The top 100 NZ shows of the 21st Century: 20-1
Plus: Rivals is one wild ride, a new HBO superhero series with a twist, and Hera Lindsay Bird falls for The Mentalist.
Kia ora and welcome to a special edition of Rec Room. As beloved subscribers of this newsletter, you’re probably well aware that every morning this week, we’ve been counting down the top 100 New Zealand shows of the 21st century. Since Monday, we’ve traversed everything from Good Morning to Good Grief, SportsCafe to Suzy’s World. And today, we’re thrilled to finally announce our top 20 local TV shows, ending with the most significant local television show of the 21st century (so far).
Why did we do this, you might ask? As part of The Spinoff’s 10th birthday celebrations, we wanted to lean into the very thing that The Spinoff was born to do, which is celebrate television. By commemorating our local TV history, we hoped to also to get an overview of the way that television has changed and grown over the last 25 years – the impact of the internet on linear TV, changes to funding models, and why we love Country Calendar to this day. So we pulled together a list of every show made in Aotearoa in the new millennium, and got to work.
We discovered shows we’d never heard of, reminisced over forgotten favourites, and fiercely debated certain slots. We were inspired by our external panel of Diana Wichtel, Dan Taipua, Chris Schulz and Erin Harrington, whose love and knowledge of television shines through every word. Although we chose to rule out international reality TV formats (sorry Traitors NZ) and current affairs shows (impossible to compare, despite cool graphics), we were thrilled to unearth an abundance of local dramas, comedies, factual series and panel shows, all ripe for celebrating.
Today, after much discussion and collaboration, we’ve reached the final countdown. The top 20 stood out for a variety of reasons, including longevity, creativity, critical acclaim, influence and originality. They capture how rich and diverse our TV landscape has been this century, and how vital it is that we continue to tell our own stories. They also reminded me why I love TV so much: this list represents who we are as a nation in all our multitudes, be it in a post-apocalyptic comedy, an underrated crime drama, a supernatural anthology, a farmyard favourite, a beloved children’s series and much, much more.
From 100 to 1, it’s been a joy. Enjoy the shows, and don’t forget to add them to your custom watchlist.
If you’ve missed the first 80 shows, check them out below:
Monday: The top 100 NZ TV shows of the 21st Century (100-81)
Tuesday: The top 100 NZ TV shows of the 21st Century (80-61)
Wednesday: The top 100 NZ TV shows of the 21st Century (60-41)
Thursday: The top 100 NZ TV shows of the 21st century (40-21)
Why you should watch: Home Education (The Spinoff)
Episode three introduces Irma, who left her career as a chartered accountant to home educate her two sons. When her eldest son was attending school, his love for ballet became an open secret. But now, “you don’t have to hide,” says Irma, who feels her children’s formative years are too precious to miss. Irma now fields questions like “does space have a bottom?” following Montessori and Unschooling education principles. Made with the support of NZ On Air.
Why you should watch: Rivals (Disney+)
Rivals might just be the most entertaining show of the year. The television adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s steamy bestselling novel is a delicious romp through upper class England in the 1980s, and from the opening scene, you know you’re in for a fun ride. David Tennant and Aidan Turner star as two alpha males desperate to take each other down, but following the plot is less important than just sitting back and enjoying fabulously terrible people doing fabulously terrible things, all set to an evocative 80s soundtrack. It’s a satire about the rich and privileged, but there’s also a tasty bit of swagger to Rivals that makes it hard to resist. Yes, there’s some naked tennis. Yes, it’s all a bit ridiculous. Will you love it? Also yes.
Why you should watch: The Franchise (Neon)
The vast and vacuous world of comic-book movie adaptations is the setting for The Franchise (Neon), and it boasts its own suicide squad of comedy superheroes: Armando Iannucci, Sam Mendes (if you forgive him for American Beauty), Jon Brown from Succession as showrunner and, among the writers, Marina Hyde, the world’s funniest columnist.
The idea is to look through the telescope the wrong way, at the bedraggled stress-addicts who actually make the production happen while negotiating their way through the egos of directors, producers and Hollywood stars. Is it great? No, not so far, in part I suspect because it’s striving so hard to be true to the research instead of following the characters down unexpected furrows. But it’s good and getting better. Veep wasn’t great at the start, remember, and it soon became just about the best thing ever. Definitely worth a flutter. / Toby Manhire
More pop culture news from The Spinoff:
Thomas Giblin has all the new shows and movies to watch this week in New To Streaming.
I love every one of our My Life in TV features, but this interview with the fabulous Sir Richard O’Brien is one of the best.
Don’t miss Tusiata Avia’s new poem, as performed at the 2024 Arts Foundation Laureates Awards last week.
Ōtautahi singer-songwriter Mousey reveals the song that made her cry in this week’s Perfect Weekend Playlist.
I loved Claire Mabey’s interview with 93-year-old Maurice Gee about what inspired Under the Mountain and his writing process.
Join us for a one-night only live event
If you enjoyed our countdown of the Top 100 NZ TV Shows of the 21st century, you'll love our upcoming live show in Auckland.
We've enlisted beloved comedians Kura Forrester and Rhiannon McCall, our very own Alex Casey and fellow Spinoff writers Stewart Sowman-Lund and Lyric Waiwiri-Smith to make a case for why their favourite local show should have been #1. Join us at Q Theatre on October 31 for a riotous night out.
Why you should watch: The Mentalist (Prime Video)
There’s nothing better than a bit of soothing background television. I’m forever on the hunt for a good show with over 100 episodes that requires less than 30% of my total attention. After finishing the marginally superior “Lie To Me” about forensic micro-expression analyst Cal Lightman, I went looking for other crime dramas about niche psychological investigation techniques and stumbled onto the stale and much-derided TV classic The Mentalist.
I was wary at first. It is, after all, no good. Or at least not any better than the 27th season of Law and Order: White Collar Division. But it belongs to one of the most satisfying genres of shows, which is “guy who is really good at his job.” Monk. House. Sherlock. Poirot. No secret is safe from Patrick “The Mentalist” Jane. Just one look at your red leather bomber jacket is enough to tell our tortured protagonist everything he needs to know about your career as a former magician’s assistant, your addiction to huffing nail polish, and the watercress sandwiches you have every day for lunch, because they remind you of your great grandmother, who worked as a professional drycleaner. Despite a decent American accent, Simon Baker, who plays John, brings an unerring Australianness to this late 2000s pre-prestige schlock, and has undeniable chemistry with his beautiful and law-abiding colleague Teresa Lisbon, as they slowly work their way towards uncovering the serial killer Red John that murdered Jane’s wife and daughter. God it’s terrible. God I’ll be sad when it’s over. / Hera Lindsay Bird
Before we pop off…
The first trailer for local feature film Tinā has dropped ahead of the film’s New Zealand release in February next year. Tinā is a heartwarming drama that follows Samoan teacher Mareta Percival, who after the death of her daughter in the Christchurch earthquakes, reluctantly takes on a role as a substitute teacher at an elite private school and forms a choir.
Can’t get enough? 90s legends Supergroove have announced they’ll reunite in 2025 for a national tour.
Speaking of touring Aotearoa, looks like Jason Momoa’s covers band is coming to a city near you this summer.
Sky announced this week they’ll be the home of HBO’s Max from the end of October. Sky and Neon subscribers will have exclusive access to Max and HBO originals as well as WBD classic franchises and extensive library content.
That’s it for Rec Room for this week. If you liked what you read, why not share Rec Room with your friends and whānau.
