Shortland Street
Is it even a New Zealand TV list without this iconic and classic New Zealand soap? Shortland Street is set in a public hospital in the fictitious Auckland suburb of Ferndale and follows the lives, loves and families of those connected with it. While it has all the soapy tropes you know and love, the series also has a reputation for dealing with complex social issues in an inclusive and engrossing way. And if you need more Shortland, is also available.
Shortland Street episodes premiere weeknights on SBS VICELAND at 5:45pm, fast-tracked from New Zealand. Episodes stream at after broadcast.
The Casketeers
This award-winning series is the heart-warming reality TV you need, set in a family business you wouldn’t expect. The series follows husband and wife Francis and Kaiora Tipene who own and run Tipene Funerals. With their team, they guide us through previously unseen elements of tangihanga (a traditional Māori funeral rite held on a marae) and continue to lift the veil on death in a rare mix of sorrow and joy. The Casketeers continues to prove there is never a dull moment in life, or in death.
Wellington Paranormal
With their signature relaxed responses to bizarre supernatural scenarios, join Officers Minogue and O’Leary and Sergeant Maaka on the beat in this unique mockumentary that only could have been made in the Land of the Long White Cloud. It’s a spinoff by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement of their vampire comedy film, What We Do In The Shadows, and it’s blooming excellent. The Sydney Morning Herald summed it up as “brilliant, and above all else, [an] unmistakably Kiwi gem” pointing to both the writing and the acting as key to how this unlikely idea has been turned into highly entertaining TV. It deservingly scooped up a Best Comedy award at the 2020 NZ Television Awards. The fourth and final season premieres 16 February.
Creamerie
Touted as the “” this dark New Zealand comedy is the perfect taste-breaker to watch in between episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale season 4 (currently airing on SBS and ).
In the not too distant future, a viral plague has swept the earth. In a matter of weeks, it decimated 99% of men. The 1% were sent to The Facility but didn’t survive. Creamerie picks up eight years after the near mass extinction. In a new world order designed by women, health care is free, education is free and carbon emissions are down. But there’s something sinister happening in this utopia. Meanwhile on an organic dairy farm in rural New Zealand, run by Alex (Ally Xue), Jamie (JJ Fong) and Pip (Perlina Lau), a wild woman is seen running across the road. She is discovered to have a magnificent beard and a disturbing growth between her legs. On closer inspection, the woman is a man (Jay Ryan). Didn’t all the men die?
Sextortion
With a narrative so wicked and twisted, dark and quirky, it only could’ve come from New Zealand (albeit, co-writer Kyan Krumdieck was born in the USA), a conservative Christian politician must deal with being extorted by his dominatrix after incriminating footage is leaked to the public just months out from an election. This political dramedy also brings an endearing side – so NZ. With six episodes of only 20 minutes each, Sextortion is an easy as well as hugely entertaining watch. Kent Briggs and Thomas Sainsbury wrote the show along with Krumdieck while Sainsbury stars as the polly. ( fans will recognise Sainsbury as Constable Parker.)
Good Grief
Sisters Ellie and Gwen (played by real-life sisters and writers of the show, Eve and Grace Palmer), inherit their grandfather’s funeral home after he dies, along with the three eccentric employees who are not keen on their new bosses. While Ellie is eager to uphold their grandfather’s legacy and spend more time with her sister, Gwen is busting to get out of New Zealand and be a DJ in Bali. By staring death in the face everyday, they begin to confront the realities of their own life, and what they want to make of it. They will eventually discover that, while at times confronting, being able to help families cope with loss is also a heart-warming opportunity.
Patriot Brains
Nothing is as light (and yet enlightening and educational) as a comedy quiz show. Much-loved British comedian Bill Bailey hosts a trans-Tasman battle between Australia and New Zealand, with each country’s greatest comedians pitted against each other to find out who knows their country best, with our host the only thing keeping them apart. Each week, teams are put to the test, answering questions on a variety of topics, such as, who has the best road movie, and who’s got the most confusing outdated law still in effect? The show challenges our rivalries and celebrates our differences. Or to put it another way: Each week, one team will prove they know the most about their own country, and the other will be named and shamed as the most uneducated patriots.
Educators
Educators is a cleverly crafted improvised comedy series featuring some of NZ’s most well-known comedians. The series focuses on the teachers of an ordinary suburban high school. The problem with these teachers is that they are all hopelessly inept. They have no grasp of the curriculum, no knowledge of how to follow a timetable, and no idea whether the tasks they set for the students should even be assessed. Issues like parental conflict, exam pressure, turning up late and exhaustion, are continually stressing them out much more than their pupils do. These dysfunctional educators are childishly trying to survive the day until the bell rings.
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