After School was a hosted links format that screened on weekday afternoons. Its initial host was Olly Ohlson, who was the first Māori presenter to anchor his own children's show. After School also broke ground in its use of te reo Māori on screen, as well as sign language. The show and Ohlson are remembered by a generation of New Zealanders for the catchphrase (with accompanying sign language) "Keep cool till after school". After School was later hosted by Jason Gunn and Annie Roache, and was where puppet Thingee achieved small screen fame.

This six-part Māori Television series documents the experiences of six Māori language students from around the country, on a three-week cultural field trip to Beijing, China. The teenagers take their own cameras to record their experiences. They attend a local high school, live with Chinese families, and take in the local sites and sounds. The series is in Te Reo Māori, with English sub-titles.

This six-part Māori Television series documents the experiences of six teenagers from Māori language schools in Rotorua, on a three-week cultural field trip to Santiago, Chile. The students take their own cameras to record their experiences. They are hosted by the Montessori school Colegio Pucalan and local families, and take in the sites and sounds of the Chilean capital. The series is in Te Reo Māori, with English sub-titles. It is a follow-up series to the original Kia Ora Ni Hao, set in China.

Mai Time was an influential magazine show for Māori youth, exploring te ao Māori and pop culture (it was one of the first shows to show local hip-hop), with presenters speaking in te reo and English. Running for 12 years, it began as a slot on Marae, then screened on Saturday mornings on TV2. Mai Time was a breeding ground for Māori television talent: launching the careers of Stacey Morrison (nee Daniels), Quinton Hita, Teremoana Rapley and others. It was the brainchild of Tainui Stephens, and was produced by Greg Mayor, then from 2004 by Anahera Higgins.

Te Karere is a long-running daily news programme in te reo Māori. Based in the TVNZ newsroom, Te Karere covers key events and stories in the Māori world as well as bringing a Māori perspective to the day's news. Significant for pioneering Māori news on mainstream TV, for three decades it has been a platform for Māori to comment on issues and events. Founded by Derek Fox, it first went to air during Māori Language Week in 1982, before getting its own regular slot the folowing year. Te Karere initially ran for only four minutes, then 15; in 2009 it was expanded to half an hour.

Each episode of this award-winning te reo series looks a building or structure of special significance to its community. Architect Rau Hoskins interviews locals to find out about architecture, construction, and social and cultural history, and delve into each building's mauri and wairua. Waitangi's Treaty House, the whare at Parihaka Pā, the globetrotting Mātaatua meeting house, and a wharenui buried by the 1996 Tarawera eruption all featured. Four seasons were made by Scottie Productions; the first was named Best Māori Language Programme at the 2012 NZ TV Awards.

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.

Regular Māori programmes started on Television New Zealand in 1980 with Koha, a weekly, 30 minute programme broadcast in English. It explored everything from social problems, tribal history, natural history, about weaponry, to the preparation of food, canoe history, carvings and their meanings, language and how it changed through time. It was a window into te ao Māori for Pākekā, and provided a link to urban Māori estranged from their culture. It was the first regular Māori programme to be shown in prime time. 

Debuting on TV Four as Tūmeke in 1999, children's show Pūkana was pioneering in its use of te reo. Given a new title when it moved to TV3 in its second year, it later began an epic run on Māori Television. Taking contemporary kids' culture cues, Pūkana features game shows, send-ups, talent quests and music. It emphasises ‘street’ rather than marae-style language. Made by company Cinco Cine, it has won three awards for best show in its category, and two nominations for children’s programme. Past presenters include Mātai Smith, Quinton Hita and Te Hamua Nikora.