Commissioners are among the most powerful and coveted roles in television. Suddenly, after years of little movement, there are five vacancies. Two stories hit players in the local television industry hard and in quick succession. The first came early in July when TVNZ announced the departure of its longtime head of scripted, Kathleen Anderson. Then, … Read more
The Filthy Rich Trade Me account reveals an embarrassment of riches, discovers Alex Casey. In a discovery more intriguing than when Gloriavale was flogging bulk Geisha wigs and a haunted goat named Hector, the people behind Filthy Rich have started a Trade Me account to sell off their opulent wares. The account filthy-rich, registered under the … Read more
It’s time to make some serious calls about New Zealand television in 2017, starting and ending with this short survey. As the end of the year looms around the corner like a nervous MAFSNZ contestant at the altar, it’s time we look back at the television that was made in New Zealand for our eyeballs this … Read more
TVNZ 1’s Sunday Theatre is one of the oldest surviving timeslots in New Zealand television. Duncan Greive reviews the excellent Resolve, and looks at the lessons it contains for our struggling serial dramas. Through winter, for a while time now, some of the most expensive television we make has aired. On TVNZ 2 and Three that tends to … Read more
A TVNZ exec made headlines last week for calling Netflix a fad. But after another big budget failure, Duncan Greive asks if it’s time the state broadcaster tried to learn from the streaming giant, rather than embarrassing itself by dismissing it. Last week Andrew Shaw, TVNZ’s veteran deputy director of content, made headlines for describing … Read more
A year on from a critically-mauled first season, big-budget local drama Filthy Rich returns. Duncan Greive watches to see if they’ve fixed what was broken. A persistent criticism of the dialogue in Rachel Lang and Gavin Strawhan’s shows is that it sounds stiff and dated. It seems to come from an imagined New Zealand past which might never have … Read more
She missed it the first time around, so Tara Ward decided to watch the first season of Filthy Rich in one marathon binge. Filthy Rich hits our screens again this week like a stripper with a heart of gold dropped from a great height by her evil business associate. New Zealand’s glitziest show is back … Read more
The New Zealand showrunners behind Filthy Rich jump the ditch to make Hyde & Seek, a show which seeks to blend a sprawling Homeland-style mystery with the breakneck pace of CSI/SVU. “You’re on your own,” says Nick, a boyishly handsome homicide cop to his partner, heading off toward a murder victim’s van. Which promptly explodes. … Read more
Every person and their dog has made a film reboot for television overseas, so why hasn’t New Zealand? Aaron Yap picks some classic films that are due a television revival. Confession: I don’t watch New Zealand television. It’s not that NZ TV sucks, although there is definitely an element of that. A huge one. I can’t … Read more
When Duncan Greive reviewed Filthy Rich earlier this year he was overwhelmed with messages from a depressed New Zealand TV industry. Here he summarises what they had to say. Part of an ongoing series assessing our publicly funded television. Read part two, comparing TVNZ with the BBC, here. Originally published February 29, 2016 A couple of weeks … Read more
The triumphant return of Jane Yee, Duncan Greive and Alex Casey to wrap up New Zealand telly in 2016. As 2016 starts to slip away like sand through the hour glass, our in-house television experts* reflect upon 2016 on the small screen in our fair country. What has Jordy Pordy been up to? What does … Read more
TVNZ’s Terry Teo remake is a return to form for New Zealand family programming, says Ethan Sills, and a shining example of what our local television should be. What will it take for the rest of the industry to take note? When you’re a kid, nothing seems impossible. You have the whole world ahead of … Read more
The second big-budget local drama of the year debuted last night. Duncan Greive watches and finds some promise buried under very familiar problems – and one serious lapse of judgement. When a brand new company was awarded $15m in NZ on Air funding for two brand new shows within a matter of months, it sent shockwaves … Read more
NZ On Air announced this week that a second season of TV2 drama Filthy Rich has received funding to the tune of $6,896,419 – a baffling decision if you look at the first season’s ratings, writes Duncan Greive. On Monday, with little fanfare, NZ on Air announced the renewal of Filthy Rich, TV2’s soapy inheritance … Read more
Alex Casey transforms into a high society Aucklander for a day as an extra on the Filthy Rich set, and discovers the truth about glamour and stardom the hard way. “And there’s these…” the wardrobe woman said, presenting me with some enormous diamanté earrings. I hadn’t worn earrings since I was 13 because my friends used to tell … Read more
TVNZ’s Filthy Rich cost $400k per episode to make, a pricetag 10 times that of Māori Television’s new drama Kairākau. Duncan Greive compares the two investments. Earlier this week, I received an email from a person I’d never heard from before. “It would be good for you to do a comparitive analysis on the following low budget … Read more
Stop blaming TV commissioners for the quality of our local output, says Chris Hooper, who last year left TVNZ for a role at the BBC. It’s time to hold the Government’s feet to the fire. Part of an ongoing series assessing our publicly funded television. Read part one, covering the role of commissioners, here. People look upon … Read more
When Duncan Greive reviewed Filthy Rich a couple of weeks back he was overwhelmed with messages from a depressed New Zealand TV industry. Here he summarises what they had to say. Part of an ongoing series assessing our publicly funded television. Read part two, comparing TVNZ with the BBC, here. A couple of weeks back I … Read more
Inspired by more recent NZ On Air funding controversies, Gareth Shute revisits the 1976 historical epic The Governor, and argues why it remains our finest example of a funding furore. Julie Christie recently made headlines for complaining in an email to NZ On Air head, Miriam Dean, that her integrity had been questioned by managers at the funding body. … Read more
This week saw the glamorous debut of Filthy Rich, New Zealand’s most expensive television show. But is it merely standing on the shoulder pads of giants? Gloss creator Rosemary McLeod looks back at the 80s Kiwi drama that had a wealth of big hair, high heels and old money. I walked into Sue Crockford’s Auckland art gallery one … Read more
Last night TVNZ’s new local drama Filthy Rich started its run with a first episode that featured suicide, money, grubby incest, car crashes, money and disturbing burnt baby dolls. José Barbosa watched the whole thing and live tweeted his immediate responses via scribbled drawings. Here’s the complete collection fresh from his calloused hand. … Read more