The Blue Rose

The Blue Rose is a New Zealand crime drama television series, which was created by Rachel Lang and James Griffin and produced by South Pacific Pictures. It stars Antonia Prebble as Jane and Siobhan Marshall as Linda. Marshall and Prebble had previously worked together on Outrageous Fortune.

The Blue Rose
DVD cover
GenreCrime drama
Created by
Directed by
  • Mark Beesley
  • Simon Bennett
  • Michael Duignan
  • John Laing
Starring
ComposerKarl Steven
Country of originNew Zealand
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes13 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • John Barnett
  • Rachel Lang
  • Chris Bailey
ProducerChris Bailey
CinematographyMarty Smith
Running time43–45 minutes
Production companySouth Pacific Pictures
Release
Original networkTV3
Original release4 February (2013-02-04) –
29 April 2013 (2013-04-29)

The series aired in New Zealand on TV3 from 4 February to 29 April 2013, at 8:30 p.m. for three episodes; it then moved to 9:30 p.m. for three episodes, and then moved again to 9:40 p.m. for five episodes, before moving to 9:45 p.m. on Mondays for the remaining two episodes.

Production

Funding for the series was approved by NZ On Air in December 2011.[1] The show was cancelled in December 2013 by a radio announcement on Radio New Zealand by TV3 programming boss Mark Caulton.[2]

Plot

Jane is a humble office temp who takes on a new post at an inner city law firm and soon realises she's not just filling in for a secretary with the flu – she's sitting in a dead woman's chair.

The deceased woman is Rose, whose best friend Linda is convinced that she was murdered despite police reports to the contrary. Linda quickly enlists Jane in her quest to find the truth and together they recruit the IT guy and the lady from payroll and form the Society of the Blue Rose.

With some help from friends on the lowlier rungs of other businesses – the group fight high-stakes crimes and shadowy corporate skulduggery to uncover the truth about Rose. They are united in purpose – and tattoos – to seek out further injustices. But proving guilt is always harder than suspecting it.

Cast and characters

Main
  • Antonia Prebble as Jane March – A Temp P.A. to Simon at Mosely & Loveridge.
  • Siobhan Marshall as Linda Frame – Rose's best friend and godmother to her daughter Nina, She manages a courier firm in Auckland.
  • Matt Minto as Simon Frost – Jane's boss and Senior Partner at Mosely & Loveridge.
  • Rajeev Varma as Ganesh Nishad – An I.T. manager at Mosely & Loveridge.
  • Jenny Ludlam as Sonya Whitwell – An accountant who used to work at Mosely & Loveridge.

Recurring
  • James Trevena-Brown as Charlie Bryson – A junior lawyer at Mosely & Loveridge.
  • Anna Jullienne as Krystle Wilkinson – Helen's P.A. at Mosely & Loveridge.
  • George Mason as Ben Gallagher – Jane's ex-boyfriend, who was caught cheating on her.
  • Stelios Yiakmis as Derek Peterson – A wealthy financier and entrepreneur.
  • Theresa Healey as Helen Irwin – Simon's partner at Mosely & Loveridge.
  • Luciane Buchanan as Aroha Nash – A receptionist at Mosely & Loveridge.
  • Tim Foley as Grant Finch – Rose's ex-husband.
  • Caren Pistorius as Rose Harper – Simon's former P.A. at Mosely & Loveridge, she died under mysterious circumstances.
  • Jay Saussey as Amy – Peterson's P.A..
  • Jeremy Randerson as Adam Revill
  • Kyle Pryor as Anton
  • Josephine Davison as Felicity Frost – Simon's wife.
  • John Rawls as Karl Villiers
  • Nisha Madhan as Varsha – Ganesh's cop friend.
  • Murray Keane as Keith Cranston
  • Ayşe Tezel as Hannah

Episodes
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateN.Z. viewers
(thousand)
1"There Is a Light That Never Goes Out"Mark BeesleyRachel Lang4 February 2013 (2013-02-04)N/A
2"What Difference Does It Make?"Mark BeesleyRachel Lang11 February 2013 (2013-02-11)N/A
3"Sheila Take a Bow"Simon BennettTiffany Zehnal and Rachel Lang18 February 2013 (2013-02-18)N/A
4"This Charming Man"Simon BennettJames Griffin25 February 2013 (2013-02-25)N/A
5"Pretty Girls Make Graves"Michael DuignanRachel Lang4 March 2013 (2013-03-04)N/A
6"Paint a Vulgar Picture"Michael DuignanKate McDermott11 March 2013 (2013-03-11)N/A
7"Money Changes Everything"Michael DuignanJames Griffin18 March 2013 (2013-03-18)N/A
8"Half a Person"John LaingKate McDermott25 March 2013 (2013-03-25)N/A
9"Suffer Little Children"John LaingMatthew J. Saville and Rachel Lang1 April 2013 (2013-04-01)N/A
10"Handsome Devil"Michael DuignanFiona Samuel and Rachel Lang8 April 2013 (2013-04-08)N/A
11"This Night Has Opened My Eyes"Michael DuignanJan Prettejohns15 April 2013 (2013-04-15)N/A
12"Girl Afraid"Mark BeesleyKate McDermott22 April 2013 (2013-04-22)N/A
13"Hand in Glove"Mark BeesleyRachel Lang29 April 2013 (2013-04-29)N/A
  • a Number includes additional viewers from a 9:30 p.m. rebroadcast airing the same night on TV3 Plus 1.
  • Each episode title is named after a song by The Smiths.

Broadcast

In Australia, the show premiered on Gem on 26 November 2013.

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominee Result Ref
2013 Monte-Carlo Television Festival Golden Nymph Drama TV Series The Blue Rose Nominated [3]
Rialto Channel New Zealand Film Awards Television Award NZ On Air Best Television Feature or Drama Series The Almighty Johnsons Nominated [4]
2014 New York Festivals Bronze World Medal Drama Rachel Lang, James Griffin, Chris Bailey and John Barnett Won [5]

DVD release
Title Set details DVD release dates Special features
Region 4[6]
The Blue Rose
  • Discs: 3
  • Episodes: 13
 1 May 2013 (2013-05-01)
  • Interviews with cast
  • Alternate endings

References
  1. "NZ On Air Television Funding Decisions". NZ On Air. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  2. Glucina, Rachel (11 December 2013). "The Diary: Show's creators hear of drama's axing on radio". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  3. "Nominees 2013". Monte-Carlo Television Festival. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  4. "NZ film award contenders revealed". The New Zealand Herald. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  5. "Browse by Winners". New York Festivals. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  6. Region 4 DVD set:
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