NZ undertaker on Netflix

Netflix has picked up a local television series about Ma¯ori funeral business Tipene Funerals. The Casketeers aired on TVNZ early this year. Its six episodes brought together comedy and death, as the Onehunga funeral directors went about their work. Great Southern Pictures managing director Phil Smith said the original series would be streaming on Netflix from December 21. New Zealand viewers can watch the show for free on TVNZ On Demand. Smith also confirmed a second season would air on TVNZ, and stream globally on Netflix, and a third season was likely as well. Smith said the programme’s international appeal could be put down to its incredible talent, in funeral directors Francis and Kaiora Tipene, and its coupling of two near-opposite themes. ‘‘If you can do death and comedy together, and it works, then globally you’re on to a winner.’’