The Best TV Shows on TVNZ 1

Every TVNZ 1 Show Ranked From Best To Worst

Showcasing over 20 shows from 1987 up until 2023, TVNZ 1 stands as a beacon of television excellence. Notable series such as Gloss and City Life from TVNZ 1 first graced the screens in 1987 and 1996. Explore our list of the top rated shows up to date from March 2026 that includes over 20 unique series.

  • Dancing with the Stars
    Dancing with the Stars (2005)10.0

    The New Zealand version of the British “Strictly Come Dancing” show sees celebrities perform choreographed dance routines which are judged by a panel of renowned ballroom experts and voted on by viewers.

  • Auckward Love
    Auckward Love (2015)10.0

    Auckward Love is show about women doing women stuff. Follow Alice, Vicky, Zoe and Grace as they experience love, lust , and everything else.

  • This Is Not My Life
    This Is Not My Life (2010)8.1

    This Is Not My Life is a 2010 New Zealand television mystery thriller which originally aired on Television New Zealand's TV ONE channel on Thursday nights. Set in the 2020s, the show centres on Alec Ross who awakes one morning to find that he doesn't know who or where he is and doesn't recognise his wife or children. The story is set in the fictional town of Waimoana. The series is written by Rachel Lang and Gavin Strawhan and directed by Robert Sarkies and Peter Salmon. Thirteen episodes have been produced. Though the show only lasted one season, it has been announced American network ABC has purchased the series to adapt for an American audience.

  • The Brokenwood Mysteries
    The Brokenwood Mysteries (2014)7.6

    In a seemingly quiet country town the newest resident, Detective Inspector Mike Shepherd, finds that murder lurks in even the most homely location.

  • The New Legends of Monkey
    The New Legends of Monkey (2018)7.1

    Follow a teenage girl and a trio of fallen gods on a perilous journey as they attempt to bring an end to a demonic reign of chaos and restore balance to their world. Inspired by the 16th Century Chinese fable “Journey to the West.”

  • My Life Is Murder
    My Life Is Murder (2019)7.1

    Investigator Alexa Crowe, cannot help fighting the good fight – whether it is solving murders or combatting the small frustrations of everyday life. Fearless and unapologetic, Alexa's unique skills and insights into the darker quirks of human nature, allows her to provoke, comfort and push the right buttons as she unravels the truth behind the most baffling of crimes.

  • The Gone
    The Gone (2023)7.1

    It follows Theo Richter, an Irish detective who teams with Kiwi cop Diana Huia to find a young Irish couple vanish from an infamous rural North Island New Zealand town. Amidst the search and a race against time, the pair have to contend with a community’s growing disquiet that the disappearances may be linked to a series of historical murders.

  • Border Patrol
    Border Patrol (2002)7.0

    Border Patrol is a New Zealand reality television series, focusing on the Customs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and the New Zealand Immigration Service. It is narrated by Tim Balme. They are checking through packages, travelers and goods to find if they try to smugle prohibited or undeclared goods. They have trained staff, dogs and technology to find this out.

  • The Luminaries
    The Luminaries (2020)6.7

    The 19th-century tale of love, murder and revenge as men and women travel across the world to make their fortunes on the wild West Coast of New Zealand's South Island.

  • After the Party
    After the Party (2023)5.9

    Penny’s world implodes when she accuses her husband Phil of a sex crime against her daughter’s teenage friend and nobody believes her.

  • Gloss
    Gloss (1987)5.0

    Gloss was a television drama series in New Zealand that screened from 1987-1990. The series was about a fictional publishing empire run by the Redfern family. It was a starting point for many actors who went on to many productions in New Zealand, Australia and around the world including Temuera Morrison, Miranda Harcourt, Peter Elliott, Lisa Chappell, Danielle Cormack and Kevin Smith. Writers for the show included James Griffin, who went on to write Outrageous Fortune, Rosemary McLeod and Ian Mune. The show's title theme song was performed by Beaver Morrison. The show has not been rescreened since its original screening, but selected extracts have been made available for viewing on NZ On Screen.

  • Rude Awakenings
    Rude Awakenings (2007)5.0

    Rude Awakenings centres on two families who live next door to each other in a fashionable street in Ponsonby, a suburb of Auckland. The Rush family has just moved to their newly renovated house from a lifestyle block in Kumeu. They immediately hit a wrong chord with their new neighbours, the Short family.

  • The Cult
    The Cult (2009)5.0

    The Cult is a New Zealand serial drama television series in which a group of people try to rescue their loved ones from a mysterious cult called Two Gardens. The Cult held the 8:30-9:30 spot on TV2 in New Zealand. The series debuted in New Zealand on September 24, 2009 and finished with a 2 hour season finale on December 10. It was airing on Polish and Portuguese television in 2011, and commenced screening on Australian television from December 2012.

  • Nothing Trivial
    Nothing Trivial (2011)5.0

    Nothing Trivial is funny, warm and romantic and about people at a crossroads in their lives, particularly when it comes to finding that significant other to love and grow old with. It’s about people trying to find the answers to life’s big questions, while answering a whole lot of small and trivial ones… and winning the bar tab while they’re at it!

  • The Casketeers
    The Casketeers (2018)5.0

    Francis and Kaiora Tipene are the passionate proprietors of Tipene Funerals. This is a unique opportunity to look behind the scenes of their business and into this little-explored but vital service, where our culture's last taboo is being addressed with dignity and aroha.

  • City Life
    City Life (1996)1.0

    City Life was a New Zealand soap opera that screened on TVNZ from 1996-1998. It was portrayed the lives and loves of ten singles who lived in an upmarket apartment building in Auckland, New Zealand. The show was touted as New Zealand's answer to Melrose Place. The show starred Claudia Black, Lisa Chappell, Laurie Foell and Oliver Driver and featured a guest appearance by well known New Zealand actor, Kevin Smith. The show had a long development period, and the original treatment for the show had it set in Wellington with the working title 96 Oriental Parade. However, it was decided to produce the show in Auckland instead, and as such, the shows setting was changed along with the name to City Life. The first episode began with a controversial first scene, featuring a drunken Damon who owned the apartment building, in a homosexual kiss with his former lover Ryan on the night before his wedding. Damon was later killed off in the same episode after being hit by a car on the way to his wedding, and he left his apartment building to all of his friends. However, Damon's fianceè vowed to fight for her share of Damon's estate, leading to a storyline that would span the show's first five episodes.

  • Mercy Peak
    Mercy Peak (2001)N/A

    Mercy Peak was a New Zealand television series that ran for three seasons on local network TV One, between 2001 and 2004. The series rated well in New Zealand and won multiple awards for its cast. Though an ensemble show, Mercy Peak centres on a doctor who leaves the city to work at a hospital in the small town of Bassett. She works alongside stuffy but caring doctor William Kingsley. The series was produced by Auckland company South Pacific Pictures; a number of those who worked on the show would have a big hand in South Pacific Pictures hit Outrageous Fortune, including co-creator Rachel Lang, directors Mark Beesley and Simon Bennett, and producer John Laing.

  • Mataku
    Mataku (2002)N/A

    Anthology of contemporary one-off dramas, adapted from the unique and mystical world of Maori supernatural legends. In these tales of the unexpected, set in New Zealand, ordinary characters encounter mysterious phenomena of Maori mythology.

  • Highway Cops
    Highway Cops (2012)N/A

    The guardians of NZ's highways, they patrol our country's busiest roads. From honeymooners to hooligans, either way the Highway Cops will set them straight!

  • The Pact
    The Pact (2021)N/A

    When a family member is diagnosed with a terminal illness and decides they want to end their life, fundamentally different beliefs threaten to blow the family apart. Will they be able to come together before it’s too late?