about a criminal West Auckland family trying to change their ways following the incarceration of the family patriarch.
The show was also broadcast in other English-speaking countries like Australia, the United States, Ireland, Canada, and the UK.
Secret Agent Men
Secret Agent Men was a 2003 kids TV series in which some New Zealand teens discover the world of high-tech gadgets, spies, and supervillains.
Viewers of a certain age will remember this series fondly from their childhood.
Shortland Street
Shortland Street is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera. It first aired in 1992 and has produced over 7,000 episodes so far.
Most of the country's top actors have likely had at least one acting credit on the show and found acting work through it.
Despite a tricky start when it first aired, the show is now a favourite and one of the most popular and highly-rated shows.
In addition to being a television staple in New Zealand, the show has also been broadcast in Australia, Ireland, Fiji, the UK, Canada, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
Step Dave
Step Dave was a comedy-drama TV show that aired from 2014 to 2015. It's about a young bartender falling in love with an older woman with kids.
The show ran for two series across 26 episodes.
The Almighty Johnsons
The Almighty Johnsons is a fantasy TV series about a family whose members happen to be reincarnations of Norse gods, complete with their powers.
However, in their human form, their powers are diminished and they need to restore them with the help of another deity.
The Brokenwood Mysteries
This New Zealand detective drama series initially ran in four-episode seasons. After the sixth season, they were six episodes each.
The show takes place in the fictional town of Brokenwood in rural New Zealand. Each episode follows a murder case and at the time of writing, the show had been airing for 10 seasons.
The Cult
The Cult is a drama series about a group of people trying to free their friends and family from a cult known as Two Gardens.
The show aired in 2009 on TV2 in New Zealand and ran for 13 episodes, most with a runtime of between 40 and 50 minutes. The finale was 2-hours long.
The Jaquie Brown Diaries
The Jaquie Brown Diaries is a comedic TV show that featured Jaquie Brown, the real-life TV personality playing a fictionalised version of herself for comedic effect.
The show aired on TV3 in 2008 and 2009. Across 2 seasons and 14 episodes, the show was critically acclaimed and won best comedy at the Qantas Film and Television Awards in both 2009 and 2010.
The Tribe
The Tribe was a TV series for teenagers that takes place in a post-apocalyptic city in which all the adults have died from a virus. The remaining tribes of teenagers have to fight for survival.
The show aired between 1999 and 2003 across 5 series of 52 episodes each. A British and New Zealand co-production, the show was filmed in and around Wellington.
Westside
Westside is the prequel to the aforementioned Outrageous Fortune TV series and follows the lives of some of the characters from that series initially back in the 1970s.
The show ran for 6 series across 52 episodes between 2015 and 2020. Westside won several awards, including two Best Drama Series awards at the New Zealand Television Awards in 2018 and 2019 as well as the 2018 Best Actress Award for Antonie Prebble.
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