Far North, Madame Mom, Black Coast Vanishings, 7 Days, David Lomas Investigates among 2023 local line-up of Warner Bros. Discovery ANZ

Far North starring Temuera Morrison and Robyn Malcolm is heading to Three and ThreeNow.
Far North starring Temuera Morrison and Robyn Malcolm is heading to Three and ThreeNow. Photo credit: South Pacific Pictures

The extraordinary true story of how an everyday couple foiled an international crime ring heads up Warner Bros. Discovery ANZ's large 2023 slate of local content.

Far North is a six-part drama that sees Robyn Malcolm and Temuera Morrison together again on New Zealand television as the couple from Ahipara who infamously managed to put a stop to a half-billion dollar methamphetamine operation on 90 Mile Beach in 2016. 

It's part of a huge range of content coming to ThreeNow and Three which Warner Bros. Discovery ANZ called "the most compelling lineup of loved high performers and fresh new shows - the very best of New Zealand and the world".

True crime documentary fans will get their fix with Black Coast Vanishings, a series that looks at the disappearance of six people at Piha Beach.

British TV presenter and pig farmer Jimmy Doherty will be taking to the roads to explore the beauty of New Zealand and to discover what constitutes the true Kiwi spirit in doco Jimmy Doherty's NZ Escape.

Parenting matters also form the basis of a clutch of new series coming in 2023. A series exploring a friendship gone sour when a surrogacy deal goes wrong, Friends Like Her is set in post-earthquake Kaikoura and promises to be "full of quintessential Kiwi optimism".

Documentary series David Lomas Investigates will return in 2023
David Lomas Investigates will be back on Three and ThreeNow. Photo credit: Warner Bros Discovery

Dramedy Madame Mom centres around the true story of a tough, all American, pregnant mom who divorces her husband and starts an ethical brothel in Whangarei to provide for her family.

Esteemed comedians Chris Parker and Alice Snedden have teamed up to write comedy Double Parked, which follows a young lesbian couple who both end up pregnant after a botched home insemination job.

And at a time when many children are being forced to return home to live with their parents, comedy Homebound 3.0 is the story of a struggling 30-something unpublished writer forced to move back home and deal with the disappointment of his Chinese parents.

Local favourites 7 Days and David Lomas Investigates will also be back.

New comedy series Guy Montgomery’s Guy Mont Spelling Bee will see Kiwi comedians through their paces as they attempt to be crowned best speller in front of a live audience.

Warner Bros. Discovery ANZ, which owns Newshub, also announced on Thursday that a selection of 24/7 FAST Channels will be launched in 2023.

The Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television (FAST) promises a "new emerging class of video streaming" with the company saying it would "offer a curated, lean-back experience for viewers and another opportunity to unlock the depth and breadth of the Warner Bros. Discovery content catalogue in New Zealand".