Emmett Skilton and Holley Shervey broke out the champagne this week as NZ on Air had given Crack Head over $3 million in funding. Photo / @hollyshervey
Emmett Skilton and Holley Shervey broke out the champagne this week as NZ on Air had given Crack Head over $3 million in funding. Photo / @hollyshervey
Emmett Skilton and Holly Shervey celebrate their new $3 million show, Crack Head, which scored funding from NZ on Air. From plot to production, what do we know about the series?
Actor and director Emmett Skilton and actor and writer Holley Shervey broke out the champagne this week at news NZ on Air had given Shervey’s new concept show Crack Head over $3 million in funding.
“FUNDED! Thank you for believing in us and THANK YOU for believing in this story,” the pair jointly posted on Instagram, tagging NZ on Air.
“Our hearts are full to the tippy top with the deepest gratitude.
“We’re thrilled, we’re terrified, and we’re so so thankful!!”
Warner Bros. International Television Production NZ has been awarded up to $3,197,306 for eight 22-minute episodes, which, when produced, will be welcome local content when the show screens for Three and ThreeNow.
Crack Head is an original dark comedy series, created by Shervey, that blends humour with the very serious topic of mental health and addiction.
It follows the story of Frankie Barker (Shervey), an addict who burns her sister’s house down and ends up spending time at a flashy rehab clinic.
“We are extremely proud of our talented creative team who have been hard at work writing and developing this project to a place where we can now start planning for production,” say WBITVP New Zealand.
Crack Head is a dark comedy series that blends humour with very serious topics.
Not to be confused with Three’s owner Warner Bros Discovery, WBITVP is a production company most famous for making unscripted television, such as Celebrity Treasure Island, Married at First Sight NZ and David Lomas Investigates. Earlier this year their scripted drama Testify screened on TVNZ+.
After a nine-year engagement Skilton, 36, and Shervey, 34, got married in a stunning ceremony in Dairy Flat last December.
A spokesperson for the couple could not go into more detail about Crack Head, but it is understood both Shervey and Skilton will be working on the show.
The couple are hard grafters in the entertainment industry. Skilton found fame over a decade ago on The Almighty Johnsons. As well as his stellar acting career, he has been a producer and has also been a director for several years on Shortland Street - most recently directing the Shorty midwinter cliffhanger.
Amongst Shervey’s numerous acting credits, she also worked on Shortland Street, playing Chris Warner’s former PA Zoe Carlson from 2018 to 2022, and most recently starred in The Brokenwood Mysteries.
The couple has also broken new ground with their Instagram comedy series Millennial Jenny, starring Shervey – an example of getting creative with content and platforms. The series has been screening since 2019, and just finished filming its latest episodes last weekend.
With work commitments, the couple put their honeymoon off until next month, where Spy is told they will travel to Europe and New York.
Ricardo Simich is the New Zealand Herald’s Spy Editor. Based in Auckland he covers all roads that lead to popular culture.
