New Zealand Television Awards Announces 2023 Winners

Aotearoa’s television industry celebrated the best of the sectors’ achievements tonight with the announcement of the 2023 New Zealand Television Awards | Ngā Taonga Whakaata O Aotearoa winners. Hosted by actor and comedian Kura Forrester, the sold-out red carpet gala event was held at Auckland’s Viaduct Events Centre.

1News broke Newshub’s four-year winning streak taking out the 2023 award for Best News Coverage for their reportage on the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle. TVNZ’s Sunday was named Best Current Affairs Programme and 1News’ Thomas Mead won the award for Reporter of the Year. For Warner Bros. Discovery ANZ, Patrick Gower won Best Presenter: News and Current Affairs for his work across Newshub Live at 6pm, Paddy Gower Has Issues, AM, The Project NZ and Paddy Gower On..., while Gower’s co-star Karen O’Leary won Best Presenter: Entertainment for her work on Paddy Gower Has Issues.

Bravo New Zealand & Hayu NZ’s Below Deck Down Under’s Kiwi star Aesha Scott won the publicly-voted Television Personality of the Year, and, as previously announced, acclaimed multi-hyphenate creative Oscar Kightley was honoured as the 2023 TV Legend award with his trophy presented by long-time friend and collaborator Teuila Blakely.

The Gone, produced by Kingfisher Films, Keeper Pictures and Southern Light Films for TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+ in New Zealand, took out the most awards of the evening with a total of five wins including: NZ On Air Best Drama, Images & Sound Best Cinematography: Drama / Comedy Drama (Dave Cameron NZCS ACS), Images & Sound Best Original Score (Mahuia Bridgeman-Cooper), Best Costume Design (Pauline H Pohatu) and Best Makeup Design (Kelly Mitchell).

Other programmes that won multiple awards tonight include:

Chaos Films Ltd, Brown Sugar Apple Grunt Ltd, Augusto Ltd’s TVNZ telefeature Princess of Chaos which won the awards for Best Editing: Drama / Comedy Drama (Carly Turner), Best Post Production Design (Alana Cotton) and Screen Auckland Best Director: Drama / Comedy Drama (Kiel McNaughton);

Great Southern Television’s TVNZ drama series One Lane Bridge whose lead actor Dominic Ona-Ariki was named Best Actor, and which also won the award for Best Production Design (John Allan);

South Pacific Pictures’ TVNZ+ comedy Educators which took out Best Comedy with Rick Donald named Best Supporting Actor;

and Stuff’s Fire and Fury, whose director and editor Toby Longbottom won dual awards for Best Editing: Documentary or Factual and Best Director: Documentary / Factual.

Of this year’s 37 judged award categories and one publicly-voted category, content screened on TVNZ channels won 25 awards, content played on Warner Bros. Discovery ANZ channels won five awards, programming shown on Whakaata Māori won three awards (including one shared with The Coconet), while The Coconet and Stuff’s programming each won two awards and Sky and RNZ content received one award apiece. Programmes funded by NZ On Air received 19 awards across this year’s categories, two recipients of Te Puna Kairangi - Premium Productions for International Audiences Fund won six awards between them, and Te Māngai Paho funded three of this year’s award-winning programmes.

The 2023 New Zealand Television Awards winners are:

NZ On Air Best Drama

The Gone
Kingfisher Films / Keeper Pictures / Southern Light Films / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+

Best Comedy

Educators: Season 3 Episode 1
South Pacific Pictures / TVNZ + and TVNZ 2

Best Factual Series

When Bob Came: Season 1
Stella Maris Production / Caravan Carpark Films / TVNZ+

NZ On Air Best Documentary

No Māori Allowed
Kindred Films / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+

Best Original Reality Series

The Walkers: Season 2 Episode 3
Hi Mama Productions / TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+

Best Format Reality Series

The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes
Great Southern Television / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+

Best Current Affairs Programme

Sunday
TVNZ / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+

NZ On Air Best Children's Programme

Mystic Season 3
Libertine Pictures & Slim Film + TV / TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+

Te Māngai Pāho Best Māori Programme

NZ Wars, Stories of Wairau
Aotearoa Media Collective & Great Southern Television / RNZ

Te Māngai Pāho Best Reo Māori Programme

Homesteads
Te Imurangi Ltd / Whakaata Māori

NZ On Air Best Pasifika Programme

Brutal Lives - Mo'ui Faingata'a: Season 2
Kingston Productions Ltd / The Coconet TV

Best News Coverage

1News - Cyclone Gabrielle
TVNZ / 1News, TVNZ 1

Best Sports Programme

East Coast Rising
Pango Productions / TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+

Best Live Event Coverage

ANZAC 2023
Whakaata Māori

Best Entertainment Programme

Taskmaster NZ
Kevin & Co / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ 2

Best Director: Documentary/Factual

Toby Longbottom
Fire and Fury
Stuff Circuit / Stuff

Screen Auckland Best Director: Drama / Comedy Drama

Kiel McNaughton
Princess of Chaos 
Chaos Films Ltd, Brown Sugar Apple Grunt Ltd & Augusto Ltd / TVNZ 2 & TVNZ+

Best Actress

Antonia Prebble
Double Parked
Kevin & Co / Warner Bros. Discovery ANZ / ThreeNow and Three

Best Supporting Actress

Sesilia Pusiaki
Inky Pinky Ponky
Tikilounge Productions / The Coconet TV / Whakaata Māori

Best Actor

Dominic Ona-Ariki
One Lane Bridge 
Great Southern Television / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+

Best Supporting Actor

Rick Donald 
Educators 
South Pacific Pictures / TVNZ+ and TVNZ 2

Reporter of the Year

Thomas Mead 
1News
TVNZ / 1News, TVNZ 1

Best Presenter: Entertainment

Karen O’Leary
Paddy Gower Has Issues
Warner Bros. Discovery ANZ /ThreeNow and Three

Best Presenter: News And Current Affairs

Patrick Gower
Newshub Live at 6pm, Paddy Gower Has Issues, AM, The Project NZ, Paddy Gower On...
Warner Bros. Discovery ANZ / Newshub / ThreeNow and Three

Television Personality of the Year

Aesha Scott
Below Deck Down Under
Bravo (New Zealand) / Hayu NZ

Television Legend
Oscar Kightley

Best Editing: Documentary / Factual

Toby Longbottom
Fire and Fury
Stuff Circuit / Stuff

Best Editing: Drama / Comedy Drama

Carly Turner
Princess of Chaos 
Chaos Films Ltd, Brown Sugar Apple Grunt Ltd, Augusto Ltd / TVNZ 2 & TVNZ+

Best Camerawork: Documentary / Factual

Kina Scollay & Alex Hubert
Our Big Blue Backyard - Snares Island
NHNZ Worldwide Ltd / TVNZ 1 & TVNZ+

Best Director: Multi Camera

Steve Jamieson
Rugby World Cup 2023 Final
World Rugby / HBS / ThreeNow, Three & Spark

Images & Sound Best Cinematography: Drama / Comedy Drama

Dave Cameron NZCS ACS
The Gone: Season 1, Episode 2
Kingfisher Films/ Keeper Pictures/ Southern Light Films / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+

Best Contribution to a Soundtrack

Ben Sinclair, Buster Flaws, Travis Heffernen, Steve Finnigan, Joel Haines
The Brokenwood Mysteries: Season 8, Episode 2
South Pacific Pictures / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+

Images & Sound Best Original Score

Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper
The Gone: Season 1, Episode 4
Kingfisher Films/ Keeper Pictures/ Southern Light Films / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+

Best Post Production Design

Alana Cotton
Princess of Chaos
Chaos Films Ltd, Brown Sugar Apple Grunt Ltd & Augusto Ltd / TVNZ 2 & TVNZ+

Best Production Design

John Allan 
One Lane Bridge 
Great Southern Television / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+

Best Costume Design

Pauline H Pohatu
The Gone
Kingfisher Films/ Keeper Pictures/ Southern Light Films / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+

Best Makeup Design

Kelly Mitchell 
The Gone
Kingfisher Films/ Keeper Pictures/ Southern Light Films / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+

Best Script: Comedy

Dana Leaming
Not Even: Season 1, Episode 4
Miss Conception Films / Sky Open

Best Script: Drama

Jessica Joy Wood
Shortland Street: Season 32, Episodes 7714, 7715, 7716
South Pacific Pictures / TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+

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