Glued to our Screens: TVNZ Showcase 2018

By Karen Tipper (Business Director – Media)

TVNZ revealed its 2019 programming highlights to a packed crowd at the ASB Theatre last Wednesday night, highlighting local TV, event TV and live sporting events as the network’s three big focuses next year.

Sporting highlights include next year’s Rugby World Cup, where TVNZ is the free-to-air partner, alongside streaming partner Spark. TVNZ will also be broadcasting the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, and in 2021, the America’s Cup, allowing all New Zealanders to watch these sporting events free-to-air.

Adding to TVNZ’s event TV portfolio was the announcement that both the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards will be back on TVNZ screens in 2019. The Academy Awards has been on Sky for the last 10 years.

The big news on the night for local TV was the return of Celebrity Treasure Island and new seasons of local reality shows Project Runway NZ, The Great Kiwi Bake Off and Heartbreak Island.

Runaway success Wellington Paranormal will be back for a second season, as will new local shows including Fresh Eggs (a black comedy series featuring Claire Chitham & Danielle Cormack), The Educators (a comedy produced by Jackie Van Beek) and The Bad Seed (with local talent Dean O’Gorman and Madeleine Sami).

Big international shows include Whiskey Cavalier, Attenborough’s Dynasties and Catch 22 (featuring George Clooney).

TVNZ are also adding to their OnDemand offering with Killing Eve (Season 2), Little Drummer Girl, local series House of Drag, as well as television classics ER and The Simpsons bolstering their nostalgic selection. TVNZ will continue their successful strategy of fast-tracking some shows across OnDemand first, allowing audiences to see shows as soon as they are available, and then playing them on air – as they’re currently doing with Dr Who.

While there was no real “new” news for the network, with most of their announcements focused on returning shows, there was some serious excitement and buzz around the rebooting of local favourite Celebrity Treasure Island – we’ll definitely be watching!

Our top picks:
• Celebrity Treasure Island – the combination of local New Zealand “celebs” and a tropical island will no doubt make for interesting viewing
• Wellington Paranormal (Season 2) – we can’t wait for thirteen new episodes of the adventures of Sergeants O’Leary and Minogue
• Attenborough’s Dynasties – this show has been four years in the making, following the lives of five animals: lions, chimpanzees, hunting dogs, emperor penguins and tigers