# New Zealand Spy (2026)

> Three unlikely recruits respond to a New Zealand intelligence agency's newspaper ad and stumble into a world of espionage, betrayal and absurd escalation.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/1104981

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 6
- Episode runtime: 23 min
- Status: Returning Series
- Genres: comedy, drama
- Created by: Paul Williams
- Network: TVNZ 2, TVNZ+
- Cast: Paul Williams, Rose Matafeo, Bret McKenzie, Joe Thomas, Claudia O'Doherty, Andy Lee, Tony Armstrong, Sam Campbell
- TMDB rating: 7.4/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt42321618/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: deadpan, absurd, wry, irreverent, breezy

## Synopsis

New Zealand Spy (2026-present) is a New Zealand comedy drama series created by Paul Williams and produced by Kevin & Co for TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+. Writer and star Paul Williams plays Michael Brown and Michael Riviera, a character drawn into a murky espionage world alongside Rose Matafeo as Sue Nightingale and Joe Thomas as Michael Anderson. Bret McKenzie appears as the agency's Boss, with Claudia O'Doherty as Misty Atwood and Andy Lee as Dennis Greene rounding out the principal cast. The engine of the show is a New Zealand Intelligence Agency desperate for recruits, which places a newspaper advertisement and receives responses from only three decidedly unlikely candidates. Thrown headfirst into secret operations, this mismatched trio fumbles through betrayal, romance and escalating absurdity, with each episode built around a fresh bungled assignment. Told in a single six-episode season of roughly twenty-three minutes each, the series plays as a compact, self-contained run rather than a sprawling saga. Its register is deadpan and wry, with the danger of espionage repeatedly undercut by farce and awkward human warmth. Fans of Get Smart, Flight of the Conchords and Burn Notice will find resonance in its blend of spy-thriller trappings and understated comedy, all grounded in a distinctly kiwi sensibility.

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- [Utopia (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/56509)
- [The Rook (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/68275)
- [Traitors (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/73675)
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- [W1A (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/55542)
- [Pine Gap (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/70459)
- [The Wrong Mans (2013)](https://ember.film/tv/53782)
- [Flight of the Conchords (2007)](https://ember.film/tv/2606)

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