Inspired by the "very uncomfortable" dating experiences of actor Holly Shervey, Auckward Love follows the love lives of four female friends in Auckland. Shervey created the series; her partner, fellow actor Emmett Skilton (The Almighty Johnsons) directs and produces. Series one cost only $5,000. It was quickly picked up by TVNZ OnDemand and screened at several film festivals, including the London International Film Festival and Los Angeles CineFest. Two more series have since been produced. The friends are played by Shervey, Lucinda Hare, Jess Holly Bates and Jess Sayer.

This series was based on a fund raiser called “Art for Love or Money” run at Dunedin Art Gallery in the early 80s by two local identities: antique dealer Trevor Plumbly and expatriate American gallery owner and basketball commentator Marshall Seifert. Television used them as panellists and added ex-newsreader Dougal Stevenson as host, and a group of regular guests to examine objects brought in by members of the public. Unlike its BBC counterpart Antiques Roadshow, Antiques for Love or Money was a panel discussion, with the owners of the pieces never sighted.

The second, but prequel, series to The Insiders Guide to Happiness is chaos theory in action: seven young strangers whose lives intersect are linked together by a bizarre incident. Produced by the Gibson Group, The Insiders Guide mix of meta-tangle story-telling with fresh shooting and faces, saw Love become a hit with the same youth demographic as Happiness. The show went on to win a clutch of Screen Director's Guild Awards and most of the major drama gongs at the 2006 Qantas Film and TV Awards, including Best Drama, Director, Script, Actor and Actress.

Greenstone is the tale of a beautiful, missionary-educated Māori woman (Simone Kessell) whose romantic life is subject to the shifting loyalties of her father, Chief Te Manahau (George Henare). The cross-cultural elements of this ambitious colonial bodice-ripper were reflected off-screen as well: created by Greg McGee in response to a call by TV One for a local drama 'saga', the series saw major English creative input through being developed as a co-production with the BBC. After the withdrawal of BBC funding, the Tainui Corporation helped fund the eight-part series.

Award-winning series Aroha was born from a desire to tell contemporary love stories in te reo. The six subtitled stories by Māori writers explored love from many angles. Aroha involved established names (Temuera Morrison, Rena Owen, Paora Maxwell), and emerging talents (writer Briar Grace-Smith, actor/director Tearapa Kahi). Filming began in mid 2001; in 2002 three episodes played at the Auckland International Film Festival. Aroha was the brainchild of Karen Sidney, Joanna Paul, and the late Melissa Wikaire. The series was made in tribute to late filmmaker Cherie O'Shea. 

Web series The Factory is the tale of a South Auckland family and their love of music — and one another. The Saumalus compete at a $50,000 talent contest, on behalf of the textile factory where their father and grandfather Tigi work. But the family are keen to play something more modern than the traditional Samoan music Tigi favours. The 20-part web series features the Kila Kokonut Krew team, who originally created The Factory for the stage. The pioneering Pasifika musical went on to headline the 2013 Auckland Arts Festival, and was performed at the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

This comedic PI/Kiwi web series offers up a West Auckland whodunnit. Kala and Chaka's church hall fundraiser rakes in the cash, but before anyone can celebrate, the money is stolen from the kitty. The close-knit circle of housie lovers and churchgoers eye each other distrustfully, 'mouths are running', and robbery isn't the only scandalous activity going down in Avondale. Housiewives won funding from Skip Ahead, a joint NZ On Air/YouTube initiative aimed at helping Kiwi storytellers reach new audiences. The cast includes singer Bella Kalolo and actor Shushila Takao (Filthy Rich).

The feature film Topless Women Talk about Their Lives evolved out of this late night, low budget, TV3 micro-series about the lives, loves and travails of a group of 20-something Aucklanders. It was written and directed by former Front Lawn member Harry Sinclair with a cast including Danielle Cormack and Joel Tobeck. Each four minute episode was shot over a weekend with actors not sighting scripts until just before the camera rolled. Music from Flying Nun bands featured prominently; the women remained fully clothed despite the tantalising titular promise.

Supposedly shot in five days on a budget of $423, the first season of award-winning web series High Road introduced audiences to lovable loser Terry Huffer, an ex rocker who DJs from a caravan in Piha. Writer/director Justin Harwood created the role of Huffer for his Piha neighbour Mark Mitchinson (Siege). Two further seasons were funded by NZ On Air. Video on Demand site Lightbox then compiled them into half-hour episodes, and commissioned a fourth. Harwood has played in indie bands The Chills and Luna, and the show's soundtrack offers fans of classic rock much to savour.

Sing featured Kiwi entertainers performing popular songs and musical standards, accompanied by a bevy of dancers. The performers included Craig Scott, Ray Woolf, Angela Ayers, Chic Littlewood and musical comic relief Laurie Dee. The hair was big and the collars large, while songs tended towards the middle of the road — for example 'Love is All Around', Tom Jones and Glen Campbell.