''Westside'' is a New Zealand

comedy drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple co ...

television series created by

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''. She ...

and James Griffin for

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'' ...

. It is a prequel to '' Outrageous Fortune'', and chronicles the lives of Ted and Rita West. The show aired from 31 May 2015 to 16 November 2020 on

Three 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...

. Series 4 premiered on 9 July 2018. On 21 July 2018

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 ...

announced funding for a fifth series which will consist of 10 episodes. On 19 July 2019, NZ on Air announced funding for a sixth and final series of ''Westside''.

Plot

The first series is set in the 1970s, it features a Westie couple, and stars

Antonia Prebble Antonia Mary Prebble (born 6 June 1984) is a New Zealand actress, best known for her role as Loretta West in the hit NZ comedy-drama '' Outrageous Fortune'', as Trudy in '' The Tribe'', as Jane in '' The Blue Rose'', and as Rita West, the gran ...

and

David de Lautour David Hugh de Lautour (born November 28, 1982) is a New Zealand television actor. He was born in Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand and attended King's College, then The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) to which he received a $50 ...

as Rita and Ted West. In the first episode, set in 1974, it features John Walker beating

Rod Dixon Rodney Phillip Dixon (born 13 July 1950) is a former New Zealand middle- to long-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 1500 metres at the New Zealand at the 1972 Summer Olympics, 1972 Olympics in Munich, and in 1983 won the New Yo ...

in the 1500 metres at the

1974 Commonwealth Games The 1974 British Commonwealth Games ( mi, 1974 Taumāhekeheke Commonwealth) were held in Christchurch, New Zealand from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. The Games were off ...

. Each episode covers one year, from 1974 to 1979, with events like the Muldoon election, dawn raids on overstayers, carless days, and the birth of the punk rock scene in Auckland. The second series is set in 1981, and follows the

Springbok Tour The 1981 South African rugby tour (known in New Zealand as the Springbok Tour, and in South Africa as the Rebel Tour) polarised opinions and inspired widespread protests across New Zealand. The controversy also extended to the United States, wh ...

. The series starts with Rita returning home from prison to find the West household in disrepair. Throughout the course of the series Ted's gang plots to steal from the South Africans visiting New Zealand, preventing them from buying land, while Rita plans a job against developer Evan Lace. The third series is set in 1982 and deals with the fallout from the Evan Lace job and Wolf's first meeting with his future wife, Cheryl.

Cast and characters

This table shows the show's characters and the cast members who have portrayed them. ''Note'': Only those appearing in more than one episode appear in this list, and only when the actor contributes new material to an episode. Color key:

Main cast

as Rita West, wife of Ted and mother to Wolf. Prebble had previously starred as Rita's granddaughter

Loretta West '' Outrageous Fortune'' is a New Zealand comedy-drama television series, revolving around the West family. The series was created by James Griffin and Rachel Lang. The series premiered on 12 July 2005 featuring an ensemble cast, which has included: ...

in '' Outrageous Fortune'' *

as Theodore "Ted" West, husband of Rita and father to Wolf * Dan Musgrove as Russell "Lefty" Munroe, husband of Ngaire and father to Desiree, Chelsea and Lisa * Esther Stephens as Ngaire Munroe, wife of Lefty and mother to Desiree, Chelsea and Lisa * Todd Emerson as Bjelke "Bilkey" van Heeder * Pana Hema-Taylor as Bert Thompson * Xavier Horan as Phineas O'Driscoll, husband of Carol * Sophie Hambleton as Carol O'Driscoll, wife of Phineas * Reef Ireland as Wolfgang "Wolf" West , Ted and Rita West's son *

Ashleigh Cummings Ashleigh Cummings is an Australian actress. She became known for her role as Robyn Mathers in '' Tomorrow, When the War Began''. The film, based on the book of the same name, earned Cummings a nomination for Best Young Actor at the 2010 Austra ...

Cheryl Miller Cheryl D. Miller (born January 3, 1964) is an American former basketball player. She was formerly a sideline reporter for NBA games on TNT Sports and also works for NBA TV as a reporter and analyst, having worked previously as a sportscaster fo ...

, Wolf's girlfriend/wife *

Jessica Grace Smith Jessica Grace Smith (born 18 February 1985) is a New Zealand actress, writer and director. Smith graduated from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School in 2009 with a Bachelor in Performing Arts (Acting). Smith played the role of Denny Miller on ...

Cheryl West Cheryl L. West (born October 23, 1965, Chicago) is an American playwright. Life West holds a degree from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. She worked as a social worker and taught before turning to playwriting. In 1990, she came to ...

, Wolf's wife

Recurring cast

* Will Hall as Mike McArthy; police detective * Jordan Mauger as Rod Nugent; shady pawn shop owner, Rita blackmails him into signing the Galleria over to her * Glen Levy as Darijo Doslic; neighbour/associate of the Wests * Patrick Tafa as Falani; friend of Wolf *

Joel Tobeck Joel Tobeck (born 2 June 1971 in Auckland, New Zealand) is an actor known for his roles in the television series ''Tangle'', ''The Doctor Blake Mysteries'', ''Xena Warrior Princess'', ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'', and '' Young Hercules'' ...

as Des McEwen; shady lawyer * Caleb Wells as Barry "Sparky" Gibbs; friend of Wolf, brother to Annemarie, son of Dougal * Jordan Mooney as Eric Grady; friend of Wolf *

Dean O'Gorman Dean Lance O'Gorman (born 1 December 1976) is a New Zealand actor, artist, and photographer. He played the dwarf Fíli in the ''Hobbit'' trilogy and the Norse God Bragi/Anders Johnson in the fantasy series ''The Almighty Johnsons''. He also po ...

as Evan Lace; local businessman * Hannah Marshall as Joanne; Evan's girlfriend * Laura Hill as Belinda Lace; Evan's wife, was in prison with Rita * Tim Carlsen as Terry; local constable * Stelios Yiakmis as Dave; protest group leader * Kirsten Ibbetson as Riana Adams; student, later cop, dated Bert * Salomé Grace as Chelsea Munroe; Ngaire & Lefty's middle daughter * Ella Shirtcliffe as Lisa Munroe; Ngaire & Lefty's youngest daughter *

Jodie Dorday Jodie Dorday is a New Zealand actress, known for her appearances on the television series ''Burying Brian'' (2008). Filmography Awards * 1999 – ''Best Supporting Actress'' for ''Via Satellite'' References External links * Jodie Dord ...

as Trish Miller; Cheryl's mother * Jessie Lawrence as Jeanette Miller; Cheryl's older sister * Lily Powell as Mandy Miller; Cheryl's younger sister *

Shane Cortese Shane Cortese (born 13 August 1968) is a New Zealand actor and singer. He is perhaps best known for his role of Mac on Nothing Trivial, Loki on the Almighty Johnsons and Hayden Peters on hit show '' Outrageous Fortune''. He was also a runner-up ...

as Danny Peters; local brothel owner/pimp * Pierre Beasley as Hayden Peters; Danny's son * Elizabeth Dowden as Theresa Deering; one of Danny's workers; has a relationship with Lefty

Guest cast

* Matthew Arbuckle as Shane, local constable, has a crush on Cheryl * Jarred Blakiston as Vern Gardiner, neighbour of the Wests at their old house, has an affair with Rita, while Ted is in prison * Ross Brannigan as Father Murphy, Phineas' parish priest *

Alistair Browning Alistair Browning (8 February 1954 – 2 June 2019) was a New Zealand actor who won several awards for his work in film, television and theatre, best known for his roles in ''Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence'', ''The Lord of the Rings'', ''Rain'', ...

as Dieter Szabo, Rita's

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

father * Rachale Davies as Jackie, Cheryl's maternal aunt, Trish's sister * Geoffrey Dolan as Neville, a country farmer, on who Lefty sets up a burglary * Wesley Dowdell as Dick Spiller, father to Aaron (played Aaron in Outrageous Fortune) * Peter Elliott as Frankie Figgs, shady businessman and nemesis of the Wests *

David Fane David Rodney Fane (born 28 December 1966) is a New Zealand actor of Samoan descent. Early life and education Fane was educated at St. Pauls College in Grey Lynn. Career Fane got into acting quite late and trained at the New Zealand Drama ...

as Ofisa Falani (Senior) *

Eve Gordon } Eve Gordon (also known as Eve Bennett-Gordon) is an American actress. Her television roles include playing Marilyn Monroe in the Emmy Award-winning miniseries ''A Woman Named Jackie'', Congressional aide Jordan Miller in the short-lived sit ...

as Pat, an old friend of Rita's *

Andrew Grainger Andrew Grainger (born 1965) is an English theatre and film actor. A native of the United Kingdom, Grainger moved to Castor Bay, Auckland, New Zealand in 2007, where he is active in both theatre and television productions, but continues to appea ...

as Declan Corke, likely grandfather to Franklin (Outrageous Fortune) * Taylor Hall as Allen Markham, car dealer * Jason Hodzelmans as Brian, neighbour of the Wests, Wendy's husband * Jamie Irvine as

Marty Johnstone Christopher Martin "Marty" Johnstone (1951–1979) was a New Zealand drug trafficker born in Auckland. The former Takapuna Grammar pupil was dubbed "Mr Asia" by the '' Auckland Star'' newspaper in August 1978 in a series of articles by Pat Booth. ...

Michelle Langstone Michelle Langstone (born 30 January 1979) is a New Zealand actress who has been in many films and television series over the years in both New Zealand, and in Australia. She starred as Dr. Katherine "Kat" Manx in the television series ''Power ...

as Bianca, daughter of Frankie Figgs and older sister of Krystle * John Leigh as Dougal Gibbs, an associate of Ted, father to Sparky and Annemarie * Gabriel McArtney as Captain Hook (

Dave McArtney David Ewan McArtney (5 April 1951 – 15 April 2013) was a New Zealand musician and songwriter. He is best known for his work with the band Hello Sailor and his band Dave McArtney & The Pink Flamingos. In 1989, McArtney returned to university, ...

), vocalist/guitarist of Hello Sailor * Jaime McDermott as Annemarie Gibbs, Sparky's sister and daughter to Dougal * Laura McGoldrick as Wendy, neighbour of the Wests * Dra McKay as Elsa Szabo, Rita's mother (Season 4–6) *

Toni Potter Toni Potter (born ) is a New Zealand actress, best known for her role on the New Zealand medical drama, ''Shortland Street''. Early life Potter grew up with her sister, mother and father who was in the army in Papakura, Waiouru and Upper Hutt. ...

as Mary Peters, wife to Danny, mother to Hayden (Season 4) *

Alison Quigan Alison Marie Quigan (born 1952) is a New Zealand actress, director and playwright. Biography In 1978, Quigan trained at the Theatre Corporate Actors School in Auckland. She has worked as an actor in Auckland, Palmerston North and Christchurch, a ...

as Old Lady *

John Rawls John Bordley Rawls (; February 21, 1921 – November 24, 2002) was an American moral, legal and political philosopher in the liberal tradition. Rawls received both the Schock Prize for Logic and Philosophy and the National Humanities Medal in 1 ...

as Gang Leader, of "The Horsemen" gang Wolf is coerced into joining (Season 2) *

Ilona Rodgers Ilona Jeannette Rodgers (born 28 April 1942) is an actress of stage, television and film. Born in Harrogate, West Riding of Yorkshire, where she started her career, she later went on to appear in New Zealand and Australian productions. Rodger ...

as Grandma Miller, Cheryl's paternal grandmother (Season 4) * Renee Sheridan as Maureen, Cheryl's maternal aunt, Trish's sister (Season 4) *

Rima Te Wiata Heather Rima Te Wiata (born 15 March 1963) is a New Zealand singer, comedian and stage, film and television actress. Early life Te Wiata was born in London, the only child of opera singer Inia Te Wiata and actress Beryl Te Wiata. She is of ...

as Iris, Ted's bookie (Season 4–6) * Roz Turnbull as Sonia Stephens, Rochelle's mum (played Rochelle Stephens in Outrageous Fortune) (Season 5) *

Nicole Whippy Nicole Whippy (1977 or 1978) is a New Zealand actress who has been in a number of television series and is best known for her role as Kasey Mason in the hit comedy-drama '' Outrageous Fortune''. She is also known for her current role as Cece Ki ...

as Kasey's mum (played Kasey in Outrageous Fortune) (Season 4) *

Scott Wills Scott Wills (born 1971) is a New Zealand actor who has starred in several films and has also appeared on television and theatre. He won twice the prize of the best actor in New Zealand film and television awards. Life and career Wills studied at M ...

as Buck, gang member of "The Horsemen" (Season 2)

Production

In July 2014,

approved funding of

NZ$ The New Zealand dollar ( mi, tāra o Aotearoa; sign: $, NZ$; code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New Zea ...

4.8 million for the miniseries. On 28 July 2015, NZ on Air approved funding of

7.6 million for a second series, on 2 August 2016

6.6 million was approved for a third series and on 24 July 2017

6.5 million was approved for a fourth series. In September an additional

1.2 million was approved for series four.

Filming

Filming for series one commenced on 12 October and concluded on 17 December 2014. Filming for series two commenced on 27 September 2015 and concluded on 19 January 2016. Filming for series three commenced on 30 October 2016 and concluded on 3 February 2017. Filming for series four commenced on 19 November 2017 and concluded on 18 March 2018.

Music

''Westside: The Original Soundtrack'' was released for digital download on 8 July 2015 and CD on 10 July 2015. It peaked at number nineteen in New Zealand. ''Music from Westside Series Two'' was released for digital download on 1 July 2016

Charts

;Series 1

Release

Broadcast

Series 2 premiered in New Zealand on 12 June 2016 and series 3 premiered on 10 July 2017. Series 1 premiered in Australia on

9Gem 9Gem is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, launched by the Nine Network in September 2010. The channel provides general entertainment and movie programming, from which the original name "GEM" is derived. History Nine N ...

on 2 December 2015, and series 2 premiered on 8 August 2016.

Home media

Series 1 is available on the

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

in Australia.

Series overview

Episodes

Series 1 (2015)

Series 2 (2016)

Series 3 (2017)

Series 4 (2018)

Series 5 (2019)

Series 6 (2020)

Awards and nominations

C21's International Drama Awards

New York Festivals International Film & TV Awards

New Zealand Television Awards

New Zealand Television Craft Awards

References

General references * * * *

External links

* * * at

* * at

{{Outrageous Fortune (TV series) 2010s New Zealand television series 2020s New Zealand television series 2015 New Zealand television series debuts 2020 New Zealand television series endings English-language television shows New Zealand comedy-drama television series Prequel television series Television productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic Television shows filmed in New Zealand Television shows funded by NZ on Air Television series by All3Media Television series by South Pacific Pictures Television series set in the 1970s Television series set in the 1980s Television series set in the 1990s Television shows set in Auckland Three (TV channel) original programming