''The Block NZ'' is a New Zealand reality television series based on the popular Australian series '' The Block''. The first season premiered on

Three 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

on 4 July 2012. The show is hosted by former New Zealand cricketer Mark Richardson and Shelley Ferguson, while Peter Wolfkamp serves as site foreman. It follows four couples as they compete against each other to completely renovate, room by room, four neighbouring houses in Auckland, and then sell them at auction. Each couple keeps any profit made on the house, and the winner receives a bonus cash sum. The current main sponsors are paint manufacturer Resene, car manufacturer

Suzuki is a Japanese multinational mobility manufacturer headquartered in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Shizuoka. It manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a va ...

, flooring retailer Flooring Xtra, and fast food chain Subway. Throughout seasons 1–2, car manufacturer

Mazda is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima (town), Fuchū, Hiroshima Prefecture, Hiroshima, Japan. The company was founded on January 30, 1920, as Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd. ...

was also a main sponsor, but for season 3, the sponsorship was awarded to car manufacturer

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

. Other previous sponsors include

Bunnings Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian hardware and garden centre chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand. Bunnings was founded in Per ...

, BP's Wild Bean Cafe,

AMI Insurance AMI Insurance began in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1926 as the South Island Motor Union (SIMU), and grew to be the second biggest residential insurer in New Zealand. It was a mutual insurance company, meaning it was owned by its policy holders, ...

and

Pita Pit Pita Pit is a quick-service restaurant franchise serving pita sandwiches with fresh vegetables, grilled meat and sauces. Worldwide, it has two separate owners. Its franchising rights for the United States and its Territories are owned by Pita Pit ...

. The series premiered in Australia on

9Go! 9Go! is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Nine Network on 9 August 2009, replacing Nine Guide. It is a youthful channel that offers a mix of comedy, reality, general entertainment, movies, anima ...

on 12 August 2012. The eleventh series, which was set to air in 2023, was originally postponed to 2024 due to a "challenging house market" and the dismal results of the 10th season. However in May 2024, despite the 11th season being almost ready for filming,

Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Outline of entertainment, entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It was formed from WarnerMedi ...

cancelled the series due to the network restructure.

Development

The show was initially announced on 24 February 2012, when a casting call went out and saw over 1,000 couples apply. The four couples selected for the first season were announced on the official

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

page on 17 June 2012.

Hosts and judges

Series overview

Profits

*The combined auction profit excludes the winning prize money

Returning teams

*Chloe and Ben originally appeared on the same season, however in separate teams. They returned to season 10 as a team.

Season synopses

Season 1

The first season of ''The Block NZ'' premiered on 4 July 2012 and ended on 6 September 2012. It is set in the Auckland suburb of

Takapuna Takapuna is a suburb located on the North Shore, New Zealand, North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is an isthmus between Shoal Bay, New Zealand, Shoal Bay, arm of the Waitematā Harbour, and the Hauraki Gulf. Lake Pupuke, a volca ...

Season 2

The second season of ''The Block NZ'' premiered on 26 August 2013 and ended on 4 November 2013. It is set in the Auckland suburb of Belmont.

Season 3

The third season of ''The Block NZ'' premiered on 26 August 2014 and ended on 18 November 2014. It is set in the Auckland suburb of

Point Chevalier Point Chevalier (; commonly known as Point Chev and originally named Point Bunbury after Thomas Bunbury) is a residential suburb and peninsula in the city of Auckland in the north of New Zealand. It is located five kilometres to the west of t ...

, the first time the Block was held outside of the North Shore.

Season 4

The fourth season of ''The Block NZ'' premiered on 29 September 2015. It is set on the boundary of the Auckland suburbs of

Sandringham Sandringham can refer to: Places Australia * Sandringham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Sandringham, Queensland, a rural locality * Sandringham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne **Sandringham railway line **Sandringham railway station * ...

and

Three Kings In Christianity, the Biblical Magi ( or ; singular: ), also known as the Three Wise Men, Three Kings, and Three Magi, are distinguished foreigners who visit Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh in homage to hi ...

. The title for the fourth season was ''The Block NZ: Villa Wars''.

Season 5

The fifth season of ''The Block NZ'' premiered on 29 May 2016 and is set in the Auckland suburb of Meadowbank. The title of this series is "Girls vs Boys", with two of the teams being made up of females and the other two made up with males. It has netted the highest combined profits of $981,000.

Season 6

The sixth season premiered on 25 June 2017. It is set in the Auckland suburbs of Northcote, North Shore. The title of this series is "Side X Side", as each of the houses were large 4-storey townhouses, the largest houses in terms of floor area in The Block NZ. It had a combined profits ($65,000), and it also saw the first time a house did not meet reserve, but got the highest bid on the re-sell.

Season 7

The seventh season premiered on 8 July 2018. It is set in the Auckland suburb of Hobsonville. The title of this series is "On Point".

Season 8

The eighth season premiered on 17 June 2019. It is set in the Auckland suburb of Kingsland. The title of this series is "Firehouse", as the contestants are renovating apartments in an old fire station.

Season 9

The ninth series premiered on 14 June 2021. It is the second season to be set in the Auckland suburb of

. Production began in 2020 but was paused for 13 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Season 10

The tenth series of The Block premiered on 18 July 2022. It is set in the Auckland server of

Orewa Orewa () is a settlement in the northern Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is a suburb of the Hibiscus Coast, just north of the base of the Whangaparāoa Peninsula and north of central Auckland. The Auckland Northern Motorway, Northern Motor ...

, and features contestants from previous seasons. The series was won by Chloe & Ben, however it is the current lowest auction to date as they only went over the reserve by $4,000, then Maree & James by only $100, whilst the other two teams homes were passed in and received nothing, making only a combined profit of $4,100. After the auction, TSB New Zealand (sponsor of the series) gifted Quinn and Ben, Maree and James & Stacey and Adam with $10,000 each for the hard work and failing to achieve a profit.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Block NZ, The 2012 New Zealand television series debuts 2022 New Zealand television series endings New Zealand English-language television shows Home renovation television series New Zealand reality television series Television shows set in Auckland Three (TV channel) original programming Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios New Zealand television series based on Australian television series