Why is NZ On Air suddenly funding reality television?
Get in here you lot, because yesterday, NZ On Air announced its Round Tahi 2025 Non-Fiction Funding Decisions. It's big news for those of us who love documentaries, factual series and podcasts, but it's even bigger news if you like reality TV. The three biggest funding beneficiaries were comedy panel show 7 Days ($1,493,313), and reality TV shows The Traitors NZ ($1,436,911) and Celebrity Treasure Island ($1,349,000). While 7 Days is an NZOA funding mainstay, it marks the first time that CTI and The Traitors NZ have received NZ On Air funding.
The decision comes as the New Zealand television industry remains in more turmoil than Dame Susan Devoy after a crayfish dinner. TVNZ expects a $49m loss, Sky bought an entire TV channel for a buck and a year ago, it looked like local reality TV might be gone forever. 'The challenging media environment has required a response from NZ On Air, as local platforms have been clear they can no longer afford to commercially fund the local content they previously could,' the funding announcement reads. 'This is impacting the volume of local stories available for New Zealand audiences, and work in the local production sector.'
This round, NZ On Air prioritised large-scale non-fiction programmes (with significant co-investment) and committed $12.6 million to a variety of projects. 'We're supporting content with demonstrated audience appeal and cultural relevance,' NZ On Air chief executive Cameron Harland said. 'Shows that help define who we are as New Zealanders. Rather than waiting for market conditions to improve, we're taking action to ensure local content not only survives but flourishes.'
On the surface, Celebrity Treasure Island is a foolish reality series where famous people act like silly duffers, but what could be more culturally relevant and defining than watching 71 year-old activist Tāme Iti give a moving pep talk to young comedian James Mustapic, or witnessing actor Gaby Solomona help MP Carmel Sepuloni stay in the fight with a quiet rendition of a traditional Samoan song? Beneath the self-deprecating nature and goofy charity challenges, the series frequently transcends to something beyond just empty entertainment, capturing insightful moments that are uniquely us.
As the seasons have progressed, Celebrity Treasure Island has also championed te reo Māori in everyday conversations (regularly using phrases like tīmata and hopuni, as well as the castaways meeting with local iwi to learn the history and cultural significance of the area and share kai). And between the bonkers challenges and silly, silly game play, the show encourages gentle discussions about complex issues like ageism, sexism and queer politics, all on primetime mainstream television.
While CTI is a homegrown format, the decision to fund season three of The Traitors NZ could be deemed even more controversial as an overseas franchise import, even if season two was the best reality TV show we've ever made. But it's also one of the few shows left on television that features a cast of everyday New Zealanders, from a clairvoyant to a funeral director to an MMA fighter, and captures the quirks and eccentricities of an unlikely mix of New Zealanders all sharing the same screen. 'It's less of a reality TV show and more an insight into the complexities of the human condition,' we wrote in 2024, praising The Traitor NZ's diverse casting and sense of humour.
If you're not a reality TV fan, don't panic – there are also shows that won't feature Gary Freeman wearing a big hat. Along with these two reality TV juggernauts, NZ On Air's latest non-fiction round also includes documentaries such as Songs of Protest, South to the South: The Pacific In Te Waipounamu, and You, Me and Menopause, plus a return season of our own Bryn & Ku's Single's Club. There's also coverage of the Milan Winter Paralympics in March 2026, the return of familiar favourites Country Calendar and My House, My Castle, as well as new shows like coastline safety series Pacific Heat and Celebrity Escape, which sees eight comedians take on an escape room.
Just as the nature of broadcast television is changing, it seems the way we need to consider what makes for 'local stories' must also evolve. Not all reality TV is of the sordid, salacious and problematic kind, and CTI and The Traitors NZ are filled with our voices and our humour, in ways you won't find on other reality shows. The genre can even be a place for moments of groundbreaking representation, emotional revelations and heartwarming moments of magic. As for the magic of Celebrity Escape? We'll have to wait and see.
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