New Zealand TV drama After the Party loses to Shogun at Bafta TV Awards

Robyn Malcolm stars in Kiwi drama 'After the Party'.

By RNZ

• Wellington-based drama ‘After the Party’ lost to ‘Shogun’ in the Best International TV Series category at the BAFTAs.
• ‘After the Party’ stars Robyn Malcolm and explores a woman’s life imploding after accusing her ex-husband of a sex crime.
• Despite not winning, the show had a record haul at last year’s NZ Television Awards.

Wellington-based drama After the Party has lost in the Best International TV Series category to Shogun at the British Academy Television Awards (Bafta).

Japanese drama Shogun, which stars New Zealand-born Japanese actress Anna Sawai, beat the other contenders in the category, including Australian comedy Colin from Accounts, Irish drama Say Nothing and American drama True Detective: Night Country.

Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada in 'Shogun'. Photo / FX

After the Party, which stars Kiwi actress Robyn Malcolm in the lead role, is a six-part drama series about a woman whose world implodes when she accuses her ex-husband of a sex crime.

It was produced by Lingo Pictures and Luminous Beast and written by Dianne Taylor, along with Emily Perkins, Martha Hardy-Ward and Sam Shore.

Malcolm previously told RNZ it “blows her mind” how far the NZ-made show has travelled around the world, saying people in Liverpool had come up to her in the supermarket to praise it just as they do in Auckland.

Taylor told RNZ that she and Malcolm created the show partly out of frustration about the lack of decent roles for middle-aged women.

Taylor, whose previous credits include the 2017 film Beyond the Known World, said it was gratifying After the Party had won over not only women but also men and young people.

While the show didn’t take home the Bafta, it had a record haul at last year’s NZ Television Awards.

- RNZ