TVNZ pulls the plug on Nothing Trivial

The cast of Nothing Trivial: Nicole Whippy, Tandi Wright, Shane Cortese, Debbie Newby-Ward and Blair Strang.

TV One will not be making another series of the TV drama Nothing Trivial.

Ratings slipped for the third series amid changing trends about the way that people now view television drama.

TVNZ confirmed yesterday that the third series of the show would be its last, with two more episodes airing before the series ends on Wednesday December 5.

Nothing Trivial was created by Gavin Strawhan and Rachel Lang.

The show was set around five characters who meet at a pub quiz and share the characteristic of being unlucky in love. But like several other dramas on TV this year, ratings for the Trivial series have been well down.

TVNZ said that its daily soap opera Shortland Street and Agent Anna had worked well, but New Zealand On Air is concerned about the challenges facing dramas.

The number of people using televisions (know as 'PUTs' in the ratings terms) was down in October, and beyond that dramas have faced trouble maintaining audience loyalty.

South Pacific Pictures chairman John Barnett - a key figure in the development of New Zealand TV drama - said that there were new challenges, including different ways in the way that people watched shows.

Increasingly overnight ratings did not represent viewers who watched outside scheduled times, viewing shows on-demand or on personal video recorders such as MySky.

In particular PVR's had increased the level of "binge viewing" where people recorded three of four episodes and watched them in a single block.

New Zealand On Air televsision manager Glenn Usmar said that it was examining this and other drama viewing trends which were part of an international trend and NZ On Air will talking to TVNZ and TV3 about the way ahead.