New Zealand audiences can look forward to a host of insightful new factual programmes coming to television screens.
In election year, specialist current affairs shows Q + A, The Nation and The Hui will be back to ensure voters experience a thorough discussion of issues.
A one-off documentary The 501 Club will chart the experience of several NZ born ex-prisoners abruptly deported from Australia. The programme for Māori Television will be an honest observation of the deportees challenges settling back in to Aotearoa.
There’s a high level of interest in the geological forces shaping our landscape, making a return of the acclaimed Beneath New Zealand series timely and topical. The Platinum series on Prime continues to make science accessible.
A one-off Platinum documentary for TVNZ 2 will look at the cultural legacy of Shortland Street. Marking 25 years on air, the programme Shortland Street: Mirror Of A Culture will examine the social impact of the soap and its reflection of NZ culture and identity through the years.
Also taking a look back at a cultural legacy is Herbs: Songs Of Freedom. This theatrical documentary celebrates the five men from different islands in the South Pacific who gave voice to a generation and the issues of the time through their music.
A new series Cold Case will explore the evidence in significant unsolved NZ crimes and involve the audience in helping to solve them through an accompanying online platform. Cold case experts will work with Police to review each case with fresh eyes.
Audience favourite Nigel Latta is back with a new series Where To Next?challenging us on what we want for New Zealand in the future. The live prime time TV programme will also have an interactive online element so the audience can be involved in a challenging national conversation. Both series will be on TVNZ 1.
Returning with her unique brand of kiwi chat show after a promising debut season is All Talk With Anika Moa, and also on Māori Television will be a second season of Toa Hunter Gatherer.
The well-received arts series Heritage Rescue will be back on Choice TV telling more stories of provincial history and local culture, and the women from Maketu are off on another global culinary and cultural tour. This time Karena And Kasey’s Kitchen Diplomacy will bring audiences home to their marae for a fantastic feast.
“These are all excellent examples of public media, shining a light on our own culture and identity. We are very proud of this line-up and think all audiences will find something for them,” says NZ On Air Chief Executive Jane Wrightson.
Funding details
Where To Next?, 5 x 1 hr, Ruckus for TVNZ 1, $1,219,288
Cold Case, 8 x 1 hr, , Screentime for TVNZ 1, $1,040,509
Karena And Kasey’s Kitchen Diplomacy 2, 10 x ½ hr, Imagination TV for TVNZ 1, $966,597
The Nation 2017, 42 x 1hr, Mediaworks for TV3, $916,887
Q + A 2017, 40 x ½ hr, TVNZ for TVNZ 1, $846,000
Heritage Rescue 2, 8 x 1hr, Top Shelf Productions for Choice TV, $752,156
The Hui 2017, 40 x ½ hr, Great Southern Television for TV3, $543,457
Beneath NZ 2: Creation and Destruction, 3 x 1hr, Making Movies for Prime, $425,281
All Talk With Anika Moa 2, 10 x ½ hr, Rogue Productions for Māori Television, $353,359
Toa Hunter Gatherer 2, 8 x ½ hr, Haka Boy Films for Māori Television, $273,616
Herbs: Songs Of Freedom, 1 x 2hrs, Jawbone Pictures for Māori Television, $199,999
Shortland Street: Mirror Of A Culture, 1 x 1hr, South Pacific Pictures for TVNZ 2, $144,890
The 501 Club, 1 x 1hr, Notable Pictures for Māori Television, $125,015