A closer look at some of the homegrown talent currently commanding television screens around the globe.

The new season of The White Lotus hit our screens this week, and with it a familiar face in New Zealand actor Morgana O’Reilly. To secure a role in one of the world’s most highly anticipated series is a huge achievement, but O’Reilly is far from the only New Zealander in a big international television production right now: Melanie Lynskey is back for a third season of Yellowjackets, Urzila Carlson has a starring role in Amy Schumer’s new Netflix rom-com, and Thomasin McKenzie is popping up all over the place, outshining acting legends like Bill Nighy. And there’s even more to come, with Jay Ryan and Bailey Poching both starring in North of North, an upcoming Netflix comedy series set in the Arctic.  

These talented New Zealanders join the likes of Anna Paquin, KJ Apa, Rhys Darby and Temuera Morrison, who also began their careers in Aotearoa before making it big on a variety of international hit shows – but have we ever had so many New Zealanders on international television shows at the same time? 

Let’s take a closer look at some of the homegrown talent currently commanding television screens around the globe. 

Morgana O’Reilly, The White Lotus (Neon)

After starring in local dramas like Friends Like Her and Inside, Morgana O’Reilly’s latest performance will be seen by millions in the critically acclaimed, award-winning satire The White Lotus. As part of an impressive international ensemble cast, O’Reilly plays Pam, a staff member working at the five-star resort who must cater to every whim of her spoiled guests. The season three premiere broke rating records, and O’Reilly recently told The Spinoff that the role is a career highlight. “It was such a joy,” she said. “It’s one of those shows where you always ask people ‘have you seen White Lotus’ and if they say ‘no’ you just feel so jealous that they still get to watch it all for the very first time.” 

Melanie Lynskey, Yellowjackets (Neon)

Award-winning HBO psychological drama Yellowjackets recently returned for a third gripping season, with Melanie Lynskey continuing to steal every scene as plane crash survivor Shauna. The role won Lynskey a Critics’ Choice Award for best actress, as well as two lead actress Emmy nominations, but it’s not the only international hit show Lynskey has starred in in recent months – she also wowed audiences for her performances in recent dramas like The Last of Us, Candy and The Tattooist of Auchswitz. 

Luciane Buchanan, The Night Agent (Netflix)

After New Zealand-Tongan actor Luciane Buchanan burst onto screens around the world as Rose in political thriller The Night Agent, her name reportedly became one of the most searched names on IMBD. While Buchanan was known in Aotearoa for her roles in shows like Filthy Rich and The Blue Rose, as well as writing and starring in the award-winning short film Lea Tupu’anga/Mother Tongue, it was Night Agent – one of Netflix’s most watched shows – that bought her a new level of stardom. “With Netflix being so global, work like this is seen by so many people. I think a lot of people were like ‘Who’s this random girl? Where is she from? We’ve never seen her’”, Buchanan told RNZ last month. 

Rose Matafeo, Junior Taskmaster (TVNZ+)

Not only has comedian, writer and actor Rose Matafeo competed in British comedy series Taskmaster, she’s done what no other contestant has done before: ended up in charge of her own Taskmaster spinoff. As the Taskmaster in Taskmaster Junior, Matafeo is responsible for judging the creative, unpredictable efforts of young contestants aged between nine and 12 as they compete in a series of pointless and ridiculous tasks. As Matafeo told The Spinoff in an upcoming My Life in TV, her time in the Taskmaster universe was “as fun as you’d imagine it would be. I know you always read interviews with people who’ve done Taskmaster who say that, and it’s like ‘surely not’. But for me, it was just the best.” 

Martin Henderson, Virgin River (Netflix)

Virgin River recently finished its sixth heartwarming season on Netflix, and with a seventh on the way, the cosy small-town drama has become one of the platform’s longest running English language shows. New Zealander Martin Henderson (Shortland Street, Grey’s Anatomy, Britney Spears’ ‘Toxic’ music video) has been there since the first episode, playing marine-turned-bar owner Jack, lover of both a soft check shirt and the town’s new nurse-practitioner Mel. Henderson also made his directorial debut on the show in season six. 

Grace Palmer, Animal Control (TVNZ+)

Grace Palmer (Good Grief, Shortland Street) pulls off a rare feat in American sitcom Animal Control: she speaks with a New Zealand accent. Palmer stars alongside Joel McHale as an animal control officer who has to deal with an endless array of animal-related predicaments, and she told the NZ Herald that not only has the breakthrough role changed her life, but it’s also one of the most fun jobs she’s ever had. “When you’re working on a comedy you laugh all day, every day. Or you are trying not to laugh and you’re trying to make other people laugh. It is such a joy.”

Urzila Carlson, Kinda Pregnant (Netflix)

The South African-born New Zealand comedian delivers loads of laughs as the outrageous school guidance counsellor in Netflix’s new romantic comedy Kinda Pregnant, a film created by, written and starring Amy Schumer. After being offered the job through a late-night social media DM from Schumer, Carlson puts her latest global success down to years of dedication: “This is sort of the reward, almost, of a lot of hard work by a lot of people in my team to get me to this point,” she said in a recent interview. “There is no luck… it’s just grabbing opportunities and working really hard at those opportunities as they come up.”

Rose McIver, Ghosts (TVNZ+)

Titirangi-born Rose McIver is the star of Ghosts, the US adaptation of the BBC comedy about a couple who inherit a country house full of lively ghosts. Now in its fourth season, and available to watch on TVNZ+ McIver plays Sam, a journalist who has a near-death experience and then realises that she can communicate with a variety of ghosts from American’s history. Having also played the main role in iZombie for five seasons, McIver reflected on her international success in this interview with The Wrap. “I’ve been incredibly lucky to be signed on shows with great creators who have ideas that have longevity,” she said. “We’re all so insanely appreciative for the jobs we have.” 

Anthony Starr and Karl Urban, The Boys (Prime Video)

Not one, but two New Zealanders star in Prime Video’s The Boys, with both Anthony Starr (Outrageous Fortune, Banshee) and Karl Urban (Star Trek, Dredd) going head-to-head as enemies in the superhero drama. “We’re a couple of Kiwis on this show, but we’ve come to this point from different trajectories,” Starr said to Urban, as they discussed their journeys from becoming actors in New Zealand to appearing in one of TV’s most action-packed series. “What’s great about this show is that we’re finally here.”  

Simone Kessell, The Night Agent (Netflix) and Yellowjackets (Neon)

As well as playing Luciane Buchanan’s aunt in the Night Agent, Kessell has also impressed viewers as the adult Lottie Andrews in seasons two and three of HBO’s Yellowjackets (in which she appears alongside fellow New Zealander Melanie Lynskey). It’s a role Kessell secured after decades of hard work both in Aotearoa and the US, appearing in shows and films like Our Flag Means Death, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Muru. “I really feel like I’ve come into my own as an actress after working for 30 years,” Kessell told Vanity Fair in 2023. “You know, I’m not new here.”

Cliff Curtis, Kaos (Netflix)

Kaos burst onto screens late last year as a clever retelling of classical mythology in a contemporary setting, with a cast that included Jeff Goldblum, David Thewles, Janet McTeer, Billie Piper – and our own Cliff Curtis. The star of Fear of the Walking Dead and Once Were Warriors delivered a mesmerising performance as the “chill yet stressed Poseidon”, according to The Spinoff’s own Kaos super-fan Claire Mabey. “Great acting, super storylines, highly recommend.” In an act surely to enrage both Kaos fans and the god of the sea, Kaos was cancelled after only one season. 

Thomasin McKenzie, Joy (Netflix)

Thomasin McKenzie continues her impressive run of international roles with the lead in recent Netflix film Joy. Starring alongside James Norton and Bill Nighy, McKenzie plays Jean, a real-life nurse-turned-researcher who had a pivotal role in creating the world’s first “test-tube baby”. “Joy is a cosy British biopic celebrating a turning point in human history that many in the community tried to erase,” Alex Casey wrote, praising McKenzie’s compelling performance. “McKenzie is the heart of the film, and should probably win a Nobel Prize for out-sassing Bill Nighy alone.”

The White Lotus is back for season three. Here’s what we made of episode one. 

The third White Lotus season rinses and repeats – and thank God for that. Turns out there is enough comedic and dramatic juice in resort-set ensemble satires on privilege in the modern world, with an updated riff on upstairs-downstairs, to fill any number of ostentatious swimming pools. From the ornate opening credits, complete with intoxicating music and beguiling fever-dream detail, this Thai-set installation unfolds as did the first two: a flash-forward death followed by a parade of incoming guests, with characteristics ranging from the awkward to the grotesque, sometimes both. 

In moments the first episode feels excessively expository, but I remember feeling much the same in season two, and that was quickly forgotten – there’s a lot of plot to unfold, and there seems to be more backstory to unpack here than previous seasons, too, with the whiff of organised crime and financial investigations already stinking up the wellness incense. Whether or not I can get used to Parker Posey’s Big Performance (hoping to fill the gap left, perhaps, by Jennifer Coolidge) I’m less sure. But these are quibbles. It’s a joy to have White Lotus back; every scene is exquisite. / Toby Manhire

I kept waiting for the beat to drop on the new theme song so it would become a tuuuuune like season two’s – you know, when you have no choice but to start dancing like this or this or this. But it didn’t. Which distracted me from the quite beautiful and no doubt clue-filled opening credits. Not a hell of a lot happened in the first episode, to be honest (too much nice Thai scenery, not enough action? Just the right amount of monkeys though). But I’m certainly intrigued enough to tune in next week. Early pick for favourite character: Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood from Sex Education). I’m looking forward to seeing her on the lash with Chloe, who seems promising – she’s the girlfriend of the dastardly Greg (who made a shock return at the end of the episode – I had a feeling that bastard would be back). Hopefully they’ll be this season’s version of iconic season two duo Lucia and Mia. Early pick for most unpleasant and therefore probably most entertaining character: Saxon the sex pest, who shares some decidedly creepy energy with his siblings. / Alice Neville 

That was just alright. The thing that’s so great about White Lotus is how on the nose all of the social commentary is, to the point of it all being a bit campy (see Tanya season one and two). Now it feels a bit too self-aware and desperate to be like “hey, these rich people are really shallow and bad, did you ever think about that?” – like Parker Posey’s character falling asleep at the dinner table because she’s too drugged up because, duh, she’s a wealthy mother, or every conversation between that friend group of three beautiful, rich white women being about how much they envy and secretly hate each other, because that’s what beautiful, rich white women do. There’s the classic couple with the dysfunctional relationship that they can’t leave, because who else will take them on a nice holiday to the White Lotus? Fuck, I really hope those weirdo siblings don’t do some weird incest shit to each other.

Otherwise, the show at least looks delicious. I love the soundtrack. I love how every other shot is of Thailand. I love Natasha Rothwell returning as Belinda (justice for her!!!!!). I am yet to be bored by the monkeys. / Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

Mix Master Mike (White) is back to surprise and delight us with his casting genius in the third season of HBO’s mischievous and misanthropic hit show. Walter Goggins, Parker Posey, nepo-babies Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sam Nivola are some new faces this season. A trio of “cougar” friends, played by Leslie Bibb, Michelle Monaghan and the world champion of barely concealed emotion, Carrie Coon, are an early favourite for me, rivalled only in the promise of a great unravelling by the Ratliff family. By the end of the first episode, Coon’s character has already broken, wailing in her villa, Saxon Ratliff is altogether too cocky, and the Ratliff mother, Victoria (Posey with another brilliant North Carolina accent), is either about to become most beloved of the season or most hated.

As always, White has something to say about entitlement and our false sense of control. Within minutes of the opening sequence, a monkey is perched in a tree looking pissed off or ambivalent about our illusory dominion over the environment, as a meditative therapist helps Belinda’s son relax by telling him to calm his “chattering monkey mind”. Cannot wait to find out which of these deliciously unlikable characters is dead, and who might have done it.  / Anna Rawhiti-Connell

Brave disclosure: I have never really “got” The White Lotus and I truly just watch it because everyone else watches it and I don’t want to feel left out. It makes me yawn! Maybe it’s because reality television has poisoned scripted shows about bad people forever for me – find me more jaw-dropping rich drongos than The Kardashians, or more toxic character reveals than at a Married at First Sight dinner party? Nevertheless, what has stuck after the first episode was Parker Posey doing the hugest swing since she lost the Busy Bee in Best in Show (interestingly, another character acting entitled in a hotel). I’m also still thinking quite a lot about the trio of old girlfriends hellbent on one-upping each other in terms of their careers, their plastic surgeons, and how close they are with Queen Bee famous actor Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan). After droning on about how incredible, gorgeous, stunning each other looked, the moment that Jaclyn and Kate (Leslie Bibb) turned to less-glam lawyer Laurie (Carrie Coon) and said “…and the work you do is so hard” really ached. No doubt they will completely fall apart, along with everything and everyone else. / Alex Casey

First things first: we need more Pam. Loved seeing New Zealand actor Morgana O’Reilly (Friends Like Her) pop up in episode one as the patient hotel staffer who could barely hide her contempt for the unsettling Ratliff family, even if it was for just a few brief minutes. The Ratliffs quickly set a high bar for dysfunctional behaviour (eldest son Saxon already seems to have hit peak creep, not sure I want to see where his storyline goes), but I loved the simmering tension between the three long-time girlfriends (Carrie Coon’s drunken blubbering was a delight) and enjoyed Chelsea’s frenetic outsider energy. At times it felt like the show almost revealed too much, too soon, so fingers crossed there’s still some unexpected mysteries to unfold about these characters through the season. Last night’s episode was beautifully lush and rich, all thick tropical forest and suffocating air, and while it mostly set up the drama to come, I’m already invested. Bring on next week. / Tara Ward

New episodes of The White Lotus come to Neon every Monday.