A twerk that stopped the nation. A live-action Tinder session on a foot-shaped island. An entire Wellington family possessed by Bazu'aal of the Unholy Realm.
For better or worse, these are just some of the things New Zealand television will be remembered for in 2018. Whether it was a nearperfect reality TV contest, a sweetly funny documentary or a dumpster fire of a dating show, the year in local telly certainly had its share of highs and lows.
So, let's look back at some of them, shall we?
The good
It may not be the first TV series set in a funeral home, but TVNZ's local docu-series The Casketeers is easily one of the funniest.
Screening all the way back in February, the adventures of the team at Tipene Funerals made for an instant Kiwi classic, as they navigated what can be tricky subject matter with warmth and outrageous humour.
At the same time, the folks at Three were serving up their own contender for the year's most charming show, with comedian Josh Thomson presenting Subject: Dad, an ode to his father, David, and the hilarious emails he sends about the goings-on at his Timaru farm.
Both shows were funny, warm snapshots of life and if you've managed to get to the end of 2018 without seeing either of them, I strongly urge you to rectify that immediately.
At the other end of the emotional spectrum, TVNZ OnDemand's local murder mystery Alibi made an impact, with a story structure quite unlike anything else on TV.
Focusing on a small-town teenager's murder, viewers were able to watch the first six episodes of the mini-series in any order they chose, giving the show a story-telling edge to go alongside its strong acting and beautifully moody cinematography.
While the final episode released two weeks later felt abrupt and disappointing, the skill shown in weaving together those initial non-linear chapters was still impressive.
The Block NZ. Photo / Supplied
Another show that was really rather good until its final episode was our annual outing at The Block NZ. The producers struck gold with their contestant casting this year, with drama and fun aplenty - until the live auction rolled around and there was zero energy to be found anywhere.
Meanwhile, Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement gave us Wellington Paranormal, the follow-up to vampire flick, What We Do In The Shadows. They also achieved that rare feat of delivering on the hype, with Wellington's supernatural underbelly every bit as brilliant as fans had hoped.
TVNZ is also finishing the year strongly with a trio of solid reality shows wrapping up next week – House of Drag, Project Runway NZ and the delicious, practically perfect new queen of the genre, The Great Kiwi Bake Off.
The bad
Life is all about balance. For every good TV show made, there's always another that should have been shelved entirely.
In that category this year was the second season of Married at First Sight NZ. Falling victim to the sophomore slump, it was nowhere near as entertaining as the country's first strangers-getting-married experiment.
Samuel Levi on Married at First Sight NZ.
Its relative dullness was exacerbated by being aired the same year as an explosive season of Married at First Sight Australia that gripped both sides of the Tasman and proved to be trash television at its finest.
Also finding itself in the lacklustre category was Three's Dancing With The Stars. While it started out promisingly enough, the series was derailed by a campaign to keep the world's most dreadful dancer, David Seymour, in the competition – which was funny for about two weeks. If I ever have to see the leader of the Act Party twerking in bright neon again, it will be too soon.
David Seymour on Dancing with the Stars NZ.
The really bad
And, of course, who could forget TVNZ's Heartbreak Island? (As much as we all wanted to.)
The show caused a national fuss with opening scenes that ranked contestants' popularity, even though that concept was really no different to what goes on every day on various dating apps. The real headscratcher was TVNZ's decision to run those scenes in a 7.30pm timeslot.
Also confusing was the show itself, with an elaborate system of rules and ridiculous challenges. When they did away with the only interesting tactic of the game – the "Passion Play", whereby contestants could ditch their partners for somebody else – the series ultimately became an inferior version of Survivor. With bikinis.
It was baffling. It was boring. And TVNZ is bringing it back for 2019.
