External links
- "Watch The Panthers". TVNZ On Demand . Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- The Panthers at IMDb
| The Panthers | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Written by |
|
| Directed by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Composers |
|
| Country of origin | New Zealand |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producers |
|
| Cinematography | Andrew McGeorge |
| Running time | 42-44 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | TVNZ |
| Release | 15 August – 15 August 2021 |
The Panthers is a New Zealand drama television miniseries created and executive produced by Halaifonua Finau and Tom Hern in association with Four Knights Film studio. Set during the 1970s, the series focuses on the emergence of the Polynesian Panthers against the backdrop of the controversial dawn raids. The series was released by public broadcaster TVNZ on 15 August on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ On Demand. The series starred Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as Polynesian Panthers leader Will Ilolahia, and was written by Tom Hern and Halaifonua Finau. [1] [2]
Set in Auckland in 1974, The Panthers focuses on how a group of Polynesian students and street gangsters led by Tongan student Will 'Ilolahia formed a revolutionary movement called the Polynesian Panthers, drawing inspiration from the American Black Panther Party. The miniseries is set against the backdrop of racial tensions between European and Pasifika New Zealanders, the dawn raids on overstayers, and the premiership of Prime Minister Robert Muldoon. [3] [2] [4]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date [3] | New Zealand viewers (millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Tahi" | Miki Magasiva | James Napier Robertson, Halaifonua Finau | 15 August 2021 | N/A | |
In Auckland, Tongan medical and politics student Will 'Ilolahia and his friends are arrested and imprisoned after stealing a massive fish from a warehouse. While Will is released and bailed due to his parents petitioning Governor-General Denis Blundell, one of his friends is deported for overstaying his visa. Will's increasingly radical politics clashes with his conservative Christian parents, who want to maintain respectability. Meanwhile, Southland nurse Carolyn Davis and her family move to Ponsonby after her husband Jimmy takes up his first posting as a police officer. Carolyn and Jimmy encounter hostility from the local Pasifika community, who distrust the police. Will and his friends are involved in a riot where Jimmy is seriously wounded. | ||||||
| 2 | "Lua" | Miki Magasiva | Halaifonua Finau, Tom Hern, Tom Dreaver | 15 August 2021 | N/A | |
With the consent of the Mayor of Auckland City Dove-Myer Robinson, Will and his friends establish a political club called the Polynesian Panthers to advance the rights of Pasifika and Māori. Will's activities advocating for families facing eviction. In addition, Will also has to navigate his medical studies and debts to the gang leader "Ice." Meanwhile, Jimmy is co-opted by the National Party leader Robert Muldoon, who is running on a populist platform of law and order and also foments hostility against Pasifika immigrants. The Polynesian Panthers disrupt Muldoon's speech at the Auckland Town Hall. | ||||||
| 3 | "Tolu" | Tom Hern, Vea Mafile'o | Tom Hern, Halaifonua Finau, Fiona Samuel | 15 August 2021 | N/A | |
Will's radical politics brings him in conflict with his family, particularly his soldier brother and mother who regard his actions as embarrassing to their family. With the support of Melani, Will takes part in an interview with a journalist to promote the Polynesian Panthers' public image. The Tongan police officer Havila monitors Will and Tess, exposing their relationship to Will's mother and gets Tess arrested due to her overstayer status. Carolyn is wounded during an attempted abortion but is saved by her Pasifika neighbour. Unhappy with her new life in Auckland and determined to pursue her nursing career, Carolyn clashes with Jimmy. | ||||||
| 4 | "A" | Vea Mafile'o | Tom Hern | 15 August 2021 | N/A | |
With the help of lawyer David Lange, Melani and the Polynesian Panthers distribute legal aid booklets to help the Pasifika community deal with the Police, who are arresting members of their community on trumped-up charges of disorderly conduct and verbal assault. Meanwhile, Will travels to Australia where he connects with Aboriginal activists. Together, they topple a statue of Captain James Cook, leading to Will's deportation. As Muldoon and the National Party campaign against overstayers, Melani clashes with a racist talkback radio host. Following the attempted abortion, Carolyn separates from Jimmy, who mistakenly believes she is having an affair with Havila. While Carolyn supports a group seeking to decriminalise abortion in New Zealand, the Polynesian Panthers campaign on behalf of the Labour Party in opposition to Muldoon's anti-immigrant rhetoric. Despite their efforts, National wins the 1975 general election, defeating Prime Minister Bill Rowling. Will returns to find that his friend King Kong had been hospitalised following an assault by Ice's associates. | ||||||
| 5 | "Nima" | Chris Graham, Mario Faumui | Tom Hern, Halaifonua Finau, Suli Moa | 15 August 2021 | N/A | |
Under Muldoon's leadership, the Police begin questioning Pasifika people about their immigration status, catching some Maori and Niueans with residency rights. In response, the Polynesian Panthers mount their own Police Investigation Group (PIG) patrols. Will seeks justice for his friend Kong, petitioning Havila who reveals he is involved in an undercover operation investigating the criminal Ice. Jimmy's estrangement with Carolyn grows, affecting their children. Havila confronts Ice, brutally assaulting him. Believing Havila is dating Carolyn, Jimmy shoots him. | ||||||
| 6 | "Ono" | Chris Graham, Mario Faumui | Halaifonua Finau, Tom Hern | 15 August 2021 | N/A | |
With the Police facing opposition from the Panthers' PIG patrols, Muldoon authorises Dawn Raids against overstayers. After learning that the Police are disproportionately targeting Pasifika overstayers, the Panthers attempt to disrupt the arrest of overstaying workers. Taking the fight back, the Panthers mount dawn raids on the homes of government ministers Bill Birch and Frank Gill. This has the effect of turning public opinion against the Dawn Raids, forcing Muldoon to back down. Will reconciles with his fellow Panthers and family while recognising the Panthers' community services. Havila survives the shooting. Jimmy and Carolyn reconcile after Caroyln clarifies that she is not romantically involved with Havila. | ||||||
The Polynesian Panther's script was written by Tom Hern and Halaifonua Finau, who also worked as executive producers. Other executive producers included James Napier Robertson, Polynesian Panthers' founder Will 'Ilolahia and Kini Roy Earley. Key cast members included Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as 'Ilolahia, Beulah Koale, Frankie Adams, Roy Billing as Robert Muldoon, Lealani Siaosi, Chelsie Preston Crayford, Jordan Mooney, Jordan Vaha'akolo, Villa Junior Lemanu, Rokalani Lavea and Ravikanth Gurunathan. [5] [2] The series also had a majority Pasifika cast. [4]
The miniseries was produced by Hern and Finau’s production company Tavake, in association with Four Nights Films. Commissioned by TVNZ, it received NZ$5.5 million in funding and a platform contribution relief of NZ$336,000 from NZ On Air. [2] [6] [7] Several musicians including Troy Kingi, Choicevaughan, and Diggy Dupé compiled a full-length album for the series' soundtrack. Some songs used in the series' soundtrack included First Take Strut, Keep your head up, Ulu Up, Donny Hathaway, Must Seem Popular, and All for Show. [1]
A trailer for The Panthers was launched on 21 July 2021. [2] The miniseries was released by public broadcaster TVNZ on 15 August on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ On Demand. [1] To promote the series, TVNZ also released a documentary series called The Panthers Rapp: The Next Chapter, to provide historical context for the series. [1]
The miniseries was screened at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival's Primetime section in September 2021. [5] [6]
Stuff reviewer James Croot described the series as "a well put-together dramatisation of a dark chapter in New Zealand chapter," praising director Miki Magasiva's production and costume design. While praising Schuster-Koloamatangi's performance as the main protagonist Will 'Ilolahia, Croot criticised the underdevelopment of some of the characters and described Roy Billing's portrayal of Prime Minister Muldoon as a "caricature of his later days in office, rather than the beginning." [8]
The Spinoff 's reviewer Dan Taipua praised the series for shining a "bold light" on the history of the Polynesian Panthers and the dawn raids in New Zealand. He also praised Billing for demystifying Muldoon as a simple-minded populist who exploited racism. In addition, Taipua praised the performances of Schuster-Koloamatangi, Frankie Adams and Beulah Koale. Taipua also compared The Panthers to other radical films and TV shows such as Spike Lee's BlackkKlansman and Shaka King's Judas and the Black Messiah . [9]
Sir Robert David Muldoon was a New Zealand conservative politician who served as the 31st prime minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party. Departing from National Party convention, Muldoon was a right-wing populist and economic nationalist, with a distinctive public persona described as reactionary, aggressive, and abrasive.
The Polynesian Panther Party (PPP) was a revolutionary social justice movement formed to target racial inequalities carried out against indigenous Māori and Pacific Islanders in Auckland, New Zealand. Founded by a group of young Polynesians on 16 June 1971, the Panthers worked to aid in community betterment through activism and protest. Besides peaceful protests, they helped provide education, legal aid, and other social resources, such as ESOL classes and youth community programs. The group was explicitly influenced by the American Black Panther Party, particularly Huey Newton’s policy of black unity through his global call-to-action, as well as his ideology of intercommunalism. The movement galvanised widespread support during the Dawn Raids of the 1970s, and greatly helped contribute to the modern pan-Polynesian ethnic identity in New Zealand called Pasifika.
South Pacific Pictures is a New Zealand television production company. The company produces drama series, mini-series, telemovies and feature films for the domestic market and international market. SPP's largest property is Shortland Street the half-hour soap opera for TVNZ 2. In 2006, the company released Sione's Wedding and in 2002, the Oscar-nominated feature film Whale Rider. In 1998 the company produced the feature film, What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?, the sequel to Once Were Warriors.
Thomas Hern is a New Zealand actor and independent film producer. He is known for producing NZ feature films The Dark Horse, Everything We Loved, and Pork Pie. Hern also produced the action-comedy Guns Akimbo, starring Daniel Radcliffe and Samara Weaving and TIFF Midnight Madness award-winner Shadow in the Cloud.
Falemaʻi Lesa is a Samoan citizen resident in New Zealand who famously and successfully stopped her own deportation by arguing she was also a New Zealand citizen to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, then the highest court of appeal in New Zealand.
There are numerous gangs in New Zealand, of varying criminality, organisation and ethnicity, including outlaw motorcycle gangs, street gangs and ethnically based gangs. A chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle club was formed in Auckland in 1961, the first Hells Angels chapter outside the US. Soon after, the Mongrel Mob formed in Hastings and Wellington, developing into a predominantly Māori and Pacific Islander gang, and having the largest membership in the country. Through the 1960s and 1970s, other outlaw motorcycle clubs and ethnically based gangs formed, including another predominantly Māori gang, Black Power, which grew to rival the Mongrel Mob.
Roimata Ngatai is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street, who was portrayed by Shavaughn Ruakere from January 2011 to January 2014. Initially introduced as a 3-month love interest for TK Samuels, Ruakere's contract was extended to a regular role.
Hamish Morley Dodd is a New Zealand celebrity interior designer, television and radio presenter. He is most notable for appearing on the New Zealand television show My House My Castle, as the interior designer. The show aired for ten years, from 1999 until the final season in 2009.
Beulah Koale is a New Zealand actor best known for portraying Officer Junior Reigns in CBS reboot series Hawaii Five-0.
Grand Designs New Zealand is a New Zealand television series. It is based on the British television series Grand Designs and it was originally presented by the architect Chris Moller and aired on TV3. It began airing in New Zealand on 4 October 2015.
The Luminaries is a 2020 drama television miniseries written by Eleanor Catton and directed by Claire McCarthy. The series is centred on a young adventurer named Anna Wetherell, who has travelled from the United Kingdom to start a new life in New Zealand during the 1860s West Coast Gold Rush.
Taskmaster New Zealand is a New Zealand comedy panel game show, first broadcast in 2020 on TVNZ 2. The format for the show was created by British comedian Alex Horne during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2010 and was subsequently developed into a successful UK television show in 2015.
Massive Theatre Company, also called Massive or Massive Company, is a professional theatre company in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand.
The dawn raids were crackdowns in New Zealand from 1973 to 1979 and then sporadically afterward on alleged illegal overstayers from the Pacific Islands. The raids were first introduced in 1973 by Prime Minister Norman Kirk's Labour government, who discontinued them in April 1974. However, they were later reintroduced and intensified by Rob Muldoon's Third National government. These operations involved special police squads conducting often aggressive raids on the homes and workplaces of overstayers throughout New Zealand, usually at dawn and almost exclusively directed at Pasifika New Zealanders, regardless of their citizenship status. Overstayers and their families were often prosecuted and then deported back to their countries.
One Lane Bridge is a New Zealand crime drama television series, premiering on TVNZ 1 in 2020. The series stars Dominic Ona-Ariki as Ariki Davis, a newcomer detective, Joel Tobeck as Stephen Tremaine, his superior, and Alison Bruce as Tremaine's wife, Lois. The show follows events around the latest in a mysterious chain of deaths which have occurred on a one-lane bridge near the town of Queenstown. The series is also notable for its inclusion of aspects of Māori spirituality as a core part of the plot, such as the notion of matakite, roughly equivalent to divination.
Creamerie is a black comedy web series from New Zealand that launched in 2021 on TVNZ OnDemand. It explores a world in which nearly all men have died from a virus, and three friends, played by Perlina Lau, J.J. Fong, and Ally Xue, run a dairy farm under the watchful eye of Wellness, the local governing body. The series was created by Lau, Fong, Xue, and director Roseanne Liang.
Red, White & Brass is a 2023 New Zealand comedy film directed by Damon Fepulea'i.
Dead is a 2020 New Zealand comedy horror film, starring Tom Sainsbury and Hayden J. Weal.
Far North is a six-part comedy drama crime caper television series. Created by David White, who co-writes with Mingjian Cui and Suli Moa and co-directed with Cui, it is in-part inspired by the Jared Savage's non-fiction book Underbelly: Inside NZ’s Biggest Meth Bust. It is produced by South Pacific Pictures, and White Balance Pictures and distributed internationally by All3Media International. It stars Robyn Malcolm and Temuera Morrison as a couple mixed up with an inept drug trafficking gang.
Dark City: The Cleaner is a New Zealand crime fiction television series based on author Paul Cleave's 2006 novel The Cleaner. The series was co-produced by John Barnett and Chloe Smith, with Cohen Holloway and Chelsie Florence starring as the two man characters Joe Middleton and Melissa Flowers. Dark City: The Cleaner was funded by Lionsgate, the New Zealand Film Commission, NZ On Air, Sky Television and ChristchurchNZ's Screen CanterburyNZ fund. The series debuted on 4 March 2024 on Neon, Sky Go and SoHo.
