''The GC'' is a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

reality television series that premiered on

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Can ...

on 2 May 2012 in New Zealand. The series follows the lives of a group of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

living in

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast, also known by its initials, GC, is a coastal city and region in the state of Queensland, Australia, located approximately south-southeast of the centre of the list of Australian capital cities, state capital, Brisbane. It is ...

. The series has been compared to the American reality show '' The Hills''.

Production

The show was originally pitched as an observational documentary series called ''Golden Mozzies'', described as "looking at seven Māori families living on Australia's Gold Coast". In August 2011, the producers of ''Golden Mozzies'' received $419,408 from broadcast funding agency

NZ On Air NZ On Air (NZOA; ), formally the Broadcasting Commission, is an Crown entity, autonomous Crown entity and commission of the New Zealand Government responsible for providing funding for broadcasting and creative works. The commission operates l ...

for the production of eight 30 minute episodes. However, the format and title of the series was changed with NZ On Air's knowledge. In 2013, a second season of ''The GC'' was funded by Maori broadcast funding agency

Te Māngai Pāho Te Māngai Pāho (the Māori Broadcast Funding Agency) is the New Zealand Crown entity responsible for the promotion of the Māori language and Māori culture by providing funding for Māori-language programming on radio and television. In 19 ...

with stricter requirements for Maori language and cultural content. $419,384 was granted for eight 30 minute episodes. In 2015, it was announced via the shows

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 that the show was renewed for a third season, along with new cast members and the show being moved to Four. The third season premiered in July 2015.

Cast

The show revolves around Tylah Jones Wharehinga, Rosanna Arkle, Zane Houia, Elyse Minhinnick, Braydon McMahon, Holly Subritzky, Cole Smith, Alby Waititi, Nuz Ngatai, Matai Smith, and Matatia Brell. Former cast members include Tame Noema, Jade Louise, Jessie Nugent, Nathan Waikato, Brooke James, and Jade Ruwhiu.

Main

Critical reception

Following the screening of the pilot episode viewers branded the show as "fake" and "pathetic" and within hours a

page called "Cancel the ''GC'' TV Show" was started. According to a ''New Zealand Herald'' article the Facebook page had over 2100 "likes" within 12 hours of the show's airing. There have also been questions about the show's funding. Following the screening of the pilot episode it was revealed that

NZ on Air NZ On Air (NZOA; ), formally the Broadcasting Commission, is an Crown entity, autonomous Crown entity and commission of the New Zealand Government responsible for providing funding for broadcasting and creative works. The commission operates l ...

gave NZ$419,408 to fund the first series of ''The GC''. According to news website Scoop Independent News, NZ on Air thought they were funding a series about seven Māori families living on the Gold Coast of Australia with the working title ''Golden Mozzies''. The same website published a press release from NZ on Air in August 2011 outlining that NZ on Air had approved funding for ''Golden Mozzies'', which was then labeled as a documentary series.

Episodes

Series one

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:GC 2012 New Zealand television series debuts 2015 New Zealand television series endings Australian English-language television shows Four (New Zealand TV channel) original programming New Zealand reality television series Television shows funded by NZ on Air Television shows set in Gold Coast, Queensland Three (TV channel) original programming