It wouldn’t necessarily have to be urban, there’s plenty of commercial businesses in rural areas.
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Flower Street
@Michael_Eccles @TV4 @LiamP I come up with the idea of a continuing drama series - Flower Street.
Flower Street follows the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in Baycliff, a fictional suburb on Auckland’s North Shore, especially three families who live in a small street. Its storylines will centre on the residents of Flower Street (as the title suggests), a cul-de-sac, but the suburb encompasses a restaurant, pub, cafe, garage, superette, high school, police station, hospital and various businesses.
On average, Flower Street will be produced as 42 x 1 hour episodes per year. One episode will be made every week. The scripts will be written to a formula which allows one day for rehearsal, two days on location and two days in the studio.
Regal Place, in Forrest Hill, is the real cul-de-sac that doubles for Flower Street. All of the houses featured in the series are real and, like the Australian soap Neighbours, the residents will allow the production to shoot external scenes in their front and back gardens. The interior scenes will be filmed in a converted North Auckland warehouse which doubles as drama studios.
Episodes will be shot 8-10 weeks ahead of their scheduled broadcast date. There will be 16 episodes in various stages of production at any one time (from the conception of new storylines to post production). In addition, there will always be seven complete episodes waiting to go to air.
What do you think of the idea of a ‘Kiwi family drama’?
TRIVIA: The name is a homage to the Flower Street studios, which is, in real life, home to New Zealand’s first private television network, TV3 (now Three), since its launch in 1989.
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If they are for a commercial hour (42-43 mins) that’s less than a minute per scene Paddy.
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I’m not sure if a serial drama is what viewers want these days, Paddy. The audience seem to like short and sweet stories.
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@OnAir @TV4 @Michael_Eccles @LiamP Below are the proposed New Zealand versions of popular overseas formats (courtesy of Fremantle).
Blankety Blank
Blankety Blank, based on the US game show Match Game, was first shown on TVNZ in the early 1980s andhosted by the late David Halls (of Hudson and Halls fame).
Blankety Blank is now back in New Zealand with a fresh new look and a new host, Rhys Mathewson (7 Days). Despite the ongoing mayhem, contestants try to match a missing word to a phrase with the celebrity panel. The one with the most matches goes on to play the ‘Supermatch Game’.
Win or lose, they all get to go away with the coveted Blankety Blank chequebook and pen.
Blankety Blank is played by two competing contestants and a panel of six celebrities. The two contestants attempt to score the highest amount of points by matching the celebrities’ answers to a funny phrase or statement.
The emphasis here is on humour, and the short stories with a missing word often relate to one of the celebrities on the show’s panel. Once the contestant has given their answer, the host moves along the celebrity panel trying to find a match and enjoying the jokes along the way.
After three games, the winning contestant plays another game to match the most popular answer from a survey. The player is then given the opportunity to win a large prize by matching one celebrity with another question.
Play Your Cards Right
Play Your Cards Right, based on the US game show Card Sharks, combines amusing surveys with a lot of luck to create a lively and entertaining half hour. To gain control of the gameboard, contestants must predict how many of 100 people surveyed answered a question in a particular way.
The questions themselves are humorous: ‘We asked 100 policemen: “If a naked female ran past you, would you be able to remember her face?” How many said yes, they would be able to recognise her face?’ The opponents then predict whether the actual number is higher or lower than that selected by the first pair.
The couple who get closer to the right answer then move along a row of playing cards by predicting whether the next card will be higher or lower than the previous one. The first pair to win two games out of three go on to play the final round, which involves the same higher/lower mechanic but with a cash wager at the turn of each card. The chance of winning the car all rests on the turn of a card. There’s nothing for a pair, not in this game.
Play Your Cards Right was first shown on TVNZ in the 1980s and hosted by Kenny Cantor. Hosting the new version will be Jeremy Corbett (7 Days, The Project).
Strike It Rich
Strike It Rich is a game of knowledge, skill, decisions and risk at every step of the way. It is a fast, zany game played on a hi-tech set.
The object of the game is for one of the three contestant couples to reach the end of their ‘arch’ which consists of 10 monitors.
Each monitor contains video information - either a prize or a ‘hotspot’. In order to get across their respective arches, the contestants must answer questions from various categories. A correct answer gives them a corresponding number of moves across their ‘arch’.
Contestants can choose to bank any prizes won or take a gamble on moving across the arch. The first couple to reach the end of the arch goes on to play the bonus game and win the big prize of the day.
The host of Strike It Rich will be Walter Neilands (of Sticky TV fame).
Supermarket Sweep
Recklessly guiding your shopping cart through the aisles of your local supermarket may not win the approval of your fellow shoppers, but in Supermarket Sweep, it’s not only encouraged but required!
Supermarket Sweep is a test of a shopper’s supermarket savvy. The object of this fast-paced game is to accumulate the highest grocery bill by flying through the supermarket and purchasing merchandise within a limited amount of time.
Three teams of shoppers compete to earn valuable shopping time by responding to a series of product-related questions, anecdotes and brain teasers. Each correct answer wins the responding team more time to shop.
The excitement peaks during the Big Sweep round, as the contestants manoeuvre their carts through the aisles to grab as many items as possible. At the sound of the final bell, the shopper with the highest grocery bill wins the game and plays the Super Sweep bonus round.
The team must successfully locate three products whose identities are cleverly concealed by amusing anecdotes. If the team returns to the check-out counter with the three items before time runs out, they win the grand prize.
The host of Supermarket Sweep will be Nickson Clark (The Edge, Today FM and ex-Mai FM).
What do you think of the proposed game show ideas?
I’m not sure about recycling old formats. There’s usually a reason why they’ve not been recommissioned.
If you could make your own game show, what would it be like? Can you make it more NZ or Pacific-based? Try thinking about what people like in a game show, why do they watch? Why do they want to be on the game show? Is it about the money, or is it about the fun?
Good question, @TV4. I have found a new concept in New Zealand based game shows - 100%.
The game begins with contestants introducing themselves to the off-screen voice of the host. From this moment on, the clock starts ticking. The players, who are kept separate from each other, are asked by the unseen presenter exactly one hundred questions.
The questions are wide-ranging and test the contestants to the limits. The answers will often switch from multiple choice to true or false?
After each set of 20 questions, the scores are recapped. While the viewers at home are aware of the scores all the time, the contestants never know exactly where they are standing.
They are told the percentage scores but the contestants’ names are never attached to them. While any change in leadership is announced at the recap, they are left to rely on their own perceptions of how well they are doing.
Only at the show’s finale do the contestants realise who has emerged victorious. The player with the highest percentage score not only takes home a cash prize, but also secures the chance to defend the title against two new challengers in the next episode.
I describe 100% as a thoroughly modern, brainteasing, play-along quiz show for the whole family to enjoy. It’s fast-paced and impossible to overlook.
Unfortunately, for me, it’s hard to make a format that is largely based in either New Zealand or the Pacific Islands as some of the viewing audience, in real life, may be a little bit delusional…
I like the concept, it sounds a bit like game theory… especially not knowing where everyone stands.
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@TV4 Described as Miss Congeniality from RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under and a finalist of New Zealand’s Television Personality 2021, Anita Wigl’it hosts her very own television show in which I created.
The Anita Wigl’it Show is a live-to-air talk/variety show similar in format to that of its Australian counterparts (e.g. Don Lane, Ernie Sigley, Graham Kennedy etc), featuring a mixture of comedy, celebrity interviews, games, trivia and music. The show will also feature a resident house band, with guest acts performing live in the studio.
The Anita Wigl’it Show will screen once a week in a later (9.30pm) timeslot.
What do you think of the idea?
What do you think they would bring to the hosting role Paddy?
@OnAir From my point of view, fresh faces, including the majority of radio personalities and those who have no hosting experience, will be new to television and brought in as hosts. For instance, Anita Wigl’it will bring her experience as a drag queen to the hosting role when it comes to talk/variety shows. I am a little bit puzzled at this point but that’s the answer.
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@PaddyTePou Have you had any ideas for either a current affairs, arts and politics program, sports magazine program or a local television news service (regional bulletin or news update format)?
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Good question, @greenpea - I have a substantial amount of ideas for a number of programmes in the fields of current affairs, sport and special interest, although plans for a local television news service (whether it’s a half hour regional bulletin or presented as a news update format) are in the pipeline.
Below is a taste of programme ideas in which I created so far. (Additional information is included in brackets.)
Taku Tai
A live-to-air, bilingual programme of current affairs, politics and the arts and culture from a Māori perspective, with topics of interest to Māori and mainstream audiences. The programme includes reviews of the week’s Māori events, studio interviews and panels, audience polls, viewer feedback and authoritative commentary, plus an arts feature and a kapa haka segment. (This programme is bilingual, i.e. English and Māori, and suitable for screening in a non-commercial Sunday morning timeslot, e.g. 11am-12pm, 59 minutes. This is due to the Broadcasting Act 1989 which states that no commercial advertising can be shown on New Zealand television between 6am-12pm on Sundays.)
Sportsworld
A Saturday afternoon programme devoted exclusively to sport, featuring a mix of live coverage, highlights and roundups of sporting events from New Zealand and around the world. Plus the latest news and results from all sports and a special service for racing fans, including live coverage of selected Saturday races and detailed race results and dividends. (Each edition of Sportsworld typically runs from 1-6pm on a Saturday but often earlier than the usual due to the scheduling of major sporting events, so you may need to check your EPG for exact times.)
Sports Sunday
A Sunday afternoon programme similar in format to Sportsworld, featuring world-class sporting action and up-to-the-minute reports from the local, national and international scenes. (Each edition of Sports Sunday typically runs from 4-6pm but often earlier than the usual due to the scheduling of major sporting events, so you may need to check your EPG for exact times.)
Sports Arena
A weekly, late night programme similar to Sportsworld and Sports Sunday on the weekend. It includes reviews of the weekend’s sporting events and previews of upcoming action both locally and internationally, plus a package of football highlights during the English Premier League season. (Each edition of Sports Arena is typically suitable for screening after 10.30pm on a Tuesday night.)
Access
A unique form of community-based television which allows groups or individuals to apply to make a documentary programme about an topic - whether it’s family issues, social issues, sexual issues, political issues, religious issues or whatever - that involves or concerns them. (All documentary programmes are presented in a non-commercial format, i.e. 29 minutes each, and suitable for screening at 9am on a Sunday morning.)
Farming Today
A half hour, weekly programme aimed specifically at farmers and the rural community. The magazine-style programme includes a review of the week’s rural news, financial updates, stockyard reports, studio interviews and field items. (Each edition of Farming Today is presented in a non-commercial format, i.e. 29 minutes, and suitable for screening at 9.30am on a Sunday morning.)
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In a Different Union
In 1990 TVNZ screened a documentary about then All Black fullback Matthew Ridge, who caused a sensation when he turned his back on a successful rugby career to play professional rugby league for the Manly Sea Eagles. It was called In a Different League.
In a Different Union is a documentary which follows Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, an ex-NZ Warrior and 2018 Dally M Medal winner, through his transition from rugby league to rugby, including his recent sign-up with the Blues (an Auckland-based Super Rugby side) and his call-up to the All Blacks for the first test against Ireland.
What do you think of the documentary idea, @greenpea?
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That sounds like a really interesting concept Paddy. Sounds like something Netflix or Amazon would commission. Great work as always. 
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Thank you.
Maybe for YouTube (his own channel or a rugby channel or the All-Blacks or Blues) or a local broadcaster but I would have liked to have seen it. Too niche even for Amazon.
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@foxyrover. I just thought that Paddy’s idea was similar in style to that of The Last Dance. Also if either company were to launch a bid for rugby rights they would probably want to commission a documentary concept like this as part of that bid.
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Coastlands
An idea for an ongoing teen drama series, similar to Hollyoaks in its early years as well as Beverly Hills 90210. The series is set in Coastlands (as the title suggests) - a fictional seaside suburb located on the Hibiscus Coast, just north of central Auckland - and follows the trials and tribulations of eight teenagers who live in the suburb and attend Coastlands High School.
On average, Coastlands would be produced as 42 x 1 hour episodes for television per year (one episode per week) with a 7.30-8.30pm timeslot and a PG classification, although the series deals with storylines based on serious issues of importance to young people (e.g. partying, bullying, self-esteem, anxiety, online peer pressure, relationships, drug and alcohol addiction etc).
It is intended that Coastlands would be filmed on location in Whangaparaoa and Stanmore Bay, and that filming of the interior scenes would take place at a warehouse in Silverdale.
In addition, Coastlands would have a stronger online presence through its digital and podcast content, featuring behind-the-scenes first looks, cast interviews and Q&A sessions.
What do you think of the idea?
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