TV3's late night news show was devised in 1990 to provide a mix of credible news and entertainment. Once the serious news of the day was dispensed with, the brief was that the show could be a bit "off" with few rules - and the freedom to push boundaries. That's exactly what presenters like Belinda Todd, Bill Ralston, Dylan Taite and David Farrier proceeded to do in the show's often infamous "third break". Meanwhile, newsreaders including Joanna Paul, Janet Wilson, Leanne Malcolm and Carolyn Robinson did their best to keep a straight face. "Yo Nightliners!"

Made to commemorate the centennial of all New Zealand women winning the right to vote, Standing in the Sunshine charted the journey of Kiwi women over 100 years since 1893. Mixing interviews, archive footage and dramatic inserts, the four-part TV3 series devoted an episode to each of these topics: Freedom, Power, Work, and Sex and Family.  Writer Sandra Coney also wrote tie-in book Standing in the Sunshine - A History of New Zealand Women Since they Won the Vote. Those interviewed included artists, mothers, businesswomen — and two future prime ministers. 

In this two-part documentary celebrating 100 years of cars in New Zealand, actor Rima Te Wiata (Hunt for the Wilderpeople) sets out to find out what makes motoring such a beloved Kiwi pastime. Part one sees her looking at the early impact of cars, with interviewees reminiscing about the first time they saw a motor vehicle and the changes they brought about. Part two fast forwards into the second half of the 1900s: Te Wiata admires the freedom that cars brought in the 60s and 70s, learns about the Ford V8s of postwar New Zealand, and takes a cruise in a muscle car.

Mortimer’s Patch was a popular drama series following Detective Sergeant Doug Mortimer (Terence Cooper) at work in the town of Cobham. Mortimer plays a city cop returning to his rural roots; Don Selwyn is Sergeant Bob Storey. The series was NZ’s first police drama, and a rare local drama to top ratings. Mortimer's Patch was made when the archetype of the ‘community cop’ everyone knew was still a powerful one, and it was a counterweight to the faceless riot policing of the Springbok Tour. Three series were made.

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.