The Best TV Shows on TVNZ 1

Every TVNZ 1 Show Ranked From Best To Worst

Premiering in 1991 and 1999, The Boy from Andromeda and Motorway Patrol are among TVNZ 1’s most celebrated shows. As of June 2026, we’ve curated over 20 of TVNZ 1’s premier shows for your viewing pleasure. From 1991 through to 2024, TVNZ 1 has accumulated a diverse collection of over 20 television shows.

  • 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.

  • Escaping Utopia
    Escaping Utopia (2024)9.0

    Uncover New Zealand’s most extreme religious cult, Gloriavale, and the true stories of people attempting to break free, including current and former members that have never gone on record before. Made with support from NZ on Air. WARNING: Deals with the issue of sexual abuse.

  • Motorway Patrol
    Motorway Patrol (1999)8.0

    Observational documentary following the daily lives of police officers patrolling the motorways in and around Auckland, New Zealand's largest urban area.

  • 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 Gone
    The Gone (2023)7.3

    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.

  • The Boy from Andromeda
    The Boy from Andromeda (1991)7.2

    On a holiday to Mt Tarawera, teenager Jenny finds an odd shard of metal. In this third episode of the kids sci-fi series she meets its owner: 'Drom' — a survivor of an alien mission to deactivate a planet-annihilating space gun (aka Tarawera itself). They find themselves under siege from a Predator-like 'Guardian' of the gun. If Drom and Jenny and local kids Tessa and Lloyd can't defeat the mechanoid, catastrophe is imminent! The South Pacific Pictures series found international sales and cult repute.

  • 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.

  • Mercy Peak
    Mercy Peak (2001)7.0

    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.

  • 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.

  • Grand Designs New Zealand
    Grand Designs New Zealand (2015)6.4

    The stories of creative and enterprising Kiwis who are taking on the challenge of building their own unique and inspirational homes. No design is too ambitious, and no obstacle too large in their quest for the perfect house.

  • A Remarkable Place to Die
    A Remarkable Place to Die (2024)6.3

    Anaís Mallory is a smart and savvy homicide investigator who after returning to her hometown, and taking the lead detective position, faces a series of startlingly complex murders with links to her family's tragic history.

  • After the Party
    After the Party (2023)6.0

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

  • Blue Murder Motel
    Blue Murder Motel (2026)4.8

    When an Aussie cop couple trade their badges for a quiet life managing a beachside motel in New Zealand, they plan to leave police work behind them - that is until crime comes to them.

  • Filthy Rich
    Filthy Rich (2016)3.9

    Three illegitimate children discover they each have a claim to the fortune of one of NZ's wealthiest men, John Truebridge. With so much money on the line, John's legitimate family will do anything to stop these new, unexpected heirs!

  • Dog Squad
    Dog Squad (2010)N/A

    Man's best friend keeps would-be trouble makers on a short leash.

  • 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 Panthers
    The Panthers (2021)N/A

    Auckland, 1974 - in the face of increased racial-targeting, a group of Polynesian students and street gangsters form a revolutionary movement for justice and equality.

  • Radio with Pictures
    Radio with Pictures (N/A)N/A

    Radio with Pictures was an early music video program, airing on New Zealand broadcaster TV2 from 1976 to 1986. "RadPix" aired as a weekly, late night series featuring adult and alternative music. In 1976, TV2 producer Peter Grattan coordinated pop clips being supplied for no charge by record companies, some of them being unsuitable for the children's or prime time schedule With over sixty 'unusable' pop clips, Grattan proposed a late night "radio with pictures" concept to then-Head of Programs Kevan Moore. Moore was a former producer of The C'mon Show, a popular music series in the 1960s, and had included pop clips in that program. The concept was approved and the first thirteen half-hour episodes aired from September through December 1976. RadPix had no budget and thus no host; instead, imaginative Terry Gilliam-style graphics linked the various pop clips. The first clip to play was Steve Miller's Fly Like an Eagle and the first show also featured New Zealand band Red Hot Peppers. Subsequently, a NZ-based act was featured every week and to end the first series, Grattan produced a Keepin' It Kiwi special with ten NZ acts. RadPix also became an avenue for international acts such as Bob Marley, Little Feat, Blondie and Rainbow to gain fans, promote tours and sell records.