Accidental Taranaki ties set to star in new online series
A new webseries oozing Taranaki connections is about to hit the screens.
The made for internet production, Darryl, stars Taranaki funnyman Millen Baird, alongside Opunake raised Shavaughn Ruakere. It was directed and produced by husband and wife duo Kiel McNaughton and Kerry Warkia, who have recently moved to the region relocating their family from West Auckland to Hawera.
And as if that doesn’t already boast enough regional connect, the storyline follows the struggles of an aspiring long distance runner who competes in various Taranaki running events. Warkia, producer of Find me a Maori Bride and Auckland Daze, said iconic sights from around the province would feature in the series.
‘‘The awesome team who organise the mount to surf marathon allowed us to film during the actual mount to surf marathon, so yes Taranaki will be in the web series.’’
But the couple said the links to the region were nothing but ‘‘accidental ties’’.
‘‘Shav was really great for the role, I’ve worked with her on Shorty Street and we are all fans of her work, she’s a good friend,’’ said McNaughton, who played James ‘Scotty’ Scott on Shortland Street.
‘‘Of course moving here wasn’t on the cards when we were making the show but now that we have - we love all accidental Taranaki ties,’’ Warkia said.
The couple said the decision to move to Hawera was prompted by a need for a change in lifestyle. They were tossing up between Rotorua, Tauranga and Taranaki but with McNaughton’s whanau ties to Parihaka he said it felt ‘‘just right’’.
It was at their home in Hawera that most of the editing was done, with the couple having Baird over from Los Angeles for the week to help with the process.
The TVNZ OnDemand series, which premieres on March 27, was the brainchild of Baird and the team have been working on the project for about three years. While popular webseries Auckland Daze was eventually commissioned to television, Warkia is certain Darryl will remain exclusively on the internet.
‘‘We are happy for the show to exist On Demand and for the audi- ence to access it as they choose and binge watch it if they want too,’’ she said.
The couple have a handful of other projects they are currently working on including gearing up to release season two of Find me a Maori Bride and the production of another comedy with Baird which will also be set in Taranaki.