Te Hana Hudson (previously Kahu) is a fictional character on the

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 ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital, first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992. It is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously ...

'' who was portrayed by

Vanessa Rare Vanessa Rare is a New Zealand film and television actress, screenwriter and director. She is of Ngāti Pu, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Pukenga and Ngāpuhi iwi descent. Career Rare's screen debut was as Rata in the 1990 comedy film '' Ruby and Rat ...

for two stints from 2001 to 2005. The matriarch of the Hudson family unit, Te Hana was introduced during an infamous revamp of the show and was a representation of the working class New Zealander.

Creation and casting

In 2000 an Australian consultant made several large changes to the show that would see a more working class hospital portrayed. Te Hana, her husband

Joe Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

and children

Mihi Mihi is a village development committee in Mugu District in the Karnali Zone of north-western Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census The 1991 Nepal census was a widespread national census conducted by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statistic ...

and Tama were created because of this. As part of the revamp, producers wished for a more community based cast with established family links, mimicking the past presence of the Warner and McKenna families. The Hudson's arrival was said to be a "shock" for the established character of Te Hana's brother,

Victor Kahu Dr. Victor Katea Kahu is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' who was portrayed by Calvin Tuteao from late 2000 to Christmas Day 2004. Upon arrival Victor was the representation of the Māori people on the show ...

(

Calvin Tuteao Calvin Tuteao is a New Zealand actor who has appeared in ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'', ''Once Were Warriors'' and '' Xena: Warrior Princess''. Tuteao is renowned for his role on ''Shortland Street'' as Dr. Victor Kahu. He and his niece ...

). Vanessa Rare was cast in the role. Rare left the role in 2003 but returned in several sporadic stints. She returned for several episodes in a guest role in 2003 and returned the following year for several months before departing on 28 January 2005. She returned in 2006 for another guest stint as part of on screen son

David Wikaira-Paul David Wikaira-Paul (born 30 January 1985) played Tama Hudson on New Zealand television series Shortland Street. Biography David joined the cast of Shortland Street in 2001 to play fresh-faced 14-year-old Tama Hudson, a high school student. D ...

's departure.

Storylines

Te Hana arrived with her family for a fresh start but she grew annoyed at her brother

Victor The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

's (

) attempts to break up her marriage to Joe Hudson (

Rawiri Paratene Peter David Broughton , generally known as Rawiri Paratene, is a New Zealand stage and screen actor, director and writer. He is known for his acting roles in ''Whale Rider'' (2002) and '' The Insatiable Moon'' (2010). Biography Paratene was bor ...

). Te Hana developed a crush on

Geoff Greenlaw Shortland Street is a New Zealand soap opera that has been broadcast on TV2 since May 25, 1992. The show centers on the title hospital and its staff and their families. The following characters currently appear in the soap opera. Characters whom ...

(

Andrew Laing Andrew Laing (born 1966) is a New Zealand actor best known for his role as Dr. Geoff Greenlaw in the popular soap opera, ''Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland ...

) and the two eventually kissed, only to be caught by Te Hana's daughter

(Quantrelle King) who told Joe, ending the marriage. It seemed Te Hana and Joe were heading for reconciliation but he ended up leaving the country and Te Hana and Geoff got together. Te Hana realized Geoff had killed a patient and took the blame, suffering a demotion. She was delighted to welcome her foster daughter Shannon (

Amber Curreen Amber Curreen (born ) is an actor and theatre producer based in Auckland, New Zealand. She played character Shannon Te Ngaru on ''Shortland Street''. She is a producer with Auckland theatre companies Te Rēhia Theatre Company and Te Pou Theatr ...

) back into her life but discovered she was pregnant to her teenage son

Tama Hudson Tama Hudson is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' who was portrayed by David Wikaira-Paul from 2001 to 2006. Creation and casting In 2000 an Australian consultant made several large changes to the show that wo ...

(

). Te Hana's demotion continued to drive her away from Geoff and the two broke up before Te Hana left Ferndale to be closer to Mihi. She made a brief return later in the year and was shocked to learn Geoff was in fact gay. Te Hana returned to support Victor following his arrest for the murder of Geoff. She began to date

Bronson Paraone Shortland Street is a New Zealand soap opera that has been broadcast on TV2 since May 25, 1992. The show centers on the title hospital and its staff and their families. The following characters currently appear in the soap opera. Characters whom ...

(

Kirk Torrance Kirk Torrance is an actor and playwright from New Zealand, best known for his role as Wayne Judd in '' Outrageous Fortune''. He is also a former Commonwealth Games swimmer. Career His debut play ''Strata'' (2003) won Best New Playwright at the ...

) but was disgusted to learn Tama was marrying Shannon. Despite initially deciding to boycott the ceremony, Te Hana gave her blessing to Shannon and attended. Te Hana decided to take a brief break with Bronson to visit the family marae, however she ended up not returning. Te Hana returned a year later to support Tama and his custody battle against Shannon for their daughter Rangimarie (Mia Curreen-Poko). She abused Shannon physically and left having admitted defeat to her daughter in law.

Character development

Upon arrival Te Hana was described as; "a strong Maori woman" and was "fiercely ambitious for her kids". The move to the city proved positive for Te Hana, as she was "determined to get ahead now that she and her family have made a fresh start in the city". Te Hana was also said to be "on a mission to achieve success for herself and her family on her own terms." Producer Simon Bennett described the family, stating "The Hudson family is poor. They’ve moved to the city from the country and they’re trying to start a new life with nothing".

Reception

Producer Simon Bennett did not enjoy the introduction of the Hudson family, stating: "With the best will in the world the intention to introduce a down on their luck Maori family who moved from the country to the city came across as mawkish and somewhat PC in flavour." The inclusion of the Hudson family did however bring on a more appropriately balanced amount 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 C ...

culture into the soap both on and offscreen. The Hudson "era" has since been identified as the peak of Māori inclusion in the show. It was also said to introduce a large Māori audience and help accurately define the race demographics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson, Te Hana Shortland Street characters Television characters introduced in 2001 Fictional Māori people Female characters in television Fictional nurses