''Hounds'' is a New Zealand

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comedy series Television comedy is a category of broadcasting that has been present since the early days of entertainment media. While there are several genres of comedy, some of the first ones aired were variety shows. One of the first Television in the United ...

, written, produced and directed by

The Down Low Concept thedownlowconcept is a production company and creative collective based in Auckland, New Zealand, specializing in producing comedy for film, radio and television. It was formed in 2002 by Jarrod Holt, Ryan Hutchings and Nigel McCulloch, and have ...

. Set in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

it centres on a self-centred lawyer, Will Carrington (Toby Sharpe), and the unusual family unit he is thrust into following the death of his father David, (

Roy Billing Roy Harwood Billing (born 1947) is a New Zealand television actor, now based on Waiheke Island, New Zealand. He was brought up in Ruawai, Northland, New Zealand. Billing spent almost three decades living and working in Australia. He became w ...

). Will inherits half a stately house, half a racing greyhound with its live in trainer, Marty (Mick Innes), and guardianship of his estranged half-sister Lily (Susana Tang). The series follows Will's transition from a soulless city slicker as he deals with his new family that he has never met, and the low rent surroundings of the Greyhound community. Backed with a strong supporting cast of comic actors, including Will's best friend, the arrogant and self-serving Lance (

Josh Thomson Joshua Joseph Thomson (born September 21, 1977) is an American mixed martial arts podcaster, commentator, analyst and former mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2001, Thomson has competed in Bellator MMA, PRIDE, Strikeforce, U ...

) and shallow ditsy girlfriend Amber (Catherine Waller), Hounds also featured well known comics Guy Williams and Rhys Mathewson in minor roles, and veteran New Zealand actors Derek Payne, Steven Ure and

David Weatherley David John Weatherley (born 1 March 1939) is a British-born New Zealand actor and voice artist known for his role as Barliman Butterbur in '' The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring''. Weatherley was born in London and moved to Canada ...

The series is one of New Zealand's most critically acclaimed comedies ever produced.

Controversy

Before the series even aired it courted controversy due to the name of the racing greyhound Lundybainwatson when lawyer

Joe Karam Joseph Francis Karam (born 21 November 1951), also known by the nickname of "Clock", is a New Zealand former representative rugby footballer who played for the All Blacks. After retiring from rugby, he became a businessman. However, he is most ...

complained to the network citing bad taste and potentially a defamation lawsuit. Writers and producers The Down Low Concept had named the dog after three infamous and controversial New Zealand murder cases, due to the character of Will's father, and the original owner of the dog being a high court judge. The dog's name referred to convicted multiple murderers

Mark Lundy Christine Marie Lundy, 38, and her 7-year-old daughter Amber Grace Lundy were murdered in Palmerston North, New Zealand, on 29 August 2000. In February 2001, after a six month investigation, Mark Edward Lundy (then aged 43), Christine's husband, ...

, Scott Watson and

David Bain On 20 June 1994, Robin and Margaret Bain and three of their four childrenArawa, Laniet and Stephenwere shot to death in Dunedin, New Zealand. The only suspects were David Cullen Bain, the eldest son and only survivor, and Robin Bain, the father ...

. Bain was later acquitted after spending 13 years in jail following numerous appeals from Karam resulting in his eventual release from prison in 2009. The unintentional

publicity stunt In marketing, a publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized, or set up by amateurs. Such events are frequently utilize ...

caused a minor stir when the producers of the show called for suggestions on the ''Hounds'' Facebook page. At the behest of the network the production company re-shot and re-recorded audio in the few scenes where the dog's name was mentioned, renaming the dog Lundy''dixon''watson. Dixon referred to another controversial New Zealand murderer, Antonie Dixon.

Awards

New Zealand Television Awards

New York Festivals

Script Writer Awards New Zealand (SWANZ)

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Best On The Box Awards

Show creators The Down Low Concept were also awarded the Worst Onscreen Death 2013 prize for the death of the dog ''Lundydixonwatson'' from television critic Chris Philpott, calling the moment "Laugh-out-loud funny, but totally awkward". This was the second year in a row for the production company winning in the comedy category at the New Zealand Television Awards, having won the previous year with their comedy gameshow,

7 Days Seven Days or 7 Days may refer to: * Week, an amount of time Film * ''7 Days'' (2010 film) (''Les 7 jours du talion''), Canadian thriller film * ''7 Days'' (2021 film), American romantic comedy film * ''Seven Days'' (1925 film), American silent ...

Reception

"Is Hounds the best Kiwi comedy ever? Yes." ''Chris Philpott'',

Stuff.co.nz Stuff is a New Zealand news media website owned by newspaper conglomerate Stuff Ltd (formerly called Fairfax). It is the most popular news website in New Zealand, with a monthly unique audience of more than 2 million. Stuff was founded in 20 ...

"Hounds, I believe, is the best Kiwi comedy show ever made... at one point during the show's six unmissable episodes I found myself doing just that, snot smeared on the carpet, begging, pleading with them to dial back the laughs just for a bit so I could clean up the mess." ''Chris Schulz'',

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

"Think ''

Vigil A vigil, from the Latin ''vigilia'' meaning ''wakefulness'' (Greek: ''pannychis'', or ''agrypnia'' ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word ''vigilia'' has become genera ...

'' with a post modern nod to

Fred Dagg Fred Dagg is a fictional character from New Zealand created and acted on stage, film and television by satirist John Clarke. Clarke appeared on New Zealand TV screens as Dagg during the mid to late 1970s, " taking the piss" out of the post-pion ...

humour". ''Jane Bowron'', The Dominion Post "This isn't the laugh out loud, neon-lit, canned-laughter comedy we get from so many American imports. It's original, understated and thoroughly well written." ''Pattie Pegler'',

"It is very sweet, completely silly, and amazingly rude". ''Michele Hewitson'',

“Like mould on a bathmat in an Auckland winter, it grows on you. Like the culture from which it springs, it’s effortlessly, compulsively, authentically weird.” ''Diana Wichtel'', The Listener "The Down Low Concept took their show to an unfamiliar setting, loaded the cast with unfamiliar (but talented) faces, and stocked the script with some of the cleverest dialogue you'll find in any comedy, let alone a locally produced one". ''Chris Philpott'',

"The Down Low Concept are as close to a Kiwi comedy hit factory as currently exists". ''Lee Henaghan'',

The Nelson Mail ''The Nelson Mail'' is a 4-day a week newspaper in Nelson, New Zealand owned by media business Stuff Ltd. It was founded in 1866 as ''The Nelson Evening Mail''; the first edition was published on 5 March 1866. It absorbed another local paper, '' ...

"When I watched the whole series the first time it was down to being diligent; the second time was to make absolutely sure it's as good as I thought it was; the third and every subsequent time (and there will be many, I'm sure) will be for the sheer, absolute joy of it" ''Nick Grant'', Herald on SundayGrant, Nick (27 May 2012). "This Show's No Dog". Herald on Sunday

Episodes

References

External links

Official Website

TV3 (New Zealand) Three ( mi, Toru), stylized as +HR=E, is a New Zealand nationwide television channel. Launched on 26 November 1989 as TV3, it was New Zealand's first private broadcasting, privately owned television channel. The channel currently broadcasts nat ...

* {{IMDb title, 2401127, Hounds
The Down Low Concept
Production Company 2010s New Zealand television series 2012 New Zealand television series debuts 2012 New Zealand television series endings English-language television shows New Zealand comedy television series Television shows funded by NZ on Air Television shows set in Auckland Three (TV channel) original programming