Funny As: NZOA’s Latest Funding Decisions

TVNZ 1 has commissioned a multi-platform history of Kiwi humour.

Funny As: The Story of New Zealand Comedy will comprise a five-part, hour-long series on the network, extended interviews on TVNZ OnDemand, and archival footage on NZ On Screen.

The Augusto series has received up to nearly $1.5 million in NZ On Air  funding, along with a slew of other new and returning factual content series, including new vehicles for Patrick Gower and David Lomas, and fresh runs of Anika Moa: Unleashed, Design Junkies, Making New Zealand and Country Calendar.

All up, the agency is investing $9 million in the genre across broadcast and digital platforms.

The second-biggest recipient is Three’s David Lomas Investigates, which received up to $985,434 for 10 44-minute episodes to be produced by Warner Bros Intl TV Productions NZ.

The Check Up is a new TVNZ 1 series in which three doctors will debunk myths and reveal truths about our health (Great Southern Television, up to $625,522) .

Recovery 29 is an hour-long Prime TV documentary about the potential re-entry to the Pike River Mine (Screentime New Zealand, up to $199,998).

Patrick Gower: The High Road is a two-part documentary for Three about the pros and cons of legalising marijuana for recreational and medicinal use (Ruckus Media, up to $286,986).

Off the Grid is a MāoriTV commission about Kiwis who live self-sufficiently (Scottie Douglas Productions, up to $320,000).

Crash Test Mummies is a two-part series for TVNZ 1 about teenagers at a high school teen pregnancy unit who juggle the demands of motherhood and education (Rogues Productions, up to $231,577).

Holding Court is a six-part half-hour series for Māori TV that reveals the inspirational story of NZ NBA star Steven Adams and the basketball camps he holds to mentor rangatahi throughout NZ (Imagination Television, up to $374,790).

Circuit Breaker is an interactive documentary series based on five in-depth investigations that will be distributed on Stuff and screen on Māori TV (Fairfax New Zealand, up to $491,250).

Country Calendar will round up another 40 half-hours for TVNZ 1 in 2019 (TVNZ, up to $566,720), Anika Moa Unleashed 2 will screen in primetime on TVNZ 1 as well as OnDemand (Rogue Productions, up to $584,685), Design Junkies has scraped together enough for another six hours on TVNZ 1 (Warner Bros, up to $799,352), and Prime’s third season of Making New Zealand will explore our tourism, broadcasting, farming and manufacturing industries (Top Shelf Productions, up to $736,017) .