TV3 AM show Bernadine Oliver-Kerby, Ryan Bridge, Melissa Chan-Green and William Waiirua.
TV3 AM show Bernadine Oliver-Kerby, Ryan Bridge, Melissa Chan-Green and William Waiirua.
Tuesday morning sees a new dawn in breakfast viewing with the new team of AM gracing our screens. But is it enough to topple TVNZ's Breakfast ratings?
The AM Show (now rebranded as AM) on Three has a new team joining Ryan Bridge after he replaced Duncan Garner in August last year. Journalist Melissa Chan-Green, joins him as co-host, veteran broadcaster Bernadine Oliver-Kerby is on news and sport and social media and reality star William Waiirua is the weatherman out in the field. The three replace Amanda Gillies, Mark Richardson and Aziz Al-Sa'afin, who wrapped up their long term tenures with the show at the end of last year.
Despite having a new team, Chan-Green says the AM line-up gelled immediately.
"I'd compare our very first meeting as one of those first dates where you instantly know there's chemistry," Chan-Green says of the new team.
After initial Zoom dates became many in-person meetings, rehearsals and long lunches, she says it feels like the four of them had known each other for ages.
"I'm confident the audience will also see the initial chemistry and soon feel like they're spending a morning with old friends too."
Bridge is as confident, having just nailed their first rehearsal all together.
Bridge says Waiirua, is a character and people are going to love him. He's fun but also a really hard worker and has a huge heart which people may not have seen before.
He adds it really is real love between the team, which he says is unique and he feels he can be himself on air.
"Mel is smart, warm, empathetic but also tenacious when needed. Bernadine is witty, a bit naughty and is one of this country's most versatile television presenters. I consider it an absolute privilege to be sitting next to them both."
Chan-Green says Bridge's real skill is honing in on what it is kiwis want to know - with a heap of cheekiness thrown in for good measure.
The former 6pm weekends Newshub host is used to her 2-year-old son Busby tiptoeing into her bedroom at 5 in the morning, hoping she might read him Thomas the Tank Engine and says now she and her husband Caspar are both tiptoeing around the house at 3am trying not to wake him up.
"Caspar will work from home in the mornings now and we are all on the same super early bedtimes."
Will Waiirua break out any of his famous dance moves, giving Breakfast a run for their money on their Tik Tok dance videos?
TVNZ Breakfast crew: Matty McLean, Jenny-May Clarkson, Indira Stewart and John Cambell.
Breakfast had had its own changes when it returned to our screens this week, getting a week-long jump on the air over the competition.
It has a pretty colourful new set thanks to Kiwi aerosol and stencil artist Flox, Bridge says the amazing team at Discovery have been busy working over summer to bring the new team two sets to operate from.
TVNZ will be hoping it's returning hosting line-up of Indira Stewart, Matty McLean, John Campbell and Jenny-May Clarkson will be enough to keep dominating in the ratings war.
Last year a ratings dispute broke out between the two broadcasters with Three saying they saw consistent viewer increase after Bridge joined as host and claiming they were regularly beating Breakfast in their demographic of 25 to 54 at the end of the year. However TVNZ 1 hit back saying it said it won 100 per cent of mornings in the 5+ demographic.
