Irirangi Te Motu | NZ On Air and Te Māngai Pāho have confirmed four successful projects funded in the 2026 Reo Māori Content Co-Fund.
Four projects spanning comedy, drama and documentary have received funding to increase the presence of te reo Māori on screen.
A total of 10 scripted and non-fiction production applications were submitted to the round – with two projects receiving scripted production funding and two receiving non-fiction funding. The joint co-fund of $8m opened for applications in August 2026, aimed at supporting high quality, reo Māori screen content for a broad audience. Projects are required to contain at least 30 percent te reo Māori.
The successful scripted comedy Dead Ahead has been confirmed for a third season, following a strong audience response to its first season. The series was TVNZ’s most-viewed funded on-demand production for both NZ On Air and Te Māngai Pāho for the 2025/26 financial year, generating 852,900 views on TVNZ+.
The series was also picked up by Netflix in New Zealand and Australia, where it reached the top three most-watched series on the platform.
The six-part season, which will contain 40 percent te reo Māori, continues the story of the Wharekoa whānau. Season two premieres on TVNZ+ on 3 November.
Also receiving scripted funding is Wharekura, a new rangatahi series for Māori+ and Whakaata Māori. Described as a Māori Glee for a new generation, the series brings together te reo Māori, kapa haka, music and contemporary rangatahi stories, with the stage set within a kura. It marks Mahi Tahi Media’s first move into scripted drama.
In non-fiction, Beyond Identity follows four well-known New Zealanders at different stages of their journeys within te ao Māori as they seek to understand how they became disconnected from their Māoritanga. The four-part series will follow their reconnection with whakapapa, whenua, whānau, history, tikanga and reo.
Origins will return for a fourth season, with Scotty Morrison taking audiences into 16th and 17th century Aotearoa. Drawing on whakapapa, oral histories and archaeology, the three-part documentary series explores the question: how did Māori become Māori?
"Our long standing partnership with Te Māngai Pāho continues to show what we can achieve together – ambitious stories that bring reo Māori content to a broad audience," says NZ On Air Chief Executive Cameron Harland. "This latest round builds on that success, backing returning favourites alongside fresh ideas that give audiences more opportunities to hear and enjoy te reo Māori on screen.”
“Our co-funding partnership with NZ On Air enables the creation of quality reo Māori content for our screens. The four successful projects will deliver informative and entertaining content to audiences, while championing te reo Māori and showcasing a richness and diversity of our stories and voices,” says Larry Parr, Kaihautū of Te Māngai Pāho.
The four scripted and non-fiction productions will receive total funding of up to $7,934,130.
Funding decisions
The total funding is split 50/50 between Te Māngai Pāho and NZ On Air.
Scripted
Dead Ahead 3, 6 x 22’, HiMama for viewing on TVNZ+, up to $3,296,828
Wharekura, 8 x 12’, Mahi Tahi Media for viewing on Māori+ and Whakaata Māori, up to $1,976,682
Non-fiction
Beyond Identity, 4 x 44’, Pango Productions for viewing on Three, ThreeNow, Neon, and Sky, up to $1,015,620
Origins 4, 3 x 43’, Scottie Douglas Productions for viewing on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+, up to $1,645,000
Note: All funding commitments are based on the funding applications received and must be contracted within a specific timeframe. Funding is only released, in stages, as contractual commitments are met. Funds committed but not contracted within the specified timeframe are written back and distributed in future funding rounds.
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2 o Noema 2026
Kua whakaū tahi a Irirangi Te Motu me Te Māngai Pāho, e whā ngā kaupapa kua angitu, me te aha, ka whāngaia ki te pūtea i te rauna 2026 Reo Māori Content Co-Fund.
E whā ngā kaupapa, pukuhohe mai, whakaari mai, pakipūmeka mai anō, ka whāngaia ki te pūtea kia nui ake ai te reo Māori ki runga mata whakaata.
Tekau katoa ngā tono kaupapa i tae mai ki tēnei rauna, whakaari tuhituhi mai, kaupapa pono mai anō. E rua ngā kaupapa i whai pūtea waihanga i te whakaari tuhituhi, e rua atu anō ngā kaupapa pono i whai pūtea. I tuwhera te rauna pūtea ngātahi nei, e $8miriona te nui, i te marama o Ākuhata 2026, me te whai kia taunakitia he kaupapa pāho reo Māori he nui te kounga, hei kai mā te minenga whānui. Me 30 ōrau rawa, neke atu rānei te nui o te reo Māori ki ia o ngā kaupapa.
Kua whakapūmautia tētahi terenga tuatoru o te whakaari tuhituhi pukuhohe o Dead Ahead, tērā e kitea ana tōna angitu i te pakari o te manawa ū o te minenga ki tōna terenga tuatahi. O ngā hōtaka i whāngaia ki te pūtea, i mātakina tononoatia hoki ki ngā pae a Te Reo Tātaki, otirā, i tautokona e Irirangi Te Motu, e Te Māngai Pāho anō, koinei te terenga i nui katoa ngā mātakitanga i te tau pūtea 2025/26. E 852,900 ngā kitenga ōna ki TVNZ+.
I whāia hoki te terenga e Netflix i Aotearoa me Ahitereiria, i reira ka noho koia tētahi o ngā terenga e toru toa i kaha te mātakina ki taua pae.
E ono ngā puni o te terenga hou, ka 40 ōrau te nui o te reo Māori o roto, ā, ko tāna he kawe tonu i ngā kōrero mō te ao o te whānau Wharekoa. Ka rewa te terenga tuarua ki TVNZ+ ā te 3 o Noema.
He pūtea whakaari tuhituhi hoki i riro i te kaupapa o Wharekura. He terenga rangatahi hou tēnei mō runga o Māori+ me Whakaata Māori. Kīia ana he Glee Māori mō te reanga hou, mā tēnei terenga whakatōpūngia ai ko te reo Māori, ko te kapa haka, ko te puoro, ko ngā kōrero mō te rangatahi ā mohoa nei, ka mutu, ko te tūranga whakaari, ko te kura. He tuatahitanga tēnei kokenga mā Mahi Tahi Media ki te ao whakaari tuhituhi.
Ki ngā kaupapa pono, ko Beyond Identity tērā ka whai haere i ētahi uri tokowhā nō Aotearoa kua hau nei ngā rongo. Kei ētahi taumata rerekē tērā me tērā i ō rātou haerenga i te ao Māori, nō rātou ka kimi māramatanga ki ngā take i wetekina ai ngā here ki ō rātou tuakiri Māori. E whā katoa ngā puni o tēnei terenga, ka whakaatu i te whai kia renarena anō ngā taura herehere ki te whakapapa, ki te whenua, ki te whānau, ki te hītori, otirā, ki te reo me ngā tikanga Māori.
Ka koke tonu a Origins ki tōna terenga tuawhā, i a Scotty Morrison ka ārahi i ngā minenga ki te Aotearoa o ngā rautau 16, 17 hoki. Ko te whakapapa, ko ngā kōrero tuku iho, ko te mātai whaipara tangata hei mātāpuna mātauranga, ko tā te terenga pakipūmeka nei e toru ōna puni he pātai: nā te aha te Māori i Māori ai?
“E kitea tonutia ana ngā hua ngātahi ka puta i tō māua piringa mauroa ko Te Māngai Pāho – he kaupapa rongomaioro, mā konei tukuna atu ai te kaupapa pāho reo Māori ki te minenga whānui,” ko tā te Tumu Whakarae o Irirangi Te Motu, ko tā Cameron Harland. Hei tāna anō, “Ko tā te rauna o tēnei wā he hāpai tonu i aua hua angitu, i te taunakitia o ētahi tino kaupapa kua whai huruhuru anō, tae atu hoki ki ētahi kaupapa hou, mā reira ka nui ake ngā ara e wātea ana ki ngā minenga kia rangona ai, kia kaingākautia anō ai te reo Māori i te mata whakaata.”
“Mā tō māua piringa tuku pūtea ngātahi ko Irirangi Te Motu e taea ai te waihangatia mai o ētahi kaupapa pāho reo Māori he nui te kounga, mō runga i ā tātou mata whakaata. Ko tā ngā kaupapa e whā i angitu i tēnei rauna he whakamārama, he whakangahau hoki i ngā minenga ki te kaupapa pāho, nō te reo Māori e whakanuia ana, nō te haumako me te kanorau hoki o ā tātou kōrero me ō tātou reo e whakatairangatia ana,” ko tā te Kaihautū o Te Māngai Pāho, ko tā Larry Parr.
E $7,934,130 te tapeke o ngā pūtea ka riro i ngā kaupapa e whā, whakaari tuhituhi mai, kaupapa pono mai anō.
Ngā Whakatau Tuku Pūtea
Katoa, katoa te haupū pūtea he mea wehe 50/50 e Te Māngai Pāho me Irirangi Te Motu.
Kaupapa Whakaari Tuhituhi
Dead Ahead 3, 6 x 22’, nā HiMama hei mātakitaki i TVNZ+, tae atu ki te $3,296,828
Wharekura, 8 x 12’, nā Mahi Tahi Media hei mātakitaki i Māori+ me Whakaata Māori, tae atu ki te $1,976,682
Kaupapa Pono
Beyond Identity, 4 x 44’, nā Pango Productions hei mātakitaki i Three, ThreeNow, Neon me Sky, tae atu ki te $1,015,620
Origins 4, 3 x 43’, nā Scottie Douglas Productions hei mātakitaki i TVNZ 1 me TVNZ+, tae atu ki te $1,645,000
Hei whakamārama: Katoa ngā herenga pūtea he mea whiriwhiri i ngā tono i tau mai ki a mātou, ka mutu, me mana ngā kirimana i te wā e tika ana. Ka putuputu te tuku i te pūtea, e ai anō ki te whakatutukihia o ngā here ā-kirimana. Ko ngā pūtea ka herea engari kāore e mana i te kirimana i te wā e tika ana, ka whakahokia mai, ka tohaina mā rauna pūtea kē atu.