New Zealand’s Shortland Street is a landmark television drama that first aired in 1992 and has become the country’s most successful soap. During its three decades on air, it has generated thousands of episodes, launched careers, and become a fixture in Kiwi pop culture.
In 2025, the long-running soap’s format shifted. Instead of airing five nights a week, episodes are now broadcast on three nights (Monday to Wednesday), organised into four mini‑seasons each year, each with more compact, intense storytelling arcs. The show has been confirmed to return for a full season in 2026 thanks to funding from NZ On Air and government production rebates.
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Shortland Street is set in the fictional Ferndale Hospital, where personal and medical narratives intertwine. Doctors, nurses, patients, and their families navigate high-stakes procedures, ethical dilemmas, relationships, betrayals, and good ol’ workplace politics.
Head writer Jessica Joy Wood told the Spinoff that the recent shift in format intends to deliver a more “satisfying and engaging Shortland Street experience,” with each mini-season homing in on a central theme, culminating in a one-hour climax tying together all the loose ends. The show will retain its beloved tone, however, which sprinkles its medical drama base with a little comedy and ample romance.
Three new cast members were announced in 2025, with Madeleine McCarthy (Dr. Cleo Atwell), Nepia Takuira-Mita (nurse Te Manawanui), and Tessa Rao (Dr. Poppy Achari) joining the main lineup.
Of the shooting experience, James Rolleston (Kawe Osbourne) has noted the pace of filming is “so fast – there is not a lot of time for each scene like in the movies. You just get into the swing of the scene and you are on to the next, but it’s a fantastic opportunity...to grow as an actor and learn some different techniques.”
Marianne Willison and Andrea Kelland spent years as the chief decision-makers behind the core Shortland Street cast, with Willison casting the show from the ground up since 1992 and Kelland, who starred in the show as Ms. Dupree between 2002 and 2015, joining her in the 2010s.
From 2020 to 2022, casting was led by Mike Dwyer, co-founder of Barefoot Casting and, like Kelland, a former actor on the show. Dwyer emphasised the demand for actors who come prepared and can fully relate to their part. “The more you have your lines in your body and in your head, the more free you can be with the character,” he told the Spinoff.
Casting is now overseen by Claire Dougan, who serves as the show’s casting associate and intimacy coordinator. Like Dwyer, Dougan joined the production in 2020, bringing wide-ranging experience as an actor, educator, and casting professional to the table.
If you’re eager to join the Ferndale universe, start by securing an agent. That will put you in the mix for main cast and major guest roles.
In the meantime, practise shooting tight self-tapes and make sure you have a solid showreel, headshot, and CV ready to go. If and when sides come your way, drill them well, watch a recent episode or two, and think thoroughly about how you can bring your character to life in the audition room.