This ambitious reality show saw Kiwis living 1850s style for six weeks — "three families from two very different cultures sharing one land". The first Māori family communicates in te reo; two other families, one Māori and one Pākehā, don't. The One Land team researched and recreated a hilltop pā and a colonial house for the participants to live in. Executive producer Bailey Mackey praised TVNZ for playing a te reo-heavy reality show in prime time. Named Best Constructed Reality Series at the 2010 Qantas TV Awards, One Land was made by Mackey's Black Inc Media and Eyeworks.

This 2016 Māori Television series mixes history and the action stylings of 300, The Dead Lands and kung fu movies, to dramatise pre-Pākehā Māori martial arts and those who practised them. As the publicity put it: "ancient heroes of yesteryear, re-discovered, re-examined and re-imagined". The anthology series was created by Rangi Rangitukunoa, and choreographed by kapa haka champ Wetini Mitai-Ngātai. Nine 30-minute episodes were made. Kairākau was praised by Duncan Greive on website The Spinoff, for evoking "a pre-colonial New Zealand in a convincing and evocative style."

Tangata Whenua was a groundbreaking six-part documentary series that screened (remarkably in primetime) in 1974. Each episode chronicled a different iwi and included interviews by historian Michael King with kaumātua. These remain a priceless historical record. The Feltex Award-winning script was by King and director Barry Barclay. The NZBC said the series had "possibly done more towards helping the European understand the Māori people, their traditions and way of life, than anything else previously shown on television". Paul Diamond writes about Tangata Whenua here.

Launched in 1992, Marae is the longest running Māori current affairs programme. It aims to keep its audience in touch with the issues — political or otherwise — that affect Māori, and explain kauapa Māori from a Māori perspective. The Marae Digipoll is seen as a respected barometer of matters Māori. Marae was relaunched briefly in October 2010 as Marae Investigates, presented by Scotty Morrison and Jodi Ihaka Marae (and later Miriama Kamo) . Screening on TV One, Marae is presented half in english and half in te reoi. It is now made by company Pango Productions.