Casketeers receive $1.5m in NZ on Air funding for new show The Casketeers: Life and Death Around the World

The Tipenes with their Casketeers family, Fiona Tania Bakulich (left) and Fatafehi Tamale. Photo / Supplied

Kaiora and Francis Tipene are returning to our screens once again but this time the show will follow a slightly different format.

In a statement issued by NZ on Air this morning, it was revealed the beloved Kiwi show The Casketeers will return for another season on TVNZ 1, this time taking things international.

Titled, The Casketeers: Life and Death Around the World, the show is set to follow the Tipenes as they discover the deeply held traditions and rituals of death and dying from different cultures around the world.

The show will include six episodes, each of 44 minutes and was allocated a total of $1,537,537 NZ on Air funding.

It is one of six Māori language projects that will receive a total of $6.5 million in NZ on Air funding with other projects including Relentless, The Drawing Board and End of the Valley – which is receiving most of the package’s funding with a total of $2,359,987.

Larry Parr, New Zealand film producer and head of Te Māngai Pāho said in the statement “Te Māngai Pāho is proud of this partnership with Irirangi Te Motu and the opportunities it provides to tell Māori stories to a wide audience. The six projects funded in this co-fund round strongly convey a Māori worldview and will champion te reo Māori throughout,”

News of the Tipenes’ new show comes seven months after the whānau told fans they would be taking a break from the show to focus on their family.

“We have given all that we can to this industry and I like to believe we have portrayed our tangihanga, our people and how cultures around Aotearoa grieve and celebrate life differently.”

Nikora Tipene, son of Kaiora and Francis Tipene, is looking forward to spending more time with his family.

“We have always teamed up in my whānau to support each other and I am proud and thankful for my parents - all the effort they put into me will definitely be paid off in the future.”

Mere weeks ago the family announced they are expecting their seventh child, a baby girl.

Taking to Instagram, the pair each shared a cute reel of their gender reveal with their sons popping a giant black balloon and pink paper confetti exploding out.

The couple’s six sons can be seen jumping and running around, delighted by the news that a little sister is on the way.

Meanwhile, Francis appears contemplative as he sits on the front porch watching his boys. Fans suggest he’s concerned about the amount of confetti blowing about and advise he gets out a leaf blower to clean it up.