It’s been a brutal year for New Zealand television, with the demise of Three’s Newshub news operation, costing 300-odd jobs; and the canning of TVNZ’s highly rated Fair Go, Sunday and Late News programmes.
It’s also been announced the long-running soap Shortland Street will be cut to three nights a week, down from five, from next year.
But amongst the industry’s slow crumble, is a beacon of hope – The Brokenwood Mysteries, which premiered on Prime TV 10 years ago before moving to TV1, and is now screened in 150 countries. Filming for Season 11 is now underway.
Today The Detail speaks to the show’s writer and producer Tim Balme about its phenomenal success – and why it’s bucking industry trends by not only surviving but thriving.
“When we first put this show to air, I thought it would be one and done,” Balme says. “I didn’t have any expectation that it would become a decade-long crusade.
“It’s been successful because it’s sold overseas in ways that no other New Zealand drama ever has. It’s like a self-saucing pudding. We make it, it sells, so we get to make more. It’s a self-funding exercise. It’s unique.
“And I think the reason it started selling is murder mysteries were either from the UK or America, they had their own distinct style, so when we brought this show out, it was unique because it was from a New Zealand filter and overseas audiences took a shine to it. They loved the accents and the places – it was the right thing at the right time.”
Balme says he won’t change the authentic Kiwi experience to cater for the international audience.
He says New Zealanders love the show just as much.
“This is the nuts thing, the crazy thing – Season 10 has just aired here and the numbers were through the roof, numbers like we have never seen before,” he said before joking “I sound like Trump”.
“Right now, we are in a climate where we are all worried that linear TV is a thing of the past – and to an extent, it is, it’s changing and it’s changing fast.
“But little old Brokenwood seems to be pushing against the trend. And more watched it on linear TV than ever before. We were delighted with that.”
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