The Best TV Shows on TVNZ 1

Every TVNZ 1 Show Ranked From Best To Worst

TVNZ 1 has delivered an expansive roster of over 20 shows, dating from 1987 all the way to 2026. As of January 2026, we’ve curated over 20 of TVNZ 1’s premier shows for your viewing pleasure. Among TVNZ 1’s finest offerings are Gloss and Mercy Peak, which debuted in 1987 and 2001, respectively.

  • 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.

  • Moving Houses NZ
    Moving Houses NZ (2021)10.0

    New Zealand families, couples and adventurous individuals, transporting their dream homes to their ideal locations.

  • 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 Dead Lands
    The Dead Lands (2020)7.4

    Waka, a murdered Māori warrior returned from the Afterlife, and Mehe, a determined young woman, embark on a quest to find who "broke the world" and how to close the breach between the living and the dead.

  • 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)7.0

    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.

  • Blue Murder Motel
    Blue Murder Motel (2026)7.0

    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.

  • 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)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.

  • 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.

  • 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!

  • The Bad Seed
    The Bad Seed (2019)1.7

    Two brothers from the same dysfunctional family, having escaped the desperate days of their early childhood, find their newly ordered lives falling apart when one becomes a suspect in a murder.

  • 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.

  • Descent from Disaster
    Descent from Disaster (2013)N/A

    Retrace some of NZ's darkest days to reveal the stories, secrets and lessons learnt from our most famous disasters.