Far North drug bust drama series finalist in seven categories at NZ Television Awards

Robyn Malcolm and Temuera Morrison starred as Ahipara couple Heather and Ed, in last year’s TV series Far North, which focused on the inept efforts to land half a tonne of methamphetamine on Ninety Mile Beach in 2016. The show is up for seven awards in the NZ Television Awards.

Far North, the TV series that focused on the inept efforts to import half a tonne of methamphetamine on to Ninety Mile Beach, has been nominated for seven gongs in the NZ Television Awards.

The programme starred Kiwi acting royalty Robyn Malcolm and Temuera Morrison as Ahipara couple Heather and Ed who helped expose a multimillion-dollar meth drop - then the country’s largest ever drug bust - on to the beach in 2016.

The South Pacific Pictures’ comedy-drama has earned seven nominations in the awards, including nods for Best Actor (Temuera Morrison), Screen Auckland Best Director: Drama/Comedy (David White), Best Cinematography: Drama/Comedy, Images and Sound Best Cinematography: Drama / Comedy Drama (Adam Luxton), Best Contribution to a Soundtrack (Tom Miskin, Alan Kidd, Mike Bayliss and Steve Finnigan), Images and Sound Best Original Score (Moniker), Best Costume Design (Briar Vivian) and Best Makeup Design (Janene Cissi).

Far North had its premiere in the cinema at Kaitāia’s Te Ahu Centre.

The 2024 New Zealand Television Awards are shaping up to be an exciting event, showcasing a diverse array of talent and programming from across the country. With a remarkable 121 nominations from over 490 entries, the finalists reflect a rich tapestry of storytelling and creativity in local television. The winners will be announced at Auckland’s Aotea Centre on November 22.

It was a six-part drama series telling the (mostly) true story of how the most comically inept gang to ever join forces got half a billion dollars worth of methamphetamine to New Zealand shores - and nearly to market - before being caught thanks to the sharp eyes of Far North locals.

They would have got away with it too, if it wasn’t for a pesky 70-year-old diesel mechanic Ed - played by Morrison - and his aqua-aerobics instructing wife Heather - played by Malcolm. The real-life couple they are based on helped foil the operation.

The man known as Ed in the series was enlisted to help the group launch their boat so they could get the drugs from the ‘’mothership’' at sea and bring them back to shore. The group had deceived the local, saying they wanted to spread a relative’s ashes.

An unsuccessful attempt to launch the boat unfolded like a comedy of errors and the group scrambled to get another, paying cash for a $98,000 rigid-hull inflatable boat. Featuring enough food in the boat to ‘’feed a marae’' for a week, the fact that the group were wearing gloves, and one had $500 in his hand, led the local to believe this was more than just a trip to spread ashes.

He called the police. But it wasn’t until the group beached the boat, on retrieving the drugs, that the attention of the police was fully caught. A few hours later, police were interviewing the local man about the group, and the group drove past.

“My wife said ‘there they go, they’re driving past’,” the local said.

The police went on to find 52kg of meth buried in sand dunes and 449kg in a campervan.