''The Almighty Johnsons'' is 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 ...

fantasy comedy/drama television series, which was created by James Griffin and

Rachel Lang Rachel Lang is a New Zealand television screenwriter, executive producer and actor. She co-created the television series '' Outrageous Fortune, Go Girls, This Is Not My Life, Mercy Peak, Nothing Trivial, The Blue Rose'', and ''Filthy Rich''. Sh ...

and was produced by

South Pacific Pictures South Pacific Pictures is a New Zealand television production company. The company produces drama series, mini-series, telemovies and feature films for the domestic market and international market. SPP's largest property is ''Shortland Street'' ...

and aired from 7 February 2011 to 23 September 2013.

Production

Funding for the first series was approved by

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 ...

in December 2009, a second series was approved in June 2011 and a third series was approved on 15 October 2012. In December 2012, it was announced series three was in pre-production. Series 3 was the culmination of the search for Frigg.

Filming

Series two began filming in October 2011 and concluded in February 2012. Series three began filming on 14 January 2013 and concluded on 9 May 2013.

Initial cancellation and fan campaign

On 6 September 2012, various members of the cast reported via Twitter that the show would not be renewed for a third season. This was confirmed by co-creator, James Griffin. Fan protests were launched immediately both in New Zealand and internationally, taking the form of an online petition, written complaints to TV3, and a 'send a twig to TV3' campaign (representing

Yggdrasil Yggdrasil (from Old Norse ), in Norse cosmology, is an immense and central sacred tree. Around it exists all else, including the Nine Worlds. Yggdrasil is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'' compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional s ...

, the mythical 'tree of life' from the show).

Second cancellation

The show's cancellation was announced in December 2013 via radio announcement on Radio New Zealand by TV3 programming boss Mark Caulton.

Plot

The show follows a student named Axl Johnson, who on his 21st birthday discovers he and his family members are reincarnated

Norse gods Norse is a demonym for Norsemen, a medieval North Germanic ethnolinguistic group ancestral to modern Scandinavians, defined as speakers of Old Norse from about the 9th to the 13th centuries. Norse may also refer to: Culture and religion * Nors ...

, whose powers are somewhat muted in their human form. It is up to Axl, who is the reincarnation of

Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...

, to restore their full powers and ensure the family's survival by finding the reincarnation of Odin's wife,

Frigg Frigg (; Old Norse: ) is a goddess, one of the Æsir, in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about her, she is associated with marriage, prophecy, clairvoyance and motherhood, and dwells in the wet ...

. Matters are complicated by the presence of three Norse goddesses who are trying to find Frigg before the Johnsons do to prevent the restoration of the gods' full powers (which would vault them above the goddesses), as well as an antagonistic reincarnation of Norse god

Loki Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...

, and the appearance of a

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 ...

deity pantheon toward the end of the second series.

Cast and characters

Johnson Family

Goddesses

Gods

Other Mythicals

Mortals

Series overview

Reception

Series 1 holds a "100% fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes, critics giving 8 out of 10 points, and 88% from audiences.

Awards and nominations

Aotearoa Film & Television Awards

New York Festivals

Rialto Channel New Zealand Film Awards

Sir Julius Vogel Award

SWANZ

Home video releases

The first series of ''The Almighty Johnsons'' has been released in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States. The second series has been released in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The third series has been released in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The complete series 1-3 box set was released in the United States on 28 April 2015.

Broadcast

Series one premiered in Australia on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

on 19 December 2011, airing at 10:30 p.m. on Mondays, and on

Sci Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

on 26 February 2012, airing at 6:30 p.m. on Sundays, in Canada on

SPACE Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...

on 23 July 2012, airing at 9:00 p.m. on Mondays, and in the United Kingdom on

Syfy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

on 2 February 2012, airing at 10:00 p.m. on Thursdays. Series two premiered in Australia on Network Ten on 21 December 2012, airing at 9:30 p.m. on Fridays, and on SF on 22 March 2013, airing at 9:30 p.m. on Fridays, in Canada on SPACE on 14 January 2013, airing at 10:00 p.m. on Mondays, and in the United Kingdom on Syfy on 17 September 2012, airing at 10:00 p.m. on Mondays. Series three premiered in Canada on SPACE on 4 July 2013, at 9:00 p.m., the same day as the New Zealand premiere, and in the United Kingdom on Syfy on 28 August 2013, airing at 10:00 p.m. on Wednesdays. Series one began broadcasting in the United States on 11 July 2014 on

, with series two set to follow. According to the review site Common Sense Media, the Syfy broadcasts are somewhat censored, with nudity blurred out. In the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

the show airs on

TG4 TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was formerly known ...

. The complete series was available on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

in some countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia. The series can also be viewed in the UK on Amazon prime video. As of January 2022 full series can be viewed on Tubi.

References

External links

*
Production website
*
''The Almighty Johnsons''
at South Pacific Pictures {{DEFAULTSORT:Almighty Johnsons, The 2010s New Zealand television series 2011 New Zealand television series debuts 2013 New Zealand television series endings English-language television shows New Zealand comedy-drama television series New Zealand fantasy television series Television series based on multiple mythologies Television series based on Norse mythology Television series by All3Media Television series by South Pacific Pictures Television series revived after cancellation Television shows filmed in New Zealand Television shows funded by NZ on Air Television shows set in Auckland Three (TV channel) original programming