Mozzies flying back on to screens

Whangarei's Rosanna Arkle, left, is starring in the second season of <i>The GC</i> with fellow "Mozzie" Tame Noema. Photo / YouTube

It will be up to viewers to decide what is "real" and what's not when they watch the latest season of the controversial television show The GC, starring Whangarei's Rosanna Arkle.

The GC tracks the everyday lives of a group of "Mozzies" - local slang for Maori Australians - living on the Gold Coast and was a hit during its first season on television in 2012.

A YouTube video clip promoting the new season has one of the stars saying some might say life in The GC isn't real.

"But it's real ... real as," Tame Noema says to the camera.

Ms Arkle, who describes herself as a glamour model, features in the clip running her fingers through her locks claiming: "My hair is real."

What is real is though is that Crown entity Te Mangai Paho (TMP) has funded the second season of TV3's The GC, forking over more than $419,000 towards the production of eight 30-minute episodes.

The show was heavily criticised for being a New Zealand clone of Jersey Shore, although it remained popular with TV3 viewers. The broadcaster said The GC averaged around 330,000 viewers, with almost a third of that in the channel's target audience of 25 to 54-year-olds.

New Zealand On Air partially funded the show for the same amount in 2012 on the basis it would highlight Maori cultural issues.

TV3 publicity manager Jacqui Loates-Haver would not reveal when the series would air. "It's not far off now," she said.

The show's creators said the first season was a realistic look at Maori today. It depicted a group of young Maori living, working and partying on the Gold Coast.