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
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including a new naked chef and TK’s disdain for the universe and beyond. 1) Leanne reacts in a calm and discreet manner when Lucy and Ali’s sex tape goes viral 2) Is Cam McCaskill an undiscovered culinary genius or a misguided man-child with the boundless energy of … Read more
It’s the eye-pop has been talked about more than just about any other TV segment in New Zealand history. But one crucial voice has stayed silent about it, until now. Hayden Donnell talks to Thingee about the on-screen medical nightmare that changed his life forever. It started out like any other Son of a Gunn segment. Jason was prattling … Read more
The New Zealand Home is a new docu-series which tells the story of New Zealand housing via a parade of gloating baby boomers. “Two men, from wildly different words, join forces to explore the New Zealand home on a road trip – in a 1960s Jag!” So intones the voiceover which announces The New Zealand … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including TK’s stovetop obsession, Bella’s aubergine’s and Drew’s long-lost brother. 1) Leanne has more delicious layers than a homemade Christmas trifle Leanne was shocked and disappointed by the state of today’s youth, needing a stiff gin after she heard about Lucy and Ali’s wild night of clothed jigsaw-ing. “When I … Read more
Calum Henderson tuned into Breakfast this week to witness what was potentially going to be the end of the Rawdon and Nadine era. What he discovered was a conspiracy theory that probably requires urgent global attention. It’s 6:21am on Monday morning and Breakfast co-hosts Rawdon Christie and Nadine Chalmers-Ross are watching footage of a distressed … Read more
Ethan Sills has a radical solution for NZ on Air’s long-running drama problem: letting the public be more involved in choosing which shows get funded. Public funding hasn’t had a great few years here in New Zealand. Since the end of Outrageous Fortune and the cast swap on Go Girls, many local dramas this decade have more-or-less failed, … Read more
Last week, TVNZ announced that they wouldn’t air the controversial UK reality show Sex Box after receiving complaints and a 10,000 strong petition. Alex Casey takes a peek inside and suggests it might not be as bad as everyone thinks. It’s not everyday one is blessed with the opportunity to turn a deep shade of purple … Read more
Last month Paul Henry continued its strong gains in the ratings war against Breakfast, despite losing Aunty Hilary. Following his supportive piece for Paul Henry‘s one year anniversary, Tim Murphy returns to explain what TVNZ should do next. Hey, Hilary, get back from dancing in the rain at Pakiri Beach and help TVNZ out. The … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including Vinnie’s fridge swear and Leanne’s fixation with workplace exercise. 1) Leanne ponchos above her weight Nothing will stop Leanne in her quest to reach 10,000 steps a day, other than her complete inability to reach 10,000 steps a day. Jogging on the spot, running in … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including Boyd’s beautiful MRI scan and Victoria’s endless supply of bags. 1) The ‘D.I.’ in D.I. Foster’s name really means ‘Dickhead Idiot’ D.I. Foster is like a piece of overcooked macaroni: limp, pathetic and completely ineffective at solving crime. This screengrab makes it look … Read more
With TVNZ’s reality cop caper Police Ten 7 celebrating 500 episodes tonight, Alex Casey put some questions to one of the show’s longest-serving camera operators. What is the training process to be a Police Ten 7 camera operator like? Did you have to go through some intense sort of boot camp? I’m a director and … Read more
Yesterday afternoon three legends of news had lunch at (where else?) Prego. The Herald‘s former editor-in-chief Tim Murphy and ex-Mediaworks’ head of news Mark Jennings interrogated ’90s news icon Bill Ralston about his run for Council. Ahead of our publication of Murphy’s account of the lunch, Jennings remembers the glory days of his former colleague. Bill and … Read more
For the past 45 years the Dunedin longitudinal study has been charting every aspect of the lives of 1037 people, making it one of the most important studies in human history. José Barbosa talks to producer Mark McNeill about how you make interesting TV about hard science. Mark McNeill makes TV the way Steven Segal fights Tommy … Read more
New Zealand is rightly proud of the multi-cultural society it’s growing into. But why are there still minimal Māori, Pacific and Asian populations in prime time? And why does cultural representation in the film industry remain light years ahead of television? In the second part of a two-part series, Sonia Gray tries to find out. … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her Shortland Street Power Rankings for last week, including Detective Curtis and Ferndale’s PR nightmare. 1) Rachel steers the ship only slightly askew This week’s drama put the ‘eeeee’ into ‘CEO’ for Rachel. Word spread that Rachel had employed George The Fake Doctor, meaning she found herself waist deep in a public … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her Shortland Street Power Rankings for last week, including a Fentidge frenzy, Kate’s toast-on-toast banquet and Bella’s medical breakthrough. 1) Spurious George makes like a tree and leaves News just in: George has left the building. Take one last look at his miserable mug. Breathe one last lungful of his putrid air filled with lies, … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her Shortland Street Power Rankings for last week, including a grim Warner birthday scene and an astounding performance by TK Samuels. 1) Chris turns 49 and all his dreams come true The Warners threw caution to the wind and celebrated Chris’s birthday in a style not seen in Ferndale since Nick … Read more
Alex Casey watched in horror as Mike Hosking tried to recreate the Chewbacca Mask video on Seven Sharp. As it is written in the bible, every viral internet craze can enjoy only a few moments of purity before being sullied by a pack of vultures led by an Animorphs-style Ellen Degeneres with James Corden bringing … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her Shortland Street Power Rankings for last week, including a web of hairy lies, Victoria’s restless hands, and the return of the mighty Damo. 1) The claw of catastrophe returns Yaaaas, Shorters is BACK. Last week I lamented the lack of action, but this week there’s been more drama than a … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her Shortland Street Power Rankings for last week, including a tomato sauce surplus, Finn’s on-point point and Rachel’s pill popping. If only every Shortland Street episode was filled with rambunctious pool parties and hysterical urine-drinking hijinks. Imagine the hilarity! Alas, the past week in Ferndale was a long, hard slog, where … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her Shortland Street Power Rankings for last week, including Harry’s bus nightmare, Victoria’s pregnancy prank and some postcode envy for 90210. 1) Finn takes Kelly and Brenda to the Peach Pit and orders an extra serving of questionable paternity How sure are we that Finn is Chris’ son? I’m talking tangible … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her Shortland Street Power Rankings for last week, including Harry becoming a man of the world and Jordan Mauger’s sartorial influence. 1) Never fear: Gin will fix it Ding dong, it’s Gin o’clock. Drink it in, people, drink all the Gin. Who cares why she’s back – when you win Lotto you don’t … Read more
With Mastermind returning to our screens this week for the first time in over 25 years, Calum Henderson visits the set to watch the brainiacs at work. A couple of days before I went to watch the new series of Mastermind being filmed, I emailed the show’s publicist asking if she could tell me the … Read more
Hayden Donnell looks back on one of New Zealand’s most iconic interviews. In December 1997, two teenage girls gave Paul Holmes the sternest test of his storied interviewing career. The Ingham twins, both 18, had gone to extraordinary lengths for love. Sarah had fallen for a sailor. Her sister Joanna decided to help her pursue … 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
After witnessing two near tragedies in as many seasons of Our First Home, Madeleine Chapman has found the common cause. Our First Home is the tamest and safest reality show on television. Or so we thought. With the show’s second season coming to an end, Our First Home has seen two near tragedies play out on our television screens. I was … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her Shortland Street Power Rankings for last week, including Lucy’s diary, Ali’s waxwork model and a TV nightmare at the Warner manor. 1) In an exclusive excerpt from Lucy’s diary, we discover she had the busiest week in the history of Shortland Street: Tuesday Broke up with Finn, but not before I … Read more
Dark clouds gather into FX mattes and suddenly all the adults and electricity disappears. This is the setting for The Cul De Sac, TVNZ’s new young adult series. The first episode played on Sunday night and José Barbosa reckons it shows promise. Dark, grim promise. “It’s the apocalypse” says bespectacled neighbour played by former Shortland Street star KJ … Read more