From frenzied searches for international pop stars to abusive singing competition judges, it's been a tumultuous year in showbiz.
Often, we head to Hollywood for the juicy celebrity headlines, but not so in 2015 - there was plenty of drama to be found within our own little country's borders.
The second season of The X Factor NZ made headlines both at home and abroad this year, but for reasons producers of the show would probably rather forget.
The show first hit troubled waters when the decision was made to include convicted killer Shae Brider as a contestant.
In a segment that aired on the show, Brider admitted he had been involved in the fatal stabbing of 16-year-old Jeremy Frew in 2004. Brider was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment for his part in the crime, something he described as "a commotion".
Frew's mother, who was not warned about Brider's appearance on The X Factor, was understandably upset, lashing out at TV3 and saying Brider had not told the whole truth.
FremantleMedia and Simon Cowell's company Syco Entertainment, which own The X Factor franchise, were also less than impressed. A spokesman branded Brider's inclusion as "a very poor editorial decision" and apologised to Frew's family.
But that was just the beginning of The X Factor producers' problems. A whole new controversy awaited them, courtesy of judges Natalia Kills and Willy Moon.
Alarm bells were probably ringing around the production office when the husband-and-wife team made headlines for an abusive encounter with a customer at an Auckland bakery.
They went on to conduct themselves in a similar fashion when the first of The X Factor's live shows rolled around. In a move that sent social media into meltdown, Kills accused contestant Joe Irvine of copying her husband (by having the nerve to wear a suit), labelling him a "laughing stock" and saying he made her "sick". Moon chipped in, telling Irvine his performance on the show had been "cheap and absurd", adding he reminded him of a creepy killer.
After pressure from sponsors and the show's other judges, Stan Walker and Melanie Blatt, Mediaworks made the decision to give Kills and Moon their marching orders.
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TV3 had a much happier time when it came to New Zealand's first localised version of The Bachelor, although that series wasn't without its troubled headlines either.
Before the show had even started, it was revealed producers had inadvertently allowed a convicted fraudster to compete as one of the Bachelorettes.
The revelation that Danielle Le Gallais had been sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing nearly $40,000 from her employer was a surprise to Mediaworks, who said the production company responsible for vetting contestants had failed to check Le Gallais' background. It also transpired that another contestant, Dani Robinson, had a drink-driving conviction.
Still, The Bachelor NZ proved popular, even making headlines overseas when contestant Poppy Salter farted during a date on the show.
The rumour mill was kept busy during the series, with the most persistent being Bachelor Art Green had dumped the show's winner (which was eventually revealed as Matilda Rice), in order to get back with an ex-girlfriend.
A body language expert added fuel to that fire when she watched a Herald interview with Green and Rice and commented that they didn't appear to be intimate lovers.
Suzanne Masefield of The Body Language Company said there were certain signs that cast doubt on the state of their relationship.
"There are signs of anxiety, doubt and disconnection at times when they communicate, and the lack of eye contact is concerning at this early stage of a relationship when couples usually want to look at each other continually," she said.
But Green and Rice have - so far - proved the doubters wrong, remaining loved up as we head into 2016.
She may not have won Green over on The Bachelor, but Bachelorette Chrystal Chenery managed to keep herself in the news once the series finished.
The yoga teacher set her sights on the Dancing With The Stars crown after missing out on the Bachelor's rose, and finished runner-up in the final. But that achievement was lost in a storm of controversy over a tweet that was posted during the final dance-off.
Radio presenter Dominic Harvey tweeted a screengrab taken in the moment Chenery split her legs during a routine, saying it was "Chrystal just showing Art what he missed out on." Harvey deleted the tweet, but the spat over its publication raged for days.
A furious Chenery told the Herald she wanted to see Harvey disciplined for his actions. Harvey responded by saying he accepted he was wrong but thought it had been dealt with and was disappointed with Chenery's remarks.
Comments, both for and against Chenery, overflowed on social media for several days following the incident, with her refusal to accept Harvey's apology earning her several high-profile fans.
They might spend their days working on the news, but several of TVNZ's presenters made big headlines themselves this year.
In October, the ever-popular Toni Street revealed she had been diagnosed with Churg-Strauss syndrome, an incurable auto-immune disease. The news led to an outpouring of support, which left Street "blown away".
"There are some real gems of people out there," she said.
Her Seven Sharp colleague, Mike Hosking, also made headlines when he had his own brief health scare, courtesy of a rogue lump of pineapple. Hosking says he nearly died choking on the fruit during a news break on his Newstalk ZB Breakfast show.
Hosking was talking to Radio Sport host Martin Devlin at the time, who reportedly was "very slow" to pick up on what was happening.
Devlin said he gave Hosking a slap on the back several times to dislodge the pineapple - and joked he deserved a reward in the form of Hosking's prized Ferrari.
But it wasn't just TVNZ's broadcasters making headlines in 2015 - the #SaveCampbellLive campaign also dominated column inches when it became clear the axe was swinging over John Campbell and his 7pm current affairs show on TV3.
Despite weeks of petitions and pleas, Mediaworks confirmed the demise of Campbell Live in May, with the show airing its final episode a week later.
The news proved an especially bitter pill for Campbell's colleague, Hilary Barry, who found herself overcome with emotion during 3 News' bulletin on the day of the announcement.
What started as whispers on social media that global pop sensation Taylor Swift was in New Zealand became a national obsession in November - where was Swift and what was she doing here?
As it turned out, she was in the country to shoot a music video on Auckland's Bethells Beach and in Queenstown.
Swift has since swiped at New Zealand's media for the nationwide hunt, saying she had to take extreme measures to avoid detection.
In an interview with Kiwi DJ Zane Lowe, she described how she hid under towels for 45 minutes as a helicopter circled the set for her video.
"They didn't get the shot because I was hiding under towels. It was really fun," she said.
"Okay, they get a shot of the video set ... it's not going to ruin the surprise of the video [but] at that point you're like, 'I resent being chased, so now I'm going to run from you.'"
- nzherald.co.nz
The magical world of Oz, where you can expect the unexpected. Watch the new #WickedMovie trailer now. Video / Universal Pictures