The 2024 New Zealand Television Awards have shaped into an exciting event, showcasing diverse talent and programming nationwide.
With a remarkable 121 nominations from over 490 entries, the finalists reflected a rich tapestry of storytelling and creativity in local television.
This year’s nominees include content aired on local free-to-air networks, including TVNZ 1 & 2, Three, Sky Open (formerly Prime), and Whakaata Māori, as well as New Zealand-made programming on pay TV, digital, and streaming platforms such as Neon, TVNZ+, ThreeNow, Newsroom, Stuff, RNZ, and Coconet TV.
Leading the nominations is Lingo Pictures’ and Luminous Beast’s critically acclaimed TVNZ drama series After The Party, which received ten nominations, including Best Actress (Robyn Malcolm), Best Actor (Peter Mullan), and NZ On Air Best Drama.
Other contenders for the NZ On Air Best Drama award include Three’s Friends Like Her (Great Southern Television Limited / Warner Bros. Discovery ) and TVNZ’s bold drama about a wealthy family at the helm of a megachurch, Testify (Warner Bros. International Television Production New Zealand ), which is also a finalist in four craft categories.
South Pacific Pictures’ comedy-drama Far North earned seven nominations, including Best Actor (Temuera Morrison), Screen Auckland Best Director: Drama/Comedy (David White), and Best Cinematography: Drama/Comedy.
In the news and current affairs group, Newshub shines, with its journalists, Michael Morrah, Alexa Cook, and Lisette Reymer, receiving all nominations for Best Reporter of the Year.
Recognised for their significant contributions to the industry, the nominations for the Best Presenter: News and Current Affairs category include Julian Wilcox from The Hui, Jack Tame for Q+A, RNZ’s Guyon Espiner for 30 with Guyon Espiner and Patrick Gower for Paddy Gower Has Issues.
TVNZ news has secured two nominations in the Best News Coverage category for its 1 News coverage on Election Night and Cyclone Gabrielle: One Year On. Newshub rounded out the nominations and covered the Auckland Shooting.
An entertaining mix of original programming makes up the Best Original Reality Series finalists list this year: TVNZ 2’s Down For Love from Attitude Pictures, and Perpetual Entertainment’s Cooks On Fire and Great Southern Television’s The Casketeers, both for TVNZ 1.
In the Factual and Documentary categories, Escaping Utopia, the three-part series on New Zealand’s most extreme religious cult, Gloriavale, has received four nominations, including Best Factual Series and Best Director: Documentary/Factual.
Also in contention is Black Coast Vanishings for Three and Scotty Morrison’s deeply personal journey, Origins (S2) for TVNZ.
In the performance categories, Best Actress nominees include Friends Like Her lead Morgana O’Reilly and After The Party’s Robyn Malcolm, who have been given the nod alongside Chelsie Preston Crayford for Dark City: The Cleaner and Bree Peters for her role in Great Southern Television’s local comedy Spinal Destination.
Nominees for Best Supporting Actress include Awa Puna for The Boy, The Queen, And Everything In Between, Tara Canton for After The Party, Tess Haubrich for Friends Like Her, and Roxie Mohebbi for Miles From Nowhere.
In the Best Actor category, Cohen Holloway is recognised for his role in Dark City: The Cleaner, alongside esteemed actors Temuera Morrison for Far North and Peter Mullan for After The Party.
Jay Ryan, nominated for his role in the black comedy series Creamerie, Jarod Rawiri for Friends Like Her, and Elz Carrad for After The Party, are vying for the Best Supporting Actor trophy.
The New Zealand Television Awards 2024 Television Legend and finalists in the publicly voted 2024 Television Personality of the Year category are yet to be announced.
The New Zealand Television Awards will be held at Auckland’s Aotea Centre on Friday, the 22nd of November. Comedian Pax Assadi has been announced as the host of the event.
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