TVNZ announces 2025 line-up

From drama to comedy, documentaries to entertainment and sport, TVNZ has revealed its line-up of local and international content set to air in 2025.

“From flagship content to whānau favourites, trusted news, and free-to-air sports, we take pride in delivering a compelling mix of homegrown and international programming that keep viewers coming back, day after day,” says Chief Content Officer, Nevak Rogers.

“As we look ahead to 2025, TVNZ is dedicated to bringing viewers authentic stories and fresh perspectives on life in Aotearoa, as well as the must-watch entertainment shows from here and overseas.

“2025 is going to be another massive year for TVNZ and I’m pleased to announce this impressive array of content that I am confident our viewers will love,” Rogers adds.

New faces and popular favourites return to the screen

New series, Off the Grid, features My Kitchen Rules judges Colin Fassnidge and Manu Feildel who embark on a road trip across Aotearoa, getting to know local places, faces and produce, with their usual banter and antics.

Kaiora and Francis Tipene take a journey through grief around the world in The Casketeers: Life & Death Around The Globe*. Bubbah Olo is joined by a raft of Kiwi comedians in Don’t*, a documentary series that explores the big life choices facing rangatahi and The Devil’s in the Data* sees Tāmati Rimene-Sproat investigating the country’s collective attitudes to life issues, using data to uncover stories about how we live today. 

In Love It or List It NZ, award-winning interior designer Alex Walls and host of AA Insurance Location, Location, Location, and real estate agent Paul Glover help struggling homeowners decide whether to renovate or sell their home. Dadolescence* follows the journeys of a group of teenagers as they grapple with the responsibilities of being young dads, while Diary of a Junior Doctor* chronicles the lives of a group of young doctors at Middlemore Hospital. 

Returning for 2025 is Hyundai Country Calendar*, Taskmaster NZ*, NZ’s Best Homes with Phil Spencer, Grand Designs NZ, Down for Love*, Eat Well for Less NZ* and Endangered Species Aotearoa*. Sir David Attenborough returns with two landmark series – Asia covers the planet’s largest and richest continent, and Parenthood explores the high stakes challenges of animal parents. 

Escape modern life with reality TV

Stranded on Honeymoon Island, created by the team behind Married at First Sight, will see unlucky-in-love singles matched into couples and then stranded on a desert island, isolated, and pitted against the forces of nature to see whether an escape from modern life will bring them closer together or push them apart. 

Rose Matafeo is the Junior Taskmaster in the franchise’s newoffspring, as 25 crafty kids go head-to-head in fiendishly tricky tasks. Love Island’s Olivia Attwood puts eight unsuspecting men through their paces in Bad Boyfriends, as they compete to become the most improved boyfriend.

The Chase, Travel Guides, MasterChef Australia, My Kitchen Rules, and Love Island Games all return to TVNZ in 2025.

Comedies and dramas

The team behind Wellington Paranormal launch brand-new series, Warren’s Vortex*, featuring Lower Hutt dad, Warren (Maaka Pohatu), who has a hidden vortex in his garden shed that leads to parallel realities where life in New Zealand is all a bit twisted. Dead Ahead*+ is a dramedy starring Miriama Smith and Xavier Horan that follows the Wharekoa whānau as they return to Aotearoa after a decade abroad, inadvertently disrupting the delicate balance between the physical and spiritual realms. 

Shortland Street* moves from five nights a week to three, divided into four ‘mini seasons’ across the year, following the residents of Ferndale through life’s highs and lows.

Having just celebrated its 10-year anniversary The Brokenwood Mysteries returns, as does The Gone*, Hui Hoppers*, the inept teachers of Educators* and My Life is Murder. 

Molly Parker (House of Cards) stars in DOC, a new medical drama that sees the brilliant Dr. Amy Larsen navigate an unfamiliar world when a brain injury erases the last eight years of her life. Other new dramas also include Suits LA, Lockerbie: A Search for Truth, Grosse Pointe Garden Society, St. Denis Medical, The Hunting Party, Laid, Dope Girls and Invisible Boys as well as second seasons of Poker Face, Twisted Metal, and NCIS: Sydney.

News and sports

TVNZ’s award-winning news and current affairs will continue in 2025, with 1News at Six, Breakfast, Seven Sharp, Te Karere+, Q+A with Jack Tame*, Marae+ and Tagata Pasifika*. TVNZ’s digital news focus will be amplified with even more short form news clips and in-depth interviews available via News on TVNZ+, as well as across 1News.co.nz and on Re: News. 

A summer of sixes continues across TVNZ with White Ferns and Blackcaps cricket, along with ongoing BNZ Breakers and FIBA basketball. Fans can also enjoy the return of domestic Premier League Hockey later in the year, hANZ Premiership Netball, NFL including one of the biggest sporting events in the world, the Super Bowl, and international football with The Arnold Clark Cup and FIFA+. TVNZ+ will showcase world-class mountain biking with the Crankworx Summer Series Christchurch and the International Triathlon World Cup in February. 

* Funded by NZ On Air 

+ Funded by Te Māngai Pāho

A big year for TVNZ

In 2024, New Zealanders across the motu turned to TVNZ | Te Reo Tātaki for entertainment and information. Over the past 12 months, TVNZ+ had its biggest year ever, reaching 1.5 million* Kiwis every week and TVNZ’s channels reached 4.4 million New Zealanders in total (89.6% of All People 5+)**.

*Source; Nielsen CMI Q4 23 – Q3 24 Nov 24 Fused. Base – AP 15+ and have watched TV/Vid/Mov online in the last 7 days.

**Source; Nielsen TAM; consolidated; 1/1/24-31/12/24 TVNZ (Released); AP05+; CUME 000s/%

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