''Rude Awakenings'' is a New Zealand comedy-drama
television
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
series, which aired on
TV One on Friday evenings. The first episode aired on 9 February 2007.
By March it was averaging almost 320,000 viewers.
The series centres on two families who live next door to each other in a fashionable street in
Ponsonby, a suburb of
Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
.
The Rush family has just moved to their newly renovated house in Ponsonby from a
lifestyle block
A hobby farm (also called a lifestyle block, acreage living, or rural residential) is a smallholding or small farm that is maintained without expectation of being a primary source of income. Some are held simply to bring homeowners closer to n ...
in
Kumeu. Dimity, the mother, is a human resources manager; Stuart, the father, is an anaesthetist, and Julian and Ollie are their sons. They immediately hit a wrong chord with their new neighbours, the Short family.
Arthur Short has recently had his wife Sharon leave him for a lesbian relationship, and he is unemployed and with few prospects. His two teenage daughters, Amber and Constance, live with him. Their house, where they have been tenants for the last 20 years, is up for sale, but they are determined to remain where they are.
The series has been released to DVD.
Cast and characters
*
Danielle Cormack
Danielle Cormack (born 26 December 1970 )is a New Zealand stage and screen actress. She was one of the original cast members of the long-running soap opera ''Shortland Street'', though she is also known for her role as the Amazon Ephiny in th ...
as Dimity Rush
*
Carl Bland as Stuart Rush
*
Jaxin Hall as Julian Rush
*
Mark Davies as Ollie Rush
*
Patrick Wilson
Patrick Joseph Wilson (born July 3, 1973) is an American actor. He began his career in 1995, starring in Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals. He received nominations for two Tony Awards for his roles in ''The Full Monty (musical), The Full Mont ...
as Arthur Short
*
Hannah Tasker-Poland as Amber Short
*
Rose McIver
Frances Rose McIver (born 10 October 1988) is a New Zealand actress. She portrays Samantha Arondekar in the CBS supernatural sitcom ''Ghosts'' (2021–present), Olivia "Liv" Moore in The CW supernatural comedy-drama series '' iZombie'' (2015–2 ...
as Constance Short
*
Marise Wipani as Sharon Short
*
William Walker as Ralph Gubb
*
Fiona Samuel as Bonnie Buckley
*
David Mackie as Jase Buckley
*
Hera Dunleavy as Dara
*
Peter Feeney as Spencer Fantl
*Michael Lawrence as Michael "Horse" Grieve
*
Gene Hollins-Werry as Max Buckley
*
Madeleine Sami
Madeleine Nalini Sami is a New Zealand actress, director, comedian, and musician. She started her acting career in theatre before moving to television, where she created, co-wrote, and starred in ''Super City''. She co-wrote, co-directed, and s ...
as Francesca Hoyle
References
External links
M F Films websiteTVNZ website
*{{IMDb title, 0985477
2007 New Zealand television series debuts
2007 New Zealand television series endings
New Zealand English-language television shows
New Zealand comedy-drama television series
Television shows filmed in New Zealand
Television shows set in Auckland
TVNZ 1 original programming