Fleet Legal and Bro'meo for TVNZ

Greg McGee

TVNZ has announced two new local dramas and a local comedy series will be coming to our screens in the new year.

Its 2005 line-up was bereft of new local drama when it was announced a few weeks ago, but the network has confirmed it will screen Orange Roughies, a series centred on characters whose job is patrolling New Zealand's coastline.

It is written by Greg McGee, known for his iconic 1970s play Foreskin's Lament and TV drama Street Legal.

The seven one-hour episodes are expected to go to air in the second half of the year. Auditions for its cast - presumably those with sea legs - are underway now. NZ On Air contributed $3.1 million to the series.

Meanwhile, a Romeo & Juliet-style drama set in South Auckland is also underway. Tentatively titled The Market, the drama will centre around two teenagers in love whose families - one Maori, the other Samoan - do not get along.

Producer Rachel Jean, an accomplished documentary and short film-maker, said The Market would probably be "too risky" for a primetime slot.

"It will have a very low-budget, street feel. Some people would like to call it guerrilla film-making. It's a novel approach."

Jean credited TV3's animated comedy bro'Town for paving the way for the series as it represented a similar slice of life and sense of humour.

She expected The Market would appeal to a young adult audience, or those who are likely to watch Shortland Street.

"It's family viewing but with an edge."

The Market is yet to be cast but is expected to be on air in the second half of next year. NZ On Air contributed $1.3 million to 10 half-hour episodes.

Also coming is new comedy series Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby, written by acclaimed cartoonist-satirist Tom Scott and screenwriter Danny Mulheron.

The network describes the series as a "uniquely New Zealand combination of comedy, drama and social satire".

It will star David McPhail as a renegade teacher with a cheerful disdain for political correctness.

Mr Gormsby is nearly finished and is expected to be broadcast in the first half of the new year.

NZ On Air funding for the seven half-hour episodes amounted to $1.14 million on top of development funding the show received earlier this year.