Westside (TV series)

Westside
Genre	Comedy-drama
Created by	Rachel Lang James Griffin
Written by	Rachel Lang James Griffin
Directed by	Mark Beesley Murray Keane Simon Bennett
Starring	Antonia Prebble David de Lautour Dan Musgrove Esther Stephens Todd Emerson Pana Hema-Taylor Xavier Horan Sophie Hambleton
Opening theme	"Watch Your Back" by Hello Sailor
Country of origin	New Zealand
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	6 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Chris Bailey Kelly Martin
Producer(s)	John Laing
Cinematography	Marty Smith
Running time	44–45 minutes
Production company(s)	South Pacific Pictures
Distributor	All3Media International
Release
Original network	TV3
Picture format	HDTV 1080i
Audio format	HD stereo
Original release	31 May 2015 – present
Chronology
Related shows	Outrageous Fortune
External links
Official website
Production website

Westside is a New Zealand comedy-drama television series created by Rachel Lang and James Griffin^[1] for South Pacific Pictures. It is a prequel to Outrageous Fortune, and chronicles the lives of Ted and Rita West in 1970s Auckland. The first series aired from 31 May to 5 July 2015 on TV3.

On 28 July 2015, NZ on Air announced funding of the show for a second series,^[2] which is scheduled to return in 2016.^[3] It will be set in the 1980s.^[4]

Plot

Set in the 1970s, it features a "Westie" couple, and stars Antonia Prebble and David de Lautour as Rita and Ted West. In the first episode, set in 1974, it features John Walker beating Rod Dixon in the 1500 metres at the 1974 Commonwealth Games. 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.^[5]

Cast and characters

Main cast Antonia Prebble as Rita West,[6] wife of Ted and mother to Wolf David de Lautour as Theodore "Ted" West,[6] husband of Rita and father to Wolf Dan Musgrove as Lefty Munroe,[6] husband of Ngaire and father to Desiree Esther Stephens as Ngaire Munroe,[6] wife of Lefty and mother to Desiree Todd Emerson as Bjelke "Bilkey" van Heeder[6] Pana Hema-Taylor as Bert Thompson[6] Xavier Horan as Phineas O'Driscoll,[6] husband of Carol Sophie Hambleton as Carol O'Driscoll,[6] wife of Phineas Reef Ireland as Wolfgang "Wolf" West[7] (series 2), Ted and Rita West's son Recurring cast Will Hall as Detective Mike McArthy[8] Liam Ferguson as Wolfgang "Wolf" West[9] (4 episodes; series 1), Ted and Rita West's son Patrick Tafa as Falani[10] (4 episodes)

Guest cast Reon Bell as Young Wolfgang "Wolf" West[11] (2 episodes; series 1), Ted and Rita West's son Jordan Mauger as Rod Nugent[8] (2 episodes) Jarred Blakiston as Vern Gardiner[12] (1 episode) Angelina Cottrell as Young Desiree Munroe (1 episode), Lefty and Ngaire Munroe's daughter Eve Gordon as Auntie Pat (1 episode) Jamaica Vaughan as Maria Doslic (1 episode), Dafna's 13-year-old daughter Tatiana Hotere as Dafna Doslic (1 episode), Maria's mother Glen Levy as Darijo Doslic[13] (1 episode), Dafna younger brother David Fane as Falani Senior[10] (1 episode) Joel Tobeck as Des McEwen (1 episode) Jamie Irvine as Marty Johnstone (1 episode) Gabriel McArtney as Captain Hook (Dave McArtney)[14] (1 episode), vocalist/guitarist of Hello Sailor Caleb Wells as Barry "Sparky" Gibbs (2 episodes) Jaime McDermott as Anne-Marie Gibbs (1 episode) John Leigh as Dougal Gibbs (1 episode) John Rawls as Gang Leader (1 episode) Natalie Welch as Desiree Munroe (1 episode) Jordan Mooney as Eric (1 episode)

Production

In July 2014, NZ on Air approved funding of NZ$4.8 million for the miniseries.^[15] On 28 July 2015, NZ on Air approved funding of NZ$7.6 million for a second series.^[2]

Filming

Filming for series one commenced on 12 October^[6] and concluded on 17 December 2014.^[16] Filming for series two commenced on 27 September 2015^[4] and concluded on 19 January 2016.^[17]

Music

Westside: The Original Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by Various artists
Released	8 July 2015
Genre	Rock
Label	South Pacific Pictures

Westside: The Original Soundtrack was released for digital download on 8 July 2015^[18] and CD on 10 July 2015.^[19]

Track listing
No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"Watch Your Back"	Hello Sailor	3:57
2.	"Yesterday Was Just the Beginning of My Life"	Mark Williams	3:29
3.	"Stuff and Nonsense"	Split Enz	4:20
4.	"Ashes and Matches"	Doug Jerebine	3:23
5.	"Lovely Lady"	John Hanlon	3:31
6.	"Rust in My Car"	Citizen Band	3:49
7.	"Bliss"	Th' Dudes	5:00
8.	"Latin Lover"	Hello Sailor	3:04
9.	"Apple Wine"	John Hanlon	3:18
10.	"Another Great Divide"	Split Enz	3:37
11.	"Computer Games"	Mi-Sex	3:53
12.	"Going Steady"	Bitch	3:31
13.	"Good Morning Mr Rock 'n' Roll"	Headband	2:46
14.	"Pretty Girl"	Hogsnort Rupert	3:30
15.	"I Need Your Love"	Golden Harvest	3:50
16.	"Join Together" (Commonwealth Games Theme Song)	Steve Allen	3:01
17.	"Hey Baby"	La De Da's	2:51
18.	"Be Mine Tonight"	Th' Dudes	6:07
19.	"Sunshine" (digital download-only track)	Dragon	4:54
20.	"Voodoo Lady"	Dalvanius	3:44
21.	"Jezebel"	Jon Stevens	3:19
22.	"Are You Old Enough"	Dragon	4:06
23.	"Luck's on Your Table"	Sharon O'Neill	3:13
24.	"Gutter Black"	Hello Sailor	2:53

Charts

Chart (2015)	Peak position
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[20]	19

Series overview

Series		Episodes	Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
	1	6	31 May 2015	5 July 2015
	2	10[2]	TBA	TBA

Episodes

Series 1 (2015)

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Background event	Original air date
1	"All That Impedes Thee from the Golden Round"	Mark Beesley	Rachel Lang	1974 British Commonwealth Games	31 May 2015
2	"Is't Far You Ride?"	Mark Beesley	James Griffin	1975 New Zealand general election	7 June 2015
3	"Instruments of Darkness Tell Us Truths"	Murray Keane	Rachel Lang	New Zealand dawn raids	14 June 2015
4	"Our Poison'd Chalice"	Murray Keane	James Griffin	Marty Johnstone ("Mr Asia") drug deals	21 June 2015
5	"Dire Combustion"	Simon Bennett	James Griffin	1978 Bastion Point arrests Punk subculture	28 June 2015
6	"But for a Wayward Son"	Simon Bennett	Rachel Lang	Carless days in New Zealand	5 July 2015

Home media

Title	Set details	DVD release dates
		Region 4[21]
Westside — Series One	Discs: 1 Episodes: 6	8 July 2015

References

1. Jenkin, Lydia (24 May 2015). "Westside: Outrageous Fortune rewinds the clock". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
2. "$20 million invested in new New Zealand drama". NZ on Air. 28 July 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
3. "We are stoked to say that NZ On Air has announced funding for SEASON 2 of Westside. Ten episodes coming at you in 2016! #WestsideForever #WestsideTV". Outrageous Fortune & Westside. 27 July 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
4. Simich, Ricardo (30 September 2015). "Spy: Westside goes 80s in leather, lace and leopard print". The New Zealand Herald. New Zealand Media and Entertainment. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
5. "TV picks: Westside, the Outrageous Fortune prequel". The New Zealand Herald. 31 May 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
6. "Westside Story Casting Line-Up Revealed". TV3. MediaWorks New Zealand. 13 October 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
7. Barclay, Keith (30 October 2015). "Westside names new Wolf". Screenz. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
8. Spink, Emily (9 June 2015). "New Zealand actor Will thanks former high school for success". Stuff.co.nz (Fairfax New Zealand). Retrieved 28 October 2015.
9. Cawley, Rose (3 July 2015). "Westside actor takes on the globe". Stuff.co.nz (Fairfax New Zealand). Retrieved 28 October 2015.
10. "Then and now: Outrageous Fortune v. Westside". The New Zealand Herald. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
11. Mathers, Joanna (7 June 2015). "Being on-screen a big buzz for acting kids". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 27 October 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
12. "Television." (PDF). Johnson & Laird. p. 1. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
13. Allbury, Isobel (7 June 2015). "Former stunt-man becomes Westside actor". Stuff.co.nz (Fairfax New Zealand). Retrieved 28 October 2015.
14. Gardiner, Irene (20 June 2015). "Five greats from Hello Sailor". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
15. "Funding Decisions". NZ on Air. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
16. "THAT'S A WRAP!". Outrageous Fortune & Westside on Facebook. 17 December 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
17. "This is the real #Westside whanau.". Outrageous Fortune & Westside on Facebook. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
18. "Westside (Original Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Apple Inc. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
19. "Westside: The Original Soundtrack". Mighty Ape. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
20. "Charts.org.nz – Soundtrack – Westside". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
21. Region 4 DVD set:
    • "Westside". Mighty Ape. Retrieved 9 July 2015.

General references

• "Sneak peek at Outrageous Fortune prequel Westside". Stuff (Fairfax). 12 May 2015.
• "Honouring the legend of Ted West". Stuff (Fairfax). 22 May 2015.
• "Antonia Prebble on fame nudity and ugg boots". Stuff (Fairfax). 23 May 2015.
• Baillie, Russell (31 May 2015). "Westside's debut episode". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 3 June 2015.

External links

• Official website
• Production website
• Westside at South Pacific Pictures
• Westside at the Internet Movie Database