Things are going to look a little different this year. Here’s what to expect.

Good news, Shortland Street fans: after a well-earned summer holiday, New Zealand’s longest running drama returns to TVNZ2 and TVNZ+ tonight. Ahead of us is a fresh year of living, loving and laughing in the nation’s most action-packed hospital, as Ferndale’s doctors and nurses continue to have lives in their hands, pain in their hearts and a whole lot of hanky-panky in the supply cupboard. 

But this year, things are a little different for Shortland Street. The show will now screen three nights a week instead of five, several new characters are joining the series, and viewers can expect a different style of storytelling. Change can be hard to accept even when you are Chris Warner’s beard, so ahead of the soap’s return, here are five things you need to know about Shortland Street in 2025. 

Shortland Street is now on three nights a week

For the past 32 years, Shortland Street has screened five nights a week, but TVNZ recently announced that the soap would reduce to three episodes per week in 2025. It’s a reflection of the changing habits in television and a tough commercial environment, but Shortland Street has approached the change with a sense of optimism. 

Head writer Jessica Joy Wood told The Spinoff that the move to three nights a week (Monday to Wednesday) is a chance to revamp the show’s style of storytelling, and that this year will deliver more compelling drama that reaches new levels of intensity. 

“Each week, we mix longer term character arcs with shorter, self-contained stories that emerge from our medical cases,” Wood says of the show’s new direction. “We call each week a “chapter”— three episodes that build together into a complete story. You’ll get a taste of new challenges in the first episode, things heat up in the second, and it all wraps up in the third, leaving our audiences with a satisfying and engaging Shortland Street experience.”

This year’s drama will be divided into four mini-seasons

For everything there is a season: a time to be born, a time to die, and a time to introduce four “mini-seasons” into an iconic medical soap. This year’s drama will be split up into four smaller seasons, with each season focusing on one or two big storylines involving the show’s core characters. Each season will build to “an exciting one-hour episode that raises the stakes,” Wood teases. There will also be a greater medical focus in the storylines. 

The first season (launching tonight) is titled New Blood, and promises plenty of fast-paced and intense scenes, as well as new sets and new characters.

The soundtrack will showcase music from young New Zealand artists

This year Shortland Street is partnering with Play It Strange, a local charitable trust that supports songwriting for New Zealand secondary school students. The collaboration means that all music featured in the New Blood season will be created and performed by Play It Strange alumni, and will celebrate the talents of several emerging local musicians. 

Since the trust began two decades ago, Play It Strange has helped create over 7,000 songs and seen over 1,000 songs professionally recorded and released. Shortland Street’s New Blood season involves nine young NZ artists including 19-year-old Billie Carey, whose song featured during the 2024 Shortland Street cliffhanger. 

Say hello to a stranger

With nurse Nicole in the slammer and poor old Harper now saving lives in heaven, there’s room for some new medical talent in Ferndale. Three new staff have joined Shortland Street hospital for the New Blood season: Dr Cleo Atwell (Madeline McCarthy), Dr Poppy Achari (Tessa Rao) and nurse Te Manawanui (Nepia Takuira-Mita), while ambulance officer Logan (Carlos Muller) returns to Ferndale. How will they fare entering an ED that is still reeling from the tragic events of 2024 – and will they ever top Conan O’Brien’s majestic medical cameo? 

Let’s recap last year’s dramatic ending

Speaking of majestic, the climatic 2024 cliffhanger delivered a deadly dose of drama that will have ramifications for this year’s storylines. In last year’s final episode, Drew and Harper fought for their lives after a motorcycle accident, with Harper carking it in the hospital she loved more than a hot poonami through her hallway. Harper’s best pal Nicole confessed to murder and was hauled off to jail by Siale from The Traitors NZ, leaving Nicole’s sad wife Maeve to be even sadder, while a naughty Esther was fired as hospital CEO. 

As for Chris Warner? He had an unexpected family reunion when his brother Guy flew into town, accompanied by three of Chris’ sons – including double-murderer Harry. Guy announced that Chris was no longer trusted with the squillions of dollars in the family trust, which means all he has left are some magnificent follicles and an attitude that just won’t quit. Could this mean Chris Warner will have to survive on Vegemite on toast like the rest of us? Good luck to one and all.

Shortland Street returns to TVNZ2 on Monday 10 February at 7pm and streams on TVNZ+.