Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park has been a tradition in Aotearoa since 1994 and always attracts a huge crowd. Event director Alan Smythe and Coca-Cola market services manager Annette Chillingworth — known as 'the mother of Coco-Cola Christmas in the Park' — join Jesse Mulligan for a stroll down memory lane.
Before there was Popstars, there was Popstars 22 years ago. The prototype for the latest Popstars hit our screens in 1999, and from it emerged the pop band TrueBliss. The show format went on to become an international franchise, and it's credited with inspiring shows like American Idol and The X Factor. Musician and former frontman of Th' Dudes, Peter Urlich, was the band's manager on the show, and a mentor post-show. Together with Gabe McDonnell from AudioCulture he talks to Jesse Mulligan about the TV phenomenon.
This look back at NZ Screen History takes us to 1977, and the birth of a new show that became one of the longest running and most popular local TV shows in New Zealand. Fair Go was devised by Brian Edwards and producer Peter Morritt, to be a show that used investigative reporting to expose rip offs and scams and help every day people get a fair go. To talk about the show and its success, its first presenter, and creator, Brian Edwards, and former host, Kevin Milne, join Jesse Mulligan to reminisce.
In the early 1990s, TV3's late-night news show Nightline was like nothing we'd ever seen on New Zealand television. It went on to run for 23 years. Nightline's former political commentator Bill Ralston and newsreader Joanna Paul reflect on the notorious antics and show's craziness with Jesse Mulligan.
One of the most popular current affairs shows in New Zealand's television history, Holmes, launched in 1989 with an explosive first show that is still talked about to this day. The show went on to run for 15 years and featured hard-hitting news with the charismatic Paul Holmes fronting the team. Former TVNZ Head of News and Current Affairs, and original executive producer of Holmes, Paul Cutler, alongside another former EP of Holmes, Susan Baldacci, join Jesse Mulligan in the studio.
In 1989 a new kids' television show launched on TVNZ's Channel 2. It was called 3.45 Live! As the name suggests, it was a live show that began at 3.45pm, linking together the kids shows that played during the afternoon. Former presenters Fenella Bathfield-Dobson and Rikki Morris join Jesse Mulligan to remember the show and all the cool (and not so cool) guests they used to interview.
This NZ Screen History interview celebrates New Zealand's longest-running children's show — What Now?. Hard to believe but What Now? turned 40 in 2021! The show's creator, Rex Simpson, and former presenter, Stacey Morrison, join Jesse Mulligan in the studio to take a walk down memory lane.
New Zealand's longest running soap opera, Shortland Street, was met with much disappointment from audiences when it first aired in 1992. But the show has since managed to win people over to remain a television staple. Original executive producer Chris Bailey, first assistant director Carmen Leonard, and actor Michael Galvin join Jesse Mulligan to talk about the show's early years.
Maggie's Garden Show was a ratings hit for over a decade, from 1992 until 2003. It was a magazine show presented by Maggie Barry, who had a long career in radio and television before she went on to become a National MP. Jack Hobbs, curator of the Auckland Botanic Gardens, was one of a number of other presenters on the show. Maggie and Jack are in to chat with Jesse Mulligan about gardening on prime time TV.
Ready to Roll, later RTR Countdown, kicked off in the mid-1970s with Roger Gascoigne as the host. By the time the 1990s rolled around it was quite a different show. Joining Jesse Mulligan to discuss RTR's different iterations are Simon Morris, and Robert Rakete.
Local beauty pageant Miss New Zealand was a must-watch television event complete with musical acts and million-dollar lottery draws — and the winners became as famous as the All Blacks. Jesse Mulligan speaks to Neil Gussey, who is working on a new documentary about the show's history, and Elaine Daley, who won the crown in 1963 and went on to place first runner-up in the international competition.
Target was a television show that stoked fear and paranoia in the nation, with its hidden-camera trials of tradespeople exposing some shocking incidents over the years. For more than a decade the show offered consumers advice about all kinds of products and services. Former host Brooke Howard-Smith and former executive producer Laurie Clarke talk to Jesse Mulligan about the show's impact during its decade on air.
Before The Bachelorette and Married at First Sight, New Zealand's OG matchmaking show was Blind Date. The TVNZ show aired in the popular pre-news slot of 5:30 pm every weeknight from 1989 to 1990 and was co-hosted by Dave Jamieson and Suzy Aiken (now Clarkson). Suzy and Blind Date contestant coordinator Terri Kilmartin join Jesse Mulligan to reminisce.
New Zealand's classic 60s pop show C'mon ran from 1966 to 1969. It was hosted by Peter Sinclair and produced by Kevan Moore. New Zealand had only had television since 1960, and a music and performance show like C'mon was only possible when the Shortland Street television studio came into commission in 1966. Kevan Moore joins Jesse Mulligan, along with screen veteran Irene Gardiner, to look back on a show which gave a massive boost to the local music industry and featured some of the biggest names in pop of the decade, including The Chicks, Mr Lee Grant and Shane.
This NZ Screen History interview looks back at the popular teen talent show McDonald's Young Entertainers, which ran from 1997 to 1999. Jesse Mulligan speaks to the show's host, Jason Gunn, and former 'Super Trooper', Ainslie Allen, about their time in the spotlight and what the show means to them now.
Stu Dennison was a popular and polarising character of the late-1970s, and one of the pioneering figures in children's television as the host of Nice One. His naughty schoolboy persona caused a stir and attracted as many complaints as it did fans. He even made a full-length album Nice One Stu. Stu Dennison and Roger Gascoigne join Jesse Mulligan in the studio to reminisce!
Country singer Suzanne Prentice and producer, John Lye, talk to Jesse Mulligan about the hugely successful television variety show, That's Country. The show, recorded in Christchurch, became a huge hit with viewers, consistently rating as the number one show throughout the first half of the 1980s.
'Keep cool till after school' was the catchphrase of Olly Ohlson, host of the early-1980s TVNZ show, After School, and a pioneer of Māori language and Māori content on television. He speaks to Jesse Mulligan about hosting After School and how important it was for him to bring te reo into children's lives.
This NZ Screen History interview takes a trip down memory lane for children of the early 90s! The Son of a Gunn Show ran for only three years but left a huge imprint on the cultural landscape of Aoteaora. It wasn't Jason Gunn's first run onto the park of children's TV, and it wouldn't be the last. He talks to Karyn Hay from Christchurch.
In 1977, David McPhail, then a young producer with the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation, pitched an idea for a satirical comedy show to air on its second channel, South Pacific Television. The response from his superiors was that it was a terrible idea because New Zealanders do not have a sense of humour as they are staunch, sensible people who don't like laughing, and certainly don't like laughing at themselves. Luckily, he ignored that and went on to make A Week of It – which was followed by McPhail & Gadsby. David McPhail speaks with Jesse Mulligan.