More Genuinely Kiwi Stories Greenlit To Entertain Local Audiences

Four new drama series for a range of audiences have been greenlit in the final NZ On Air funding round of 2024.

The shows range from procedural crime to comedy and millennial angst, adding to a broad slate of content commissioned throughout the year and already in the pipeline.

“The huge success of funded drama and comedy at the NZ TV Awards last week was a timely endorsement of the talent and ideas surfacing through our funding process,” said NZ On Air Chief Executive Cameron Harland.

“In addition, the new access granted this year for NZ On Air-funded productions to apply for the Screen Production Rebate is paying dividends in the quality and ambition of stories coming through. And because this is giving producers access to international co-production deals and finance, the cost to New Zealand taxpayers is modest for such impressive outcomes,” he continued.

Heading up the new commissions is Blue Murder Motel, set in a sunny beachside New Zealand town. Married Australian police detectives Vanessa and Cole take early retirement to invest in their new dream – a cute little 13-room motel in Aotearoa New Zealand, but murder and mayhem ensue.

A strong female creative team will deliver Bust Up, a female buddy cop series set in the Bay of Islands. Deb and Mihi - ex-partners in life - are forced to partner up again as cops on the beat in this primetime procedural crime series with complex relationships, and genuinely Kiwi tone and humour.

Also going for the laughs is The Sanctuary, featuring an eccentric American billionaire hiding from the law in New Zealand who is forced to convert his lavish private island into a Department of Conservation sanctuary to avoid extradition.

Targeting a rangatahi audience, Head Girl is a new mind-bending and artistically ambitious dark comedy series. Based on the poetry of Freya Daly Sadgrove, the story centres on three estranged BFFs navigating the highs and lows of their early 20’s in Wellington.

Children’s imaginations will be sparked by the return of a number of favourites, and a new series Mr Hugo’s Little Library which invites children into a joyous world of wonder. In this musical world of larger-than-life fables delivered by larger-than-life characters, the magic of books and stories are at the forefront along with lessons about acceptance and being your best self.

Toi Time! is back for a fourth season, showcasing singing and dancing alongside life lessons through entertaining play, movement and music, while the musical series Fresh Fairytales returns with more topsy-turvy, Pasifika versions of childhood classics.

The popular bilingual pre-school animation series Tākaro Tribe (funded by Te Māngai Pāho) will be adapted to create nine new episodes, with three episodes each reflecting the languages and cultures of Samoa, Tonga and Rarotonga.

And finally, comedian Josh Thomson is back with the entertaining and educational children’s series My Favourite Dead Person, the animated hit paranormal show Night Eyes returns with more spookiness, and life-long friend to generations, Suzy Cato is back with more from the Suzy & Friends radio show and podcast series.

Funding details:

Note: All funding commitments are based on the funding applications received and must be contracted within a specified timeframe. Funding is only released, in stages, as contractual commitments are met. Funds committed but not contracted within the specified timeframe are written back and distributed in future funding rounds.

Blue Murder Motel, 8 x 44 mins, Great Southern Television for TVNZ 1 and TVNZ +, up to $2,800,000

Bust Up, 6 x 44 mins, Lippy Pictures for Sky Open, Sky Go, Whakaata Māori and Māori +, up to $2,265,000

Head Girl, 6 x 30 mins, Head Girl for ThreeNow, Three and YouTube up to $3,482,480

The Sanctuary, 8 x 22 mins, Kevin & Co for ThreeNow and Three, up to $1,367,556

Ms. X (additional), 6 x 44 mins, South Pacific Pictures for ThreeNow and Three, up to $290,000

Tamariki content

Toi Time! 4 , 20 x 30 mins, Rogue Productions for TVNZ 2, TVNZ + and YouTube Kids, up to $1,226,860

Mr Hugo’s Little Library, 8 x 12 mins, Gibson Group for TVNZ 2, TVNZ + and RNZ, up to $1,118,603

Fresh Fairytales! 3, 5 x 15', Tikilounge Productions for The Coconet TV, Pasifika TV, Instagram and YouTube, up to $708,000

Night Eyes 2, 13 x 7', Mukpuddy for TVNZ 2, TVNZ+ and YouTube Kids, up to $780,404

My Favourite Dead Person 3, 8 x 8', The DownLow Concept for YouTube, Sky Open and RNZ, up to $593,780

Tākaro Tribe Pacific, 9 x 12', Cinco Cine Film Productions for YouTube, The Coconet TV and PMN, up to $285,753

Suzy & Friends 2025, 53 x 60 radio shows and 46 x 60' podcasts, Treehut for 25 Regional Radio Stations, RNZ and YouTube Kids, up to $227,249

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