TVNZ 1 to Resurrect Blue Murder

TVNZ 1 will beef up its summer holiday schedule with the premiere of the Australian true-crime drama, Blue Murder: Killer Cop.

Blue Murder was the name of an outstanding 1995 miniseries that dramatised the exploits of a corrupt Sydney cop, Detective Sergeant Roger “The Dodger” Rogerson.

“Going back to the same well could have been poisonous, but Blue Murder: Killer Cop is good enough to slake the thirst for more while leaving the source unpolluted,” said the Sydney Morning Herald.

It reunites the original star, Richard Roxburgh, and director Michael Jenkins, to dramatise Rogerson’s final fall following his imprisonment, “and it is just as inventive and riveting as the first series 22 years ago,” The Australian said.

“The original Blue Murder helped set the scene for a number of subsequent crime drama classics including The Boys, Chopper and Animal Kingdom, all of which were also inspired by real-life events,” The Guardian observed.

“Roxburgh is even better second time around, with a new script (from veteran screenwriter Peter Schreck) tailored to his love-to-hate character.”

Blue Murder will screen 8.30 Tuesdays from January 2.

The same week TVNZ 1 will launch another season of George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces Specials (7.30 Wednesday) and will premiere Billy Connolly and Me (8.40 Thursday), in which the likes of Judi Dench, Eric Idle, David Tennant and Peter Kay pay tribute to his 50-year career.

TVNZ 1 also has a couple of foodie-related newcomers: The Extreme Cake Makers (7.00 weeknights from January 3), which is billed as an irreverent looks at its titular bakers, and Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond The Lobby (8.30 Wednesday).

The latter has The Great British Bake Off’s Giles Coren and UK MasterChef Monica Galetti rolling up their sleeves to work alongside staff in the likes of the Ice Hotel in Sweden and the Giraffe Manor in Kenya, where giraffes, staff and guests all co-exist.