# Westside (New Zealand TV series)

Westside is a New Zealand comedy drama television series created by Rachel Lang and James Griffin for South Pacific Pictures. It is a prequel to Outrageous Fortune, and chronicles the lives of Ted and Rita West. The show aired from 31 May 2015 to 16 November 2020 on Three, formerly known as TV3.
Series 4 premiered on 9 July 2018. On 21 July 2018 NZ on Air announced funding for a fifth series which will consist of 10 episodes. On 19 July 2019, NZ on Air announced funding for a sixth and final series of Westside.

## Plot

The first series is 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.
The second series is set in 1981, and follows the Springbok Tour. The series starts with Rita returning home from prison to find the West household in disrepair. Throughout the course of the series Ted's gang plots to steal from the South Africans visiting New Zealand, preventing them from buying land, while Rita plans a job against developer Evan Lace.
The third series is set in 1982 and deals with the fallout from the Evan Lace job and Wolf's first meeting with his future wife, Cheryl.

## Cast and characters

This table shows the show's characters and the cast members who have portrayed them.
Note: Only those appearing in more than one episode appear in this list, and only when the actor contributes new material to an episode.
Color key:
* Series regular
* Appearances
* No appearances
| Character | Series | Series | Series | Series | Series | Series |
| Character | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Rita West | Antonia Prebble | Antonia Prebble | Antonia Prebble | Antonia Prebble | Antonia Prebble | Antonia Prebble |
| Ted West | David de Lautour | David de Lautour | David de Lautour | David de Lautour | David de Lautour | David de Lautour |
| Lefty Munroe | Dan Musgrove | Dan Musgrove | Dan Musgrove | Dan Musgrove | Dan Musgrove | Dan Musgrove |
| Ngaire Munroe | Esther Stephens | Esther Stephens | Esther Stephens | Esther Stephens | Esther Stephens | Esther Stephens |
| Bilkey van Heeder | Todd Emerson | Todd Emerson | Todd Emerson | Todd Emerson | Todd Emerson | Todd Emerson |
| Bert Thompson | Pana Hema-Taylor | Pana Hema-Taylor | Pana Hema-Taylor | Pana Hema-Taylor | Pana Hema-Taylor | Pana Hema-Taylor |
| Phineas O'Driscoll | Xavier Horan | Xavier Horan | Xavier Horan | Xavier Horan | Xavier Horan | Xavier Horan |
| Carol O'Driscoll | Sophie Hambleton | Sophie Hambleton | Sophie Hambleton | Sophie Hambleton | Sophie Hambleton | Sophie Hambleton |
| Wolf West | Reon Bell Liam Ferguson | Reef Ireland | Reef Ireland | Reef Ireland | Reef Ireland | Reef Ireland |
| Cheryl Miller | | | Ashleigh Cummings | Ashleigh Cummings | Jessica Grace Smith | Jessica Grace Smith |
| Recurring cast |||||||
| Mike McCarthy | Will Hall | Will Hall | Will Hall | Will Hall | | |
| Rod Nugent | Jordan Mauger | Jordan Mauger | | | | |
| Darijo Doslic | Glen Levy | Glen Levy | Glen Levy | Glen Levy | | |
| Falani | Patrick Tafa | Patrick Tafa | Patrick Tafa | Patrick Tafa | Patrick Tafa | Patrick Tafa |
| Des McEwen | Joel Tobeck | Joel Tobeck | | | | |
| Barry "Sparky" Gibbs | Caleb Wells | Caleb Wells | Caleb Wells | Caleb Wells | Caleb Wells | Caleb Wells |
| Eric Grady | Jordan Mooney | Jordan Mooney | Jordan Mooney | Jordan Mooney | Jordan Mooney | Jordan Mooney |
| Evan Lace | | Dean O'Gorman | Dean O'Gorman | | | |
| Joanne | | Hannah Marshall | | | | |
| Belinda Lace | | Laura Hill | Laura Hill | | | |
| Terry | | Tim Carlsen | | | | |
| Dave | | Stelios Yiakmis | | | | |
| Riana Adams | | Kirsten Ibbetson | Kirsten Ibbetson | Kirsten Ibbetson | Kirsten Ibbetson | |
| Chelsea Munroe | | Salomé Grace | Salomé Grace | Salomé Grace | | |
| Lisa Munroe | | Ella Shirtcliffe | Ella Shirtcliffe | Ella Shirtcliffe | | |
| Trish Miller | | | Jodie Dorday | Jodie Dorday | | |
| Jeanette Miller | | | Jessie Lawrence | Jessie Lawrence | | |
| Mandy Miller | | | Lily Powell | Lily Powell | Lily Powell | Lily Powell |
| Danny Peters | | | Shane Cortese | Shane Cortese | | |
| Hayden Peters | | | Pierre Beasley | Pierre Beasley | | |
| Theresa Deering | | | Elizabeth Dowden | Elizabeth Dowden | | |
| Frankie Figgs | | | | | Peter Elliott | Peter Elliott |
| Bianca Figgs | | | | | Michelle Langstone | Michelle Langstone |
| Krystle Figgs | | | | | Emily McKenzie | Emily McKenzie |
| Keith | | | | | Jason Wu | Jason Wu |
| Van and Jethro West | | | | | | Charlie Grey |
| Aroha | | | | | | Piimio Mei |

### Main cast

* Antonia Prebble as Rita West, wife of Ted and mother to Wolf. Prebble had previously starred as Rita's granddaughter Loretta West in Outrageous Fortune
* David de Lautour as Theodore "Ted" West, husband of Rita and father to Wolf
* Dan Musgrove as Russell "Lefty" Munroe, husband of Ngaire and father to Desiree, Chelsea and Lisa
* Esther Stephens as Ngaire Munroe, wife of Lefty and mother to Desiree, Chelsea and Lisa
* Todd Emerson as Bjelke "Bilkey" van Heeder
* Pana Hema-Taylor as Bert Thompson
* Xavier Horan as Phineas O'Driscoll, husband of Carol
* Sophie Hambleton as Carol O'Driscoll, wife of Phineas
* Reef Ireland as Wolfgang "Wolf" West (series 2–6), Ted and Rita West's son
* Ashleigh Cummings as Cheryl Miller (series 3–4), Wolf's girlfriend/wife
* Jessica Grace Smith as Cheryl West (series 5–6), Wolf's wife

### Recurring cast

* Will Hall as Mike McArthy; police detective
* Jordan Mauger as Rod Nugent; shady pawn shop owner, Rita blackmails him into signing the Galleria over to her
* Glen Levy as Darijo Doslic; neighbour/associate of the Wests
* Patrick Tafa as Falani; friend of Wolf
* Joel Tobeck as Des McEwen; shady lawyer
* Caleb Wells as Barry "Sparky" Gibbs; friend of Wolf, brother to Annemarie, son of Dougal
* Jordan Mooney as Eric Grady; friend of Wolf
* Dean O'Gorman as Evan Lace; local businessman
* Hannah Marshall as Joanne; Evan's girlfriend
* Laura Hill as Belinda Lace; Evan's wife, was in prison with Rita
* Tim Carlsen as Terry; local constable
* Stelios Yiakmis as Dave; protest group leader
* Kirsten Ibbetson as Riana Adams; student, later cop, dated Bert
* Salomé Grace as Chelsea Munroe; Ngaire & Lefty's middle daughter
* Ella Shirtcliffe as Lisa Munroe; Ngaire & Lefty's youngest daughter
* Jodie Dorday as Trish Miller; Cheryl's mother
* Jessie Lawrence as Jeanette Miller; Cheryl's older sister
* Lily Powell as Mandy Miller; Cheryl's younger sister
* Shane Cortese as Danny Peters; local brothel owner/pimp
* Pierre Beasley as Hayden Peters; Danny's son
* Elizabeth Dowden as Theresa Deering; one of Danny's workers; has a relationship with Lefty

### Guest cast

* Matthew Arbuckle as Shane, local constable, has a crush on Cheryl
* Jarred Blakiston as Vern Gardiner, neighbour of the Wests at their old house, has an affair with Rita, while Ted is in prison
* Ross Brannigan as Father Murphy, Phineas' parish priest
* Alistair Browning as Dieter Szabo, Rita's Nazi father
* Rachale Davies as Jackie, Cheryl's maternal aunt, Trish's sister
* Geoffrey Dolan as Neville, a country farmer, on who Lefty sets up a burglary
* Wesley Dowdell as Dick Spiller, father to Aaron (played Aaron in Outrageous Fortune)
* Peter Elliott as Frankie Figgs, shady businessman and nemesis of the Wests
* David Fane as Ofisa Falani (Senior)
* Eve Gordon as Pat, an old friend of Rita's
* Andrew Grainger as Declan Corke, likely grandfather to Franklin (Outrageous Fortune)
* Taylor Hall as Allen Markham, car dealer
* Jason Hodzelmans as Brian, neighbour of the Wests, Wendy's husband
* Jamie Irvine as Marty Johnstone
* Michelle Langstone as Bianca, daughter of Frankie Figgs and older sister of Krystle
* John Leigh as Dougal Gibbs, an associate of Ted, father to Sparky and Annemarie
* Gabriel McArtney as Captain Hook (Dave McArtney), vocalist/guitarist of Hello Sailor
* Jaime McDermott as Annemarie Gibbs, Sparky's sister and daughter to Dougal
* Laura McGoldrick as Wendy, neighbour of the Wests
* Dra McKay as Elsa Szabo, Rita's mother (Season 4–6)
* Toni Potter as Mary Peters, wife to Danny, mother to Hayden (Season 4)
* Alison Quigan as Old Lady
* John Rawls as Gang Leader, of "The Horsemen" gang Wolf is coerced into joining (Season 2)
* Ilona Rodgers as Grandma Miller, Cheryl's paternal grandmother (Season 4)
* Renee Sheridan as Maureen, Cheryl's maternal aunt, Trish's sister (Season 4)
* Rima Te Wiata as Iris, Ted's bookie (Season 4–6)
* Roz Turnbull as Sonia Stephens, Rochelle's mum (played Rochelle Stephens in Outrageous Fortune) (Season 5)
* Nicole Whippy as Kasey's mum (played Kasey in Outrageous Fortune) (Season 4)
* Scott Wills as Buck, gang member of "The Horsemen" (Season 2)

## Production

In July 2014, NZ On Air approved funding of NZ$4.8 million for the miniseries. On 28 July 2015, NZ On Air approved funding of $7.6 million for a second series, on 2 August 2016 $6.6 million was approved for a third series and on 24 July 2017 $6.5 million was approved for a fourth series. In September an additional $1.2 million was approved for series four.

### Filming

Filming for series one commenced on 12 October and concluded on 17 December 2014. Filming for series two commenced on 27 September 2015 and concluded on 19 January 2016. Filming for series three commenced on 30 October 2016 and concluded on 3 February 2017. Filming for series four commenced on 19 November 2017 and concluded on 18 March 2018.

### Music

Westside: The Original Soundtrack was released for digital download on 8 July 2015 and CD on 10 July 2015. It peaked at number nineteen in New Zealand. Music from Westside Series Two was released for digital download on 1 July 2016

#### Charts
##### Series 1

| Chart (2015) | Peak position |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) | 19 |

## Release
### Broadcast

Series 2 premiered in New Zealand on 12 June 2016 and series 3 premiered on 10 July 2017.
Series 1 premiered in Australia on 9Gem on 2 December 2015, and series 2 premiered on 8 August 2016.

### Home media

Series 1 is available on the iTunes Store in Australia.
| Title | Set details | DVD release dates | DVD release dates |
| Region 4 ||
| Title | Set details | New Zealand | Australia |
| Westside — Series One | Discs: 1 Episodes: 6 | 8 July 2015 (2015-07-08) | 3 February 2016 (2016-02-03) |
| Westside — Series Two | Discs: 1 Episodes: 10 | 18 August 2016 (2016-08-18) | TBA |
| Westside — Series Three | Discs: 2 Episodes: 8 | 30 August 2017 (2017-08-30) | TBA |
| Westside — Series Four | Discs: 2 Episodes: 10 | 13 September 2018 (2018-09-13) | TBA |
| Westside — Series Five | Discs: 2 Episodes: 10 | 12 September 2019 (2019-09-12) | TBA |
| Westside — Series Six | Discs: 2 Episodes: 8 | 19 November 2020 (2020-11-19) | TBA |

## Series overview

| Series | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Series | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 6 | 6 | 31 May 2015 (2015-05-31) | 5 July 2015 (2015-07-5) |
| 2 | 10 | 10 | 12 June 2016 (2016-06-12) | 14 August 2016 (2016-08-14) |
| 3 | 8 | 8 | 10 July 2017 (2017-07-10) | 28 August 2017 (2017-08-28) |
| 4 | 10 | 10 | 9 July 2018 (2018-07-9) | 10 September 2018 (2018-09-10) |
| 5 | 10 | 10 | 17 June 2019 (2019-06-17) | 12 August 2019 (2019-08-12) |
| 6 | 8 | 8 | 28 September 2020 (2020-09-28) | 16 November 2020 (2020-11-16) |

### Episodes
#### Series 1 (2015)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Background event | Original release date | N.Z. viewers |
| 1 | 1 | "All That Impedes Thee from the Golden Round" | Mark Beesley | Rachel Lang | 1974 British Commonwealth Games | 31 May 2015 (2015-05-31) | 294,920 |
| 2 | 2 | "Is't Far You Ride?" | Mark Beesley | James Griffin | 1975 New Zealand general election | 7 June 2015 (2015-06-7) | 220,650 |
| 3 | 3 | "Instruments of Darkness Tell Us Truths" | Murray Keane | Rachel Lang | New Zealand dawn raids | 14 June 2015 (2015-06-14) | 151,330 |
| 4 | 4 | "Our Poison'd Chalice" | Murray Keane | James Griffin | Marty Johnstone ("Mr Asia") drug deals | 21 June 2015 (2015-06-21) | 224,130 |
| 5 | 5 | "Dire Combustion" | Simon Bennett | James Griffin | 1978 Bastion Point arrests Punk subculture | 28 June 2015 (2015-06-28) | 214,780 |
| 6 | 6 | "But for a Wayward Son" | Simon Bennett | Rachel Lang | Carless days in New Zealand | 5 July 2015 (2015-07-5) | 206,190 |

#### Series 2 (2016)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | N.Z. viewers |
| 7 | 1 | "Episode 1" | Murray Keane | James Griffin | 12 June 2016 (2016-06-12) | N/A |
| 8 | 2 | "Episode 2" | Murray Keane | James Griffin | 19 June 2016 (2016-06-19) | N/A |
| 9 | 3 | "Episode 3" | Michael Hurst | Kate McDermott | 26 June 2016 (2016-06-26) | N/A |
| 10 | 4 | "Episode 4" | Michael Hurst | James Griffin | 3 July 2016 (2016-07-3) | N/A |
| 11 | 5 | "Episode 5" | Murray Keane | Rachel Lang | 10 July 2016 (2016-07-10) | N/A |
| 12 | 6 | "Episode 6" | Murray Keane | John Daniell & James Griffin | 17 July 2016 (2016-07-17) | N/A |
| 13 | 7 | "Episode 7" | Michael Hurst | Michael Beran & James Griffin | 24 July 2016 (2016-07-24) | 162,900 |
| 14 | 8 | "Episode 8" | Michael Hurst | Kate McDermott | 31 July 2016 (2016-07-31) | N/A |
| 15 | 9 | "Episode 9" | Murray Keane | Nick Ward & James Griffin | 7 August 2016 (2016-08-7) | N/A |
| 16 | 10 | "Episode 10" | Murray Keane | James Griffin | 14 August 2016 (2016-08-14) | N/A |

#### Series 3 (2017)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | N.Z. viewers |
| 17 | 1 | "Episode 1" | Murray Keane | Kate McDermott | 10 July 2017 (2017-07-10) | 200,000 |
| 18 | 2 | "Episode 2" | Murray Keane | James Griffin | 17 July 2017 (2017-07-17) | 141,000 |
| 19 | 3 | "Episode 3" | Michael Hurst | James Griffin | 24 July 2017 (2017-07-24) | 203,000 |
| 20 | 4 | "Episode 4" | Michael Hurst | Kate McDermott | 31 July 2017 (2017-07-31) | N/A |
| 21 | 5 | "Episode 5" | Murray Keane | Shoshana McCallum | 8 August 2017 (2017-08-8) | N/A |
| 22 | 6 | "Episode 6" | Murray Keane | Shoshana McCallum & James Griffin | 14 August 2017 (2017-08-14) | N/A |
| 23 | 7 | "Episode 7" | Michael Hurst | Nick Ward | 21 August 2017 (2017-08-21) | N/A |
| 24 | 8 | "Episode 8" | Michael Hurst | James Griffin | 28 August 2017 (2017-08-28) | 184,300 |

#### Series 4 (2018)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | N.Z. viewers |
| 25 | 1 | "Episode 1" | Murray Keane | James Griffin | 9 July 2018 (2018-07-9) | N/A |
| 26 | 2 | "Episode 2" | Murray Keane | Kate McDermott | 16 July 2018 (2018-07-16) | N/A |
| 27 | 3 | "Episode 3" | Murray Keane | Shoshana McCallum | 23 July 2018 (2018-07-23) | N/A |
| 28 | 4 | "Episode 4" | Murray Keane | Dan Musgrove | 30 July 2018 (2018-07-30) | N/A |
| 29 | 5 | "Episode 5" | Aidee Walker | Shoshana McCallum | 6 August 2018 (2018-08-6) | N/A |
| 30 | 6 | "Episode 6" | Aidee Walker & Michael Hurst | James Griffin | 13 August 2018 (2018-08-13) | N/A |
| 31 | 7 | "Episode 7" | Caroline Bell-Booth | Dan Musgrove | 20 August 2018 (2018-08-20) | N/A |
| 32 | 8 | "Episode 8" | Michael Hurst | Kate McDermott | 27 August 2018 (2018-08-27) | N/A |
| 33 | 9 | "Episode 9" | Caroline Bell-Booth | Nick Ward & James Griffin | 3 September 2018 (2018-09-3) | N/A |
| 34 | 10 | "Episode 10" | Michael Hurst | James Griffin | 10 September 2018 (2018-09-10) | N/A |

#### Series 5 (2019)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | N.Z. viewers |
| 35 | 1 | "Episode 1" | Caroline Bell-Booth | James Griffin | 17 June 2019 (2019-06-17) | N/A |
| 36 | 2 | "Episode 2" | Caroline Bell-Booth | Kate McDermott | 24 June 2019 (2019-06-24) | N/A |
| 37 | 3 | "Episode 3" | David de Lautour | Dan Musgrove & James Griffin | 1 July 2019 (2019-07-1) | N/A |
| 38 | 4 | "Episode 4" | David de Lautour | Shoshana McCallum | 8 July 2019 (2019-07-8) | N/A |
| 39 | 5 | "Episode 5" | Michael Hurst | Kate McDermott | 15 July 2019 (2019-07-15) | N/A |
| 40 | 6 | "Episode 6" | Michael Hurst | James Griffin | 22 July 2019 (2019-07-22) | N/A |
| 41 | 7 | "Episode 7" | Aidee Walker | James Griffin | 29 July 2019 (2019-07-29) | N/A |
| 42 | 8 | "Episode 8" | Aidee Walker | Shoshana McCallum & James Griffin | 5 August 2019 (2019-08-5) | N/A |
| 43 | 9 | "Episode 9" | Michael Hurst | Dan Musgrove & James Griffin | 12 August 2019 (2019-08-12) | N/A |
| 44 | 10 | "Episode 10" | Michael Hurst | Kate McDermott & James Griffin | 12 August 2019 (2019-08-12) | N/A |

#### Series 6 (2020)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 45 | 1 | "Her Grave, While I'm Dancing on It" | Caroline Bell-Booth | James Griffin | 28 September 2020 (2020-09-28) |
| 46 | 2 | "Making the Most of Every Moment" | Caroline Bell-Booth | Kate McDermott | 5 October 2020 (2020-10-5) |
| 47 | 3 | "Behold – The Miracle Water!" | Josh Frizzell | Shoshana McCallum | 12 October 2020 (2020-10-12) |
| 48 | 4 | "Well That's Not Creepy" | Josh Frizzell | James Griffin | 19 October 2020 (2020-10-19) |
| 49 | 5 | "Otherwise Evil Wins" | Caroline Bell-Booth | James Griffin | 26 October 2020 (2020-10-26) |
| 50 | 6 | "Just a Random Act of Violence" | Caroline Bell-Booth | Dan Musgrove | 2 November 2020 (2020-11-2) |
| 51 | 7 | "How’d You Like the Quiche, Frankie?" | Murray Keane | Kate McDermott | 9 November 2020 (2020-11-9) |
| 52 | 8 | "Tell You What Girl, You've Got Your Work Cut Out for You" | Murray Keane | James Griffin | 16 November 2020 (2020-11-16) |

## Awards and nominations
### C21's International Drama Awards

| Year | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref |
| 2017 | Best Returning Drama Series | Westside | Nominated | |

### New York Festivals International Film & TV Awards

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
| 2018 | Bronze World Medal | Television – Entertainment Program: Drama | Mark Beesley, James Griffin, Chris Bailey, Kelly Martin, Murray Keane and Michael Hurst | Won |
| 2019 | Silver World Medal | Television – Entertainment Program: Drama | Mark Beesley, James Griffin, Chris Bailey, Kelly Martin | Won |
| 2020 | Finalist | Television – Entertainment Program: Drama | Mark Beesley, James Griffin, Chris Bailey, Kelly Martin | Won |

### New Zealand Television Awards

| Year | Category | Nominee | Result |
| 2017 | Best Drama Series | Mark Beesley, Kelly Martin, Chris Bailey & James Griffin | Nominated |
| 2017 | Best Actress | Antonia Prebble | Nominated |
| 2017 | Best Actress | Esther Stephens | Nominated |
| 2018 | Best Art Direction or Production Design | Clayton Ercolano | Nominated |
| 2018 | Best Script: Drama | James Griffin | Nominated |
| 2018 | Best Drama Series | Mark Beesley, Chris Bailey, Kelly Martin, James Griffin | Won |
| 2018 | Screen Auckland Best Director: Drama | Michael Hurst | Nominated |
| 2018 | Best Actress | Antonia Prebble | Won |
| 2019 | Best Drama Series | Mark Beesley, Kelly Martin, Chris Bailey, James Griffin | Won |
| 2020 | Best Actress | Antonia Prebble | Pending |
| 2020 | Best Editing: Drama | Eric de Beus | Pending |
| 2020 | Best Costume Design | Tania Klouwens | Pending |
| 2020 | Best Makeup Design | Vanessa Hurley | Pending |
| 2020 | Best Script: Drama | James Griffin and Kate McDermott for Season 5, Episode 10 | Pending |

### New Zealand Television Craft Awards

| Year | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref |
| 2017 | Best Editing: Drama | Allanah Bazzard | Nominated | |
| 2017 | Best Contribution to a Soundtrack | Steve Finnigan, Alan Kidd, Mike Bayliss, Carl Smith | Nominated | |