''Kiwifruit'' was a
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 ...
magazine style
talk show
A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...
series that dealt with gay and lesbian issues. It was produced by CreamTV and shown on
Television New Zealand's TV2.
The show was commissioned for an original 10-episode run in 2005, to find a replacement to long-running ''
QueerNation'', which was coming to an end. It was set to compete with ''
The OUTHouse''. After showing both ''The OutHouse'' and ''Kiwifruit'', it was decided that ''Kiwifruit'' would get the 40-episode contract.
Criticism
When the programme started airing in 2005, it was met with negative feedback from the gay community. This was confirmed when in a
NZ on Air
NZ On Air (NZOA; mi, Irirangi te Motu), formally the Broadcasting Commission, is an autonomous Crown entity and commission of the New Zealand Government responsible for funding support for broadcasting and creative works. The commission oper ...
commissioned GLBT survey found that 70% of the respondents disliked the show. Some of the respondents found the show shallow, superficial and offensive.
Presenter Amanda Rees responded to the report, saying "We think that their criticism of the show being 'lightweight' was appropriate for the episode or two that screened around the time of the research." She also said that they receive a lot of positive feedback regarding the show, and when covering serious issues they get lower ratings than normal.
"NZOA research: Kiwifruit responds"
, ''GayNZ.com'', 28 September 2006, retrieved 9 October 2008.
The show was renewed for a further series in 2006.
See also
* Kiwifruit
Kiwifruit (often shortened to kiwi in North American, British and continental European English) or Chinese gooseberry is the edible berry of several species of woody vine
A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' ...
* LGBT New Zealand
New Zealand society is generally accepting of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) peoples. The LGBT-friendly environment is epitomised by the fact that there are several members of Parliament who belong to the LGBT community, LGBT right ...
* New Zealand television
Television in New Zealand was introduced in 1960 as a state-run service. The broadcasting sector was deregulated in 1989, when the Government allowed competition to the state-owned Television New Zealand (TVNZ). There are currently three forms o ...
References
External links
''Kiwifruit''
at Television New Zealand
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiwifruit (Tv Series)
2005 New Zealand television series debuts
2006 New Zealand television series endings
LGBT culture in New Zealand
New Zealand LGBT-related television shows
New Zealand television talk shows
TVNZ 2 original programming
Television shows funded by NZ on Air
2000s LGBT-related television series