The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, with a book written by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spelling bee set in a geographically ambiguous Putnam Valley Middle School. Six quirky adolescents compete in the Bee, run by three equally quirky grown-ups.
The Billy T Award is a New Zealand comedy award recognising up-and-coming New Zealand comedians with outstanding potential. It has been presented annually since its inception in 1997 when Cal Wilson and Ewen Gilmour shared the award. The Billy T was shared between two comedians until 2001 when it became a solo award.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee, formerly the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee and often referred to as the National Spelling Bee or simply “the Spelling Bee” in the United States, is an annual spelling bee held in the United States. The bee is run on a not-for-profit basis by The E. W. Scripps Company and is held at a hotel or convention center in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area during the week following Memorial Day weekend. Since 2011, it has been held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center hotel in National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, just outside Washington D.C. It was previously held at the Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington D.C. from 1996 to 2010.
7 Days is a New Zealand comedy game show focused on current events, hosted by Jeremy Corbett and created by thedownlowconcept. It has aired on Three since its premiere in 2009. Two teams, consisting of a team captain — until 2022, nearly always Paul Ego and Dai Henwood — and other comedians, answer questions about stories from the last week; since 2022, the team captains have changed each week. As of 2024, 7 Days has aired for 16 seasons.
Rose Matafeo is a New Zealand comedian, actress and TV presenter. She was a writer and performer on the New Zealand late-night comedy sketch show Funny Girls. In 2018, she won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for her show Horndog.
The Great Australian Spelling Bee was an Australian reality series on Network Ten. Hosted by Grant Denyer and Chrissie Swan, and produced by Shine Australia, the series premiered from 3 August 2015 until 17 September 2016. The series also stars Chris Edmund as pronouncer.
The second season of The Great Australian Spelling Bee premiered on 17 July 2016 on Network Ten. The season sees Grant Denyer and Chrissie Swan return as hosts.
The Big Spell is a British game show which aired in January and February 2017 on Sky 1. The program is an adaptation of the Australian program The Great Australian Spelling Bee. It features 20 children aged between 9 and 13 competing in a series of spelling-related challenges, and delves into both the spellings and the meanings of various words. The show is hosted by Sue Perkins and Joe Lycett, with newsreader Moira Stuart the pronouncer. Perkins stated that she only was interested in presenting the show if it was "nice" and avoided cynicism. The show was cancelled after one series, with only 160,000 viewers watching the finale.
The Project is a New Zealand current affairs show hosted by Jesse Mulligan, Kanoa Lloyd, and Jeremy Corbett with rotating guest panelists. It aired at 7 pm weeknights on Three.
Guy Montgomery is a comedian from New Zealand. He was the winner of the Billy T Award in 2014 and the Fred Award in 2023.
Urzila Carlson is a South African-born New Zealand comedian and actress, known for her stand-up performances as well as her appearances on television programs in both New Zealand and Australia. Carlson is a regular panellist on 7 Days and both the Australian and New Zealand version of Have You Been Paying Attention?. She has also been a panellist on The Masked Singer Australia for the show's second and third seasons. and a contestant on the second season of Taskmaster NZ.
Laura Daniel is an actress and comedian from New Zealand.
Josh Thomson is a New Zealand actor and comedian of Tongan heritage. He is best known for his work as a comedian on 7 Days, Taskmaster New Zealand, Have You Been Paying Attention NZ, Patriot Brains, and as a host on The Project NZ.
Have You Been Paying Attention? is a New Zealand panel show on TVNZ 2, based on the original Australian series Have You Been Paying Attention?. The series is a mix of news and comedy in which host Hayley Sproull quizzes five guests – permanent panelists Urzila Carlson and Vaughan Smith and three others – on the week's top news stories.
Karen O'Leary is a New Zealand schoolteacher, comedian and actress. She played Officer O'Leary in Wellington Paranormal, which ran for four seasons from 2018–2022.
Starstruck is a comedy television series created by Rose Matafeo, co-written with Alice Snedden, directed by Karen Maine, and starring Matafeo and Nikesh Patel with Minnie Driver in a special guest starring role. A second series was commissioned before the first series aired. Series one premiered 25 April 2021 and series two was released on 2 February 2022. In June 2022, the series was renewed for a third season, and it was released on 28 August 2023. The series received positive critical reception.
Angella Dravid is a New Zealand stand-up comedian, writer and actress.
Paul Anthony Williams is a New Zealand comedian and musician. Williams plays the role of Taskmaster's assistant on the New Zealand version of the international television series Taskmaster, and is one of the show's principal writers. He was nominated for the 2017 Billy T Award for up-and-coming New Zealand comedians for his stand-up comedy.
Brynley Alexandra Stent is a New Zealand actor, comedian and scriptwriter. She appeared on the first season of the New Zealand adaptation of Taskmaster and played the character Kelly-Anne Johnson on long running New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. She won the 2021 Billy T Award for best breakthrough comedian for her show Soft Carnage.
Christopher Parker is a New Zealand actor, comedian, writer, TV personality, and podcaster.
