TVNZ keeps it close to home
‘‘I think we’re ready to see some of our celebrities marooned on a desert island again.’’
Cate Slater
TVNZ is bringing back an old noughties favourite. As part of a showcase of upcoming programming announced this week, the state broadcaster revealed the return of Celebrity Treasure Island to TVNZ2.
The now two-decade-old first couple of seasons featured ordinary Kiwis (including the Prime Minister’s partner Clarke Gayford, who finished second in 1998’s second season).
The reality series took off at the start of the new millennium when the likes of Jason Gunn, Marc Ellis, Simon Barnett, Nicky Watson and Josh Kronfeld were marooned on a tropical island and forced to work together and separately to win the competition.
Memorable moments from the show, which last aired in 2007, included Lana Coc-Kroft being airlifted back to New Zealand after getting a lifethreatening, blood poisoning disease and ex-SAS soldier Barry Rice ‘‘going bush’’ after his elimination in 2002.
TVNZ’s head of content Cate Slater said it felt like the right time to bring the show back.
‘‘It was a huge hit when it was on our screens previously, but it’s had a good rest and I think we’re ready to see some of our celebrities marooned on a desert island again.’’
While she wouldn’t be drawn on who would host or appear as one of the 16 celebrities on the show, or where it would be set (Fiji and Tonga have been previous locations), Slater did say that it was being made by the same production team that worked on the original Treasure Island franchise.
‘‘You’ll remember that it was really the original desert island series. It first screened before Survivor or I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here were thought up.’’
Exhuming Celebrity Treasure Island means bad news for Survivor NZ fans. That show is ‘‘being rested’’ for 2019. However, Slater confirmed Heartbreak Island will be back for a second season, but without one of its hosts, Matilda Rice, who had scheduling conflicts.
Aware of that show’s strength online, Slater said Heartbreak episodes would debut on-demand, before screening on TVNZ2. She said that decision was very much guided by ‘‘viewer behaviour’’.
Other new Kiwi shows set to debut on one of the broadcaster’s three free-to-air channels or on-demand include documentary series Funny As: The Story of New Zealand Comedy, The Price of Sex and How Not to Get Cancer, black comedy Fresh Eggs, psychological drama The Bad Seed, unscripted high school-set comedy The Educators and the Danish-New Zealand coproduction Straight Forward.
New international programming includes New Zealand-shot television adaptations of Eleanor Catton’s The Luminaries and Toa Fraser’s 2014 movie The Dead Lands, Anna Paquin’s PR dramedy Flack, Lucy Lawless’ latest Australian drama My Life is Murder and the BBC’s latest big-budget take on HG Wells’ The War of the Worlds.
TVNZ also announced that, as well as next year’s America’s Cup and Rugby World Cup, it has also secured the rights to screen next year’s Academy Awards.
Excited by its ‘‘beautiful, diverse and exciting slate’’, Slater revealed there were some shows she was very pleased at acquiring, particularly George Clooney’s take on Joseph Heller’s satirical novel Catch-22.
‘‘It looks amazing, I can’t wait for that. Then there’s HBO’s adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend. Her Neapolitan Novels have such a cult following and it was one of the most-talked about shows at the recent MipCom [entertainment trade show] in Cannes.’’