NZ On Air secures future of TVNZ soap Shortland Street in new round of funding
Kiwi medical soap Shortland Street
New Zealand’s longest-running drama series, Shortland Street, is returning to public broadcaster TVNZ after receiving new funding from NZ On Air.
The primetime soap will receive NZ$2.5m (US$1.47m) for the 2026 season, while the pubcaster is moving the show to a digital-first model.
TVNZ CEO Jodi O’Donnell said: “As one of TVNZ+’s most streamed programmes, Shorty fans are split across broadcast and digital platforms. With audiences migrating online, effort is underway to increase the digital revenue needed to support Shortland Street as a digital-first content proposition.”
The drama, produced by South Pacific Pictures, paused production in 2024 after funding cuts at TVNZ but was given a reprieve thanks to government intervention and changes to legislation that allowed it to receive NZ$3m from NZ On Air and to access the Screen Production Rebate.
The awarding of the funding represented a significant shift in the market, because despite being in production since 1995, Shortland Street had never sought public funding until last year.
NZ On Air head of funding Amie Mills said the agency is aware of the crisis facing New Zealand’s commercial media and recognises the efforts going on behind the scenes to return Shortland Street to a sustainable model.
“Our continued investment in Shortland Street reflects our commitment to preserving the content that matters to New Zealand audiences. It’s not just about keeping a show on air, it’s about maintaining a platform where New Zealand stories, voices and faces remain visible and relevant. That’s precisely what our funding is designed to achieve,” Mills said.
Shortland Street’s new funding leads a fresh round of NZ$9m in support from NZ On Air across scripted and children’s content.
Producer Luminous Beast, which coproduced After The Party, has received NZ$2.73m for a new comedy-drama called All Of Me. Commissioned by Sky Open, Neon and Sky Go, the eight-part series revolves around a pathological people pleaser who secretly clones herself and is suddenly forced to deal with her other selves.
A second run of comedic musical series Happiness, produced by Greenstone and commissioned by Three and ThreeNow, is getting NZ$2.16m. Also due funding is a new 8×10’ series driven by emerging content creators titled Day One Shorts, which will screen across RNZ, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram and is produced by the Connected Media Trust.
Both All of Me and Happiness 2 picked up international funding for their budgets alongside the rebate. The drawing on international market investment is key to NZ On Air’s efforts to drive local content to global audiences.
Meanwhile, heritage preschool series You & Me, which originally screened 30 years ago, is being rebooted for digital audiences on YouTube and RNZ by Treehut for NZ$1.07m.
Sky NZ Originals and BYUtv co-commission Secret & Red Rocks, produced by Libertine Pictures, has been supported for a second season to the tune of NZ$2.25m. New seasons of TVNZ-commissioned shows Buzz’s Epic Little Missions, from Rogue Productions, and What Now, from Whitebait Productions, have received NZ$559,279 and NZ$2.3m respectively. Finally, Horseshoe Media-produced digital series Young Riders is getting funding for a sixth season on YouTube.
