Investigation: How old are the West family on Westside?

While Westside has been on the air for just five years, it’s covered nearly two decades of New Zealand history. But how old are these Westies meant to be? When Outrageous Fortune began way back in 2005, nobody could have anticipated that it would develop into what is now essentially a franchise, complete with a … Read more

The greatest NZ TV shows that you can rewatch without hunting down a boxset

From Close to Home to Shortland Street to Westside, New Zealand has a long and storied history of brilliant TV. Sam Brooks takes a look at the best local shows that you can stream on Lightbox right now. Cheryl West, the cute boy Jay Ryan played on Go Girls, Rita West, Ofa from Supercity. These are … Read more

The new show from Offspring creators puts the West family to shame

Alex Casey watches Sisters, the new Aussie dramedy from the people who created Offspring and Puberty Blues. The bad news is that we have definitely reached peak capacity for movies and TV comedies about the chaos that ensues after a lifetime of secret sperm donation. After that Vince Vaughn nightmare Delivery Man, I thought it … Read more

Turns out WNTV actually happened and was even weirder than you remember

Fifteen years after it entertained Kiwi kids during that neverending void between school and dinner, Maha Albadrawi and Lucy Zee remember the meta mayhem of WNTV.  Every millennial Kiwi remembers What Now in the early 2000s. Everyone remembers Fiona Anderson giving away popcorn machines, everyone remembers Jason Fa’afoi in drag, everyone remembers Carolyn Taylor’s perky smile … Read more

What else can New Zealand society blame on Westside?

After some scared principals blamed Westside for all their woes, Sam Brooks investigates what other carnage the Outrageous Fortune prequel has caused. Earlier this week, five high school principals in West Auckland blamed Three’s fictional series Westside for driving children away from their schools. Let’s be straight here: this is balls-out stupid. What would that conversation even … Read more