I know that as Australians we’re meant to make fun of New Zealanders… but to be honest I really, really like them.
You guys, they’re cute.
They have Hobbiton, which is random, and also fun.
They have a National Wizard, which is silly.
And they're home to the world's smallest dolphin species, because of course they are.
New Zealand is like an alternate universe where female prime ministers are taken seriously and there's an absurd number of animals.
But on Monday night, the Kiwis outdid themselves. You see, they've launched a prime time TV show with three hosts, where they talk about news and current affairs.
Listen: Dave Hughes explains why he left The Project. (Post continues after audio.)
'Hey, that sounds kinda like The Project!' I hear you say. Well, it is The Project.
No, really. It's called The Project and the slogan is 'news done differently.' This is fine - there are lots of TV franchises that get adopted internationally. Like The Bachelor, or Top Model.
But this is far cuter than that.
Guys, look at the backdrop:
... And the Twitter logo:
... And their behind-the-scenes tweets just before the show goes live:
It's nearly show time! #bts #TheProjectNZ pic.twitter.com/4zEbkewZuk
— The Project NZ (@TheProject_NZ) February 20, 2017
AND their eerie equivalent to Peter Helliar (whose name happens to be Josh ThomPSON, spookily close to Josh ThomAS, an Australian comedian).
Our very own Josh Thomson sat down with @pjhelliar from @theprojecttv Australia for a no holds barred chat #TheProjectNZ pic.twitter.com/rqLICjaDqF
— The Project NZ (@TheProject_NZ) February 20, 2017
They even stole a Rove:
You can't just copy an Australia TV show and make it a New Zealand TV show, but you also can.
My favourite part of this whole thing is that when the show started people started tweeting @TheProjectNZ, but that handle is already taken by a relatively small event series organisation. So they had to tweet being like 'lol, sorry guys, you mean @TheProject_NZ.'
That's okay, New Zealand. Sometimes a crucial Twitter handle is taken by someone else so you politely let them have it and have to come up with another one.
