ScreenScribe

TVNZ 1 will beef up its primetime drama slate after the Tokyo Olympics with two NZ series and a controversial new period drama that depicts Anne Boleyn as a black queen. An Auckland-based spin-off of My Life is Murder will screen 8.30 Mondays from August 9 and S2 of One Lane Bridge 8.30 Sundays from […]

TVNZ 1 will air a movie-length documentary the BBC has commissioned to mark the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Surviving 9/11 is a Top Hat Production that intertwines dual narratives: what happened in the two hours when terrorists hijacked four planes and crashed three into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, and the 20-year aftermath. It blends […]

Former MP Paula Bennett, who once told Jacinda Ardern to “Zip it, sweetie!” in a Parliamentary debate, will helm a new game show on TVNZ 1 with Seven Sharp’s Hilary Barry and comedian Tom Sainsbury. Here’s the media release: PAULA BENNETT GETS SET TO PIT HILARY BARRY AGAINST TOM SAINSBURY IN TVNZ’S GIVE US A […]

Coronation Street will soon switch channels to TVNZ 2 — but only for the duration of the Tokyo Olympics. TVNZ 1 will screen saturation coverage of the Olympics daily from midday, breaking only for 1 News at 6pm and Seven Sharp. Normally that would disrupt continuity of a serial like Coronation Street. But instead of […]

TVNZ is promoting William Shatner as one of the guest stars on the next season of My Life is Murder, which will premiere after the Tokyo Olympics. In a media release about the Lucy Lawless series, which was shot in NZ, TVNZ highlights the “star-studded” cast, including Shatner’s phone-in performance: “Zooming in from America is […]

TVNZ 1 will screen daily live, delayed and curated coverage of the Tokyo Olympics from midday to 2am. “We’re proud to partner with Sky to provide a selection of events free-to-air,” TVNZ’s Director of Content, Cate Slater says. “Together, we bring Tokyo 2020 to the biggest audience possible to truly celebrate our Kiwi competitors.” Here’s […]

Acquiring Grand Designs UK as part of its Grand Designs NZ deal is rewarding TVNZ 1 on Thursday nights, where the original has been winning its 7.30 hour in the channel’s 25-54 demographic in two of the last three weeks. But TVNZ 1’s surprise acquisition of an even bigger UK hit isn’t generating the same […]

TVNZ 1 has announced The Apprentice Aotearoa will screen on Monday nights from May 10. Presumably it will be in the same 8.30 slot where the UK version tanked so badly last year that the network had to burn it off in double-episodes. The Kiwi incarnation sounds incredibly ‘woke’ compared to the Donald Trump original, […]

In a unique programming gambit, TVNZ 1 and TVNZ 2 will simulcast the April 12 premiere of Popstars. The latest twist on the talent quest format will screen 7.30 Monday-Wednesday but for one night only will go out on both TVNZ channels at the same time. Clearly TVNZ wants to maximise sampling of the series, […]

TVNZ reports yesterday’s America’s Cup win by Emirates Team New Zealand notched up 1.4 million viewers and broke streaming records. Here’s the media release: 1.4 Million Tune Into TVNZ’s 36th PRADA America’s Cup Final Broadcast Coverage Emirates Team New Zealand’s victory in the PRADA America’s Cup was watched by 1,395,100* New Zealanders on TVNZ yesterday. […]