80s show Close Up had a similar brief to earlier current affairs show Compass: to present mini-documentaries on topical local issues. Stories in the primetime hour-long slot were wide-ranging, from hard news to human interest pieces, including a profile of 25-year-old foreign exchange dealer, future-Prime Minister, John Key. The show won Feltex Awards for most of the years that it was on air. Close Up is not related to the post-nightly news show of the same name, which was hosted by Mark Sainsbury until 2012.

Tonight with Cathy Saunders saw host Saunders taking the reins solo, following short-lived talk show Saunders and Sinclair, which she co-presented with radio personality Geoff Sinclair. Both shows debuted in 1985. Among Saunders' guests were Māori activist Donna Awatere Huata, Australian actor Vince Martin, and female impersonator Marcus Craig (aka Diamond Lil). Saunders combined PR and marketing jobs with her television gigs— including time as a panelist on Selwyn Toogood's advice show Beauty and the Beast.

Homeward Bound was TV3’s bid for New Zealand on Air funding for a local soap opera. Set around the lives of the rural Johnson family, 22 episodes were produced for the then-nascent network (the series ultimately lost out to TVNZ’s Shortland Street). Created by Ross Jennings and written by Michael Noonan, it represented a move back to a small town way of life after the Gloss-y urban excesses of the 1980s; it also explored pressures facing country communities following the stock market crash. The cast included Liddy Holloway, Peter Elliott and a young Karl Urban.

Eating Media Lunch satirised mainstream media, from "issues of the day" journalism to reality TV to the society pages (lampooned in the "celebrity share market index index"). No fish was too big or barrel too small. Presenter Jeremy Wells kept a straight face over seven seasons of often controversial episodes, while investigating issues inexplicably missed by other media (eg the porno film made in Taranaki and shot in te reo, or ritalin-fueled reality programme Medswap). EML's seventh season won Best Comedy Programme at the 2008 Qantas Film and Television Awards.  

When this popular TV One comedy-drama about misbehaving real estate agents debuted in 2013, it copped flak from real estate bosses for perpetuating negative stereotypes about the industry. Agent Anna follows Anna Kingston (played by Robyn Malcolm, who also came up with the series idea), whose husband has left her and their two teenage daughters. Needing work, Kingston turns to selling houses in Auckland's cutthroat market. The programme ran for two seasons. Theresa Healey (Shortland Street), Adam Gardiner (movie Hopeless) and Roy Billing (Old Scores) co-star.

New Zealand Mirror was a National Film Unit 'magazine-film' series aimed at a British theatrical audience. Mostly re-packaging Weekly Review and later, Pictorial Parade content for receptive UK eyes, it also generated a small amount of original content. The series covered items showcasing NZ to a British market and as such has some interest as a post-war representation of New Zealand's burgeoning sense of national identity, from peg-legged Kiwis and children feeding eels, to the discovery of moa bones, to pianist Richard Farrell.

This mid '70s ad campaign, made by the National Film Unit for the Tourist and Publicity Department, was aimed at the domestic market and offers nostalgic delights aplenty. 'Nightlife' focused on city bars and clubs, and 'Oldies' showcased options for retirees (scenic bus tours). Another version urged families to ditch the car (amidst the oil crisis) and take public transport to see the country; and in a classic of the genre pop star Craig Scott was a beach pied piper for adoring young Kiwis: "We're in God's own country, we gotta take the tiiiime ...".

The National Film Unit was set up in 1941 to publicise New Zealand’s war effort. The unit’s output soon evolved into the Weekly Review, a weekly reel screened in cinemas. Confusingly the first Weekly Review in October 1942 was named No. 60. It was the principal NZ film series produced in the 1940s. The series ended in August 1950 with the 459th issue. The reviews were a mix of newsreel and general interest stories and occasionally, full-reel documentaries. Some were later re-issued (without the Weekly Review title) for screening in educational and overseas markets.

Avoiding the bells and big notes of talent franchises like X Factor and Got Talent, the stage of this Māori Television series is Aotearoa’s streets and night markets. Passing punters hit the mic to see if they can make it through three karaoke rounds to win $1000. It replaced long-running studio karaoke show Homai Te Pakipakai, and is hosted by Te Hamua Nikora and Luke Bird. Created by Bailey Mackey (The GC) and Jonathon Urlich, the format sold to global company FremantleMedia. Raved The Spinoff writer Madeleine Chapman: "Sidewalk Karaoke is so simple it’s genius." 

Location Location Location followed the tension, conflict and frustrations of buying and selling real estate. One of New Zealand's longest-running popular factual programmes, it rode the wave of the Kiwi housing boom. Episodes covered all aspects of the housing market, from lower-priced ‘do-ups' to multi-million dollar mansions. The high-rating show made real estate agent Michael "million dollar man" Boulgaris famous as an agent for luxury homes. It was made by now-defunct production house Ninox.