DEGANZ Watch List: Murder, Mystery, Makeovers & More

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There’s plenty to watch this month, with DEGANZ members bringing their talents to crime drama, comedy, factual and documentary.

First up is the thrilling return of crime drama A Remarkable Place to Die, with DEGANZ members Peter Burger, Victoria Boult and Emmet Skilton directing Season 2.

Also in the drama space is new dramedy series Good Bones, edited by Kerri Roggio.

DEGANZ members are also making their mark in factual and documentary, with web series Reo Auaha, co-directed by Julie Zhu, and feature documentary Sleep, directed by Dan Salmon and produced by Mark McNeill.

Check out what our members have been working on and add these titles to your watchlist!

 

A Remarkable Place to Die S2

Crime Drama Series

Directors: Peter Burger, Victoria Boult, Emmet Skilton 

While Anais risks everything with her unofficial investigation into Maja’s murder, the whānau are drawn into the discovery of a woman who vanished 15 years ago.

Available to stream on TVNZ+.

 

Good Bones

Dramedy Series

Editor: Kerri Roggio

Challenged to step up by his pregnant wife, Sal buys a rundown estate. Problematically, the previous owner died under mysterious circumstances. Now, Sal must solve a cold case and renovate – all before the baby arrives.

Available to stream on Three Now.

 

Reo Auaha

Factual Web Series

Directors: Julie Zhu & Whatanui Flavell

This series follows some of the most talented Māori artists around the motu who are using their art to colour their world. Eight artists, eight different art forms, all using their craft as a powerful expression of the hopes, messages, and visions of a generation.

Available to watch on YouTube.

 

Sleep

Documentary

Director: Dan Salmon

Producer: Mark McNeill

Al Brown explores why thousands of Kiwis struggle, like him, to sleep. He is on an adventure to uncover the science, myths and simple solutions that could transform the way we all live.

Available to stream on TVNZ+.

 

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DEGANZ Watch List: A Little Crime, Drama, and Documentary

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This week, we’ve got seven DEGANZ members on our watchlist, with new drama series, ad campaigns, and docuseries to watch.

First up is the hit crime drama A Remarkable Place to Die Season 2 trailer, with DEGANZ members Peter Burger, Victoria Boult, and Emmett Skilton having directed this season. Fellow member David de Lautour’s new drama series, Ms. X, is out now with new episodes releasing every Monday.

Liv McClymont (DEGANZ) recently directed a new ad campaign celebrating the Warehouse’s long-lost Kiwi mascot, marking its return after a 20-year absence.

Meanwhile, directors Kim Webby and Mike Jonathan have teamed up for the new documentary series Whales, Rats & Kauri, with seven episodes now available to stream.

Check them out below!

A Remarkable Place to Die

Season 2 Trailer

Series Directors: Peter Burger, Victoria Boult, and Emme Skilton

Season 2 of this crime thriller series is coming soon! Detective Anais Mallory (Chelsie Preston Crayford) returns to her hometown of Queenstown and faces startling homicides. She cracks cases while confronting personal ghosts from her past.

 

Ms. X

Dramedy Series

Director: David de Lautour

A suburban mum and her high school friend plot to frighten her unfaithful husband straight, but their scheme spirals into murder, trapping her between law enforcement, drug lords, and ruthless PTA mums.

Available to stream on ThreeNow, with new episodes dropping every Monday.

 

The Kiwi Chronicles

Advertising Campaign

Director: Liv McClymont

The Warehouse’s long-lost Kiwi mascot has returned in this ad campaign designed to unfold more like a drama series rather than a commercial. The five-part series available on YouTube, TikTok and TVNZ+, follows Kiwi as they wake up from a coma and navigate modern Aotearoa before eventually finding their way back to The Warehouse.

 

Whales, Rats & Kauri

Docuseries

Directors: Mike Jonathan and Kim Webby

A young man learns the sacred rites of Māori whale harvests. But learning from Dad is as tough as the gruelling harvests for bone and oil that revive a traditional way of life.

Available to watch on RNZ.

 

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DEGANZ Watch List: From Buck to Betrayal

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From bold local storytelling and thought-provoking documentaries to standout commercials and binge-worthy television, this edition of the DEGANZ Watch List celebrates the latest work from our members across a range of formats.

Director Jamie Lawrence (DEGANZ) is behind Kiwibank’s newest and cutest mascot, Buck the sheep, while fellow member Liv McClymont directed the drama sequences for the NZ Herald’s six-part web series Under the Influence.

On the editing side, DEGANZ board member Martin Brinkler ACE edited Stories About My Body, a feature-length pro shot of Morgana O’Reilly’s hit comedy theatre show, blending live performance with newly filmed scenes. Meanwhile, assistant editor Megan Robinson (DEGANZ) worked on the latest season of the hit reality series The Traitors NZ.

Buck the System

Commercial

Director: Jamie Lawrence

Kiwibank’s newest campaign introduces a plucky sheep named Buck. While most sheep are happy following the flock, Buck chooses her own path and rejects the status quo.

 

Stories About My Body

Theatre Pro Shot / Feature Film

Editor: Martin Brinkler ACE

In a tiny theatre in Aotearoa, New Zealand, four teenage stagehands work tirelessly to help Morgana tell the stories that shaped her – from her own teenagehood in 1998, to working foot-fetish parties in New York City, to falling in love and later birthing her babies in a Melbourne living room. By turns vulnerable and riotously funny, she moves from lamenting her chins to marvelling at her cellular functions, using her body as the living template for every tale she tells. Created and performed by Morgana O’Reilly (The White Lotus) and co-directed with her husband and real-life birth partner, 2025 BAFTA nominee Peter Salmon (After The Party), Stories About My Body blends nudity, heart-swelling honesty and real birth footage into a stand-up comedy special like no other – intimate, fearless and unexpectedly profound.

Stories About My Body is celebrating its NZ theatrical premiere with select special screenings before releasing to wider cinemas from 30 July. Find a screening new you here.

 

The Traitors NZ (Season 3)

Reality Series

Assistant Editor: Megan Robinson

Hosted by Madeleine Sami, the hit psychological strategy game returns with more twists and betrayals. Follow the cast of 21 Kiwi players as they compete with their eyes on the rising prize money.

Available to stream on Three Now.

 

Under the Influence

Factual Web Series

Drama Director: Liv McClymont

A compelling new six-part web series investigating the harm social media is doing to young people in Aotearoa and what parents and teens can do to fight back.

Available to watch on NZ Herald and YouTube.

 

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DEGANZ Watch List: Cops, Culture and a Rugby Icon

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This week, we’ve got a new crime drama series, the trailer for the highly anticipated feature doco Lomu, a new music video from a local artist, and a new factual tele-special!

DEGANZ member Max Currie leads the lineup with Bust Up, a fresh take on the buddy-cop crime genre, while Vea Mafile’o (DEGANZ) and co-director Gavin Fitzgerald’s Lomu offers an intimate portrait of one of the most iconic figures in rugby history ahead of its NZIFF premiere.

Director and editor Gwen Lin (DEGANZ) brings a distinctive visual style to local musician Lehali’s music video for her new electronic dance pop song ‘@kateshepp_1893.’ Meanwhile, fellow member Fa’alava’au Jeremiah Tauamiti’s tele special 400 Weddings and a Funeral, edited by Debbie Matthews (DEGANZ), celebrates the humour, heart and cultural significance of Pasifika ceremonies in Aotearoa.

Check them out below:

Bust Up

Crime Drama Series

Directors: Max Curries and Awanui Simich-Pene

A bold six-part one-hour crime drama, Bust Up puts a fresh spin on the buddy-cop genre: the two cops at the centre of the story are ex-lovers. Starring Morgana O’Reilly (The White Lotus, Housebound) and Roimata Fox (A Remarkable Place To Die, The Wrecking Crew), the series follows former romantic partners Deb Brighton and Mihi Renata, who are unexpectedly reunited after a decade apart and forced to work side‑by‑side as police officers in the small fictional town of Waitote, the garden gnome capital of Aotearoa. Together, the pair must navigate a series of crimes as bizarre as they are dangerous, and as the stakes escalate, so does the emotional tension, pushing Deb and Mihi to confront the unresolved feelings they’ve spent years trying to bury.

Available to stream on Neon.

 

Lomu

Feature Documentary Trailer

Directors: Vea Mafile’o and Gavin Fitzgerald

Ahead of its Aotearoa premiere in NZIFF as the festival’s centrepiece film, the trailer for feature documentary Lomu has been released. The film is a powerful and compelling portrait of the man behind the legend, Jonah Lomu, the most adored son of the Pacific, a legendary All Black, who transcended the game with his immense power and unstoppable determination.

 

@kateshepp_1893

Music Video

Director, DOP, and Editor: Gwen Lin

The official music video for ‘@kateshepp_1893’ by local artist Lehali. Shot on location in the Hamilton Gardens.

 

400 Weddings and a Funeral

Factual Series

Director: Fa’alava’au Jeremiah Tauamiti

Editor: Debbie Matthews

Join hosts Bella Kalolo and Haanz Fa’avae-Jackson on a cultural deep dive into Pasifika weddings and funerals in Aotearoa! It’s packed with laughs, traditions, and insights from iconic Pasifika personalities.

Available to watch on TVNZ+.

 

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DEGANZ Watch List: Editors Spotlight

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This week’s DEGANZ Watch List celebrates the incredible work of our editor members, spotlighting a diverse line-up of projects spanning feature film, comedy, and emerging web series pilots.

Leading the list is Caterpillar, the highly anticipated directorial debut from Chelsie Preston-Crayford. Edited by DEGANZ member Jonno Woodford-Robinson (ANZSE), the local drama was released just ahead of Mother’s Day and has already generated a variety of positive reviews.

Also featured is the new comedy series New Zealand Spy from Paul Williams, with fellow member Nadia Darby serving as assistant editor on the production.

Rounding out the Watch List are three pilot episodes developed through PASC’s Episode One Redux (Ep1 Redux) programme. This is the second iteration of the Episode One Web Series Development and Pilot Production initiative originally launched in 2022. Designed to strengthen the presence of Pan-Asian creatives both on screen and behind the camera in Aotearoa, the programme aims to foster exciting new voices in local storytelling. The featured pilots showcase the work of editor DEGANZ members Jack Woon, Adam-Luka Turjak, and Sam Small.

Find out more about each of these projects below:

Caterpillar

Feature Film

Editor: Jonno Woodford-Robinson

Set in a run-down Wellington villa in 2003, Caterpillar follows three women living separate lives under one leaky roof. Sixteen-year-old Cassie is all bravado and vulnerability, drifting into risky territory as she searches for belonging. Her mother, Maxine, is a formidable single parent and filmmaker on the brink of a long-awaited breakthrough. Holding everything together is Huia, Cassie’s grandmother, whose life has been defined by quiet service to family and a private obsession with raising monarch caterpillars, dreaming of one day witnessing the legendary butterfly migration in Mexico.

Now in cinemas across Aotearoa! Find a screening near you here.

 

New Zealand Spy

Drama Series

Assistant Editor: Nadia Darby

New Zealand’s newest spies – and the only three who applied – are tasked with protecting our nation from incoming threats, most notably those noisy neighbours in Australia. Starring Rose Matafeo, Paul Williams, Bret McKenzie and Joe Thomas.

Available to watch on TVNZ+.

 

Duel Weddings

PASC Ep1 Redux | Drama Series Pilot Episode

Editor: Jack Woon

When polar-opposite sisters are forced into a double wedding, sparring over their Chinese mother’s approval derails all plans – particularly as one is marrying a white man and the other, a woman!

Available to watch on RNZ.

Jani Bros

PASC Ep1 Redux | Drama Series Pilot Episode

Editor: Adam-Luka Turjak

Two codependent brothers are forced to support their family’s struggling crop-growing business, but their burning desire to forge their own paths throws their brotherhood into turmoil.

Available to watch on RNZ.

Strange Brew

PASC Ep1 Redux | Drama Series Pilot Episode

Editor: Sam Small

Surpassed by a perfect Machine, an aspiring Barista Champion enters a virtual realm to seek the knowledge of her Hero.

Available to watch on RNZ.

 

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