Best Kiwi action series

Kairakau (2016)

The KAIRĀKAU series is a creative depiction of the lives of tupuna who lived on the land we call Aotearoa.Elements of historic events and oral traditions have been drawn upon and re-sequenced to create each episode. The aim of this series is to keep the stories and traditions of our past alive.Ancient Heroes of yesteryear re-discovered, re-examined and re-imagined.

Cleverman (2016)

In the near future, creatures from ancient Aboriginal mythology endowed with extraordinary physical traits have emerged and must coexist with humans. Known as 'Hairypeople' they battle for survival in a world that wants to exploit and destroy them. One young man – The Cleverman – struggles with his own power and the responsibility to unite this divided world, but he must first overcome a deep estrangement from his older brother.

Cleopatra 2525 (2000)

An exotic dancer is frozen in 2001 and unfrozen in 2525 by two female warriors fighting against robots that have taken over the world. The three join forces and try to escape from the underground caves to which humanity has been banished.

The Amazing Extraordinary Friends (2007)

A teenage boy called Ben Wilson finds out about a superhero insignia which gives him powers. He has difficulty with them, especially flight and using eye lasers at first, but soon learns to control them fairly well. His grandfather is also a superhero, and this is how he comes to acquire the insignia. His mother hates all the superhero business going on for the sake of safety, but his father and stepfather both encourage him, his father being the previous superhero in Ben's position, Captain Xtraordinary or simply Captain X, and his stepfather being the son of a supervillain, The Comedian. The position, it is found out in the show, has been held by many heroes in the past.

Dark Knight (2000)

"Dark Knight" is a TV series, based very loosely on Sir Walter Scott's novel "Ivanhoe". This joint New Zealand/England production attempted to capitalize on the same sword and sorcery market successfully mined by "Xena: Warrior Princess". Ancient evil is about to be unleashed on the land and the only hope is the sharp sword, the pure heart and the mysterious force that protects the 'Chosen One' Ivanhoe.

Woman in Blue (2017)

TV ONE’s new local series, Women in Blue, follows the lives of seven Kiwi female police officers, working the beat in cities and towns across the country.In New Zealand, policewomen have lower rates of citizen complaints and are acknowledged as being better at gaining the trust of victims of crime. They are relied on to improve community relations and foster a less aggressive approach to keeping the peace than their male counterparts. Is it a battle of the sexes? Or do policewomen bring a different skill set to the force?Women in Blue turns the camera on policewomen and the wide range of work they cover - from detective work to search and rescue, from body identification and recovery, to search warrants and domestic violence, to dealing with drunks. The series chronicles how they deal with the job, both personally and professionally.See the stories of some of our most courageous New Zealanders, told in their own voices, in Women in Blue.

Mystic (2020)

A group of horse-mad teenagers who are regulars at their local stables on the fictional NZ peninsula of Kauri Point. Worrying incidents surrounding a new industrial development prove the catalyst for a series of events that means the group have to risk everything in order to save their horses.

The Adventures of Swiss Family Robinson (1998)

Classic saga of the merchant and his family shipwrecked on a South Seas island. This adaptation of the Johann David Wyss tale was one of the Pax network's initial offerings.

Power Rangers Ninja Storm (2003)

Steel Riders (1987)

An eight part children's thriller involving stolen jewels and BMX bike riders.With the help of her brother, and new friends as diverse as a computer whizz-kid and a BMX stunt rider, Sandra must somehow outwit a ruthless motorbike phantom.

Flying Kiwi (1979)

An adventure series following the fortunes of a professor of archaeology, his two teenaged children and a vintage Vauxhall hurling car with a Kiwi figure on the front.

Dark Tourist (2018)

The definition of "tourism" is redefined as New Zealand filmmaker David Farrier sets his sights on the world of dark tourism. From nuclear tourism in Japan to Pablo Escobar-inspired tourism in Columbia to frontier tourism in Turkmenistan, David visits the world’s grisly and offbeat destinations, meeting travelers drawn to them, and the people telling these stories day after day.

Ride With The Devil (2007)

Six-part drama Ride with the Devil explores Auckland's boy racer culture — as experienced by a young Chinese car fanatic. Lin (Andy Wong) befriends ex-con car expert Kurt (Westside's Xavier Horan), but they both end up in court after a street race crash. Longtime petrolhead Murray Keane created the show (which won a Qantas TV Award for its camerawork). Keane first made a pilot called Burnout, but the project won funding from NZ On Air's Innovation Initiative after he added an Asian family into the story.

Back of the Y (2001)

Back of the Y is a witty and clever New Zealand stunt show designed to "put New Zealand on the map". With unforgettable characters such as Presenter, Danny Parker, New Zealand's greatest daredevil stuntsman, Randy Cambell and retarded South Island mechanic, Spanners Watson, the show took New Zealand by storm, appealing quite often to the older generation as well as the younger. Every episode of Back of the Y consists of a number of mini shows (Constables, Smoodiver), take-offs (Bottlestore Galactica) and stunts as well as visits to the studio where we meet New Zealand's most loved television personality, Danny Parker. And of course the show wouldn't be without the feature stunt which always goes horribly wrong. But Randy's popularity rises. From a cast member, from the internet:"One was a series that played on Auckland community TV channel Triangle. It was low rent and most of it has now disappeared. When we shitted to TV2 they wouldn't let us call our first season with them Season 2. So it was called Back of the Y Masterpiece Television. Most people know that as Season 1 but it was actually Season 2. When we shifted to Channel 4. They let us called the next season, Season 3. Does that make sense?"

Terry Teo (2016)

Young crook turned detective, Terry Teo is on a mission to avenge his father's murder. The 80s comic book hero is back!

The Dead Lands (2020)

Waka, a murdered Māori warrior returned from the Afterlife, and Mehe, a determined young woman, embark on a quest to find who "broke the world" and how to close the breach between the living and the dead.

The Adventurer (1987)

Jack Vincent, an aristocrat forced by circumstances to become a smuggler, is caught and transported on the IIMS Success to a penal colony on Norfolk Island, off the New Zealand coast. Unhappily for Vincent, the ship's captain is none other than his brother-in-law, Lt.Harry Anderson. The two men have quarreled violently in the past over Anderson's treatment of Vincent's sister, and now Anderson subjects him to particularly harsh and humiliating treatment. Vincent stages a successful mutiny, casting Anderson and those loyal to him adrift, and plans to sail to America. When the Success is shipwrecked, Vincent is one of three survivors; but Anderson also survives the storm, and vows to pursue Vincent until he sees him hanged at Execution Dock. So begins a fight for survival for Vincent and his crew, complete with hostile natives, unscrupulous sea-traders, crazed prophets and buried treasure.