The Blue Rose
| The Blue Rose | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover
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| Genre | Crime drama |
| Created by |
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| Directed by |
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| Starring |
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| Composer | Karl Steven |
| Country of origin | New Zealand |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producer | Chris Bailey |
| Cinematography | Marty Smith |
| Running time | 43–45 minutes |
| Production company | South Pacific Pictures |
| Original release | |
| Network | TV3 |
| Release | 4 February – 29 April 2013 |
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 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. The show was cancelled in December 2013 by a radio announcement on Radio New Zealand by TV3 programming boss Mark Caulton.
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. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | N.Z. viewers (thousand) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" | Mark Beesley | Rachel Lang | 4 February 2013 | N/A |
| 2 | "What Difference Does It Make?" | Mark Beesley | Rachel Lang | 11 February 2013 | N/A |
| 3 | "Sheila Take a Bow" | Simon Bennett | Tiffany Zehnal and Rachel Lang | 18 February 2013 | N/A |
| 4 | "This Charming Man" | Simon Bennett | James Griffin | 25 February 2013 | N/A |
| 5 | "Pretty Girls Make Graves" | Michael Duignan | Rachel Lang | 4 March 2013 | N/A |
| 6 | "Paint a Vulgar Picture" | Michael Duignan | Kate McDermott | 11 March 2013 | N/A |
| 7 | "Money Changes Everything" | Michael Duignan | James Griffin | 18 March 2013 | N/A |
| 8 | "Half a Person" | John Laing | Kate McDermott | 25 March 2013 | N/A |
| 9 | "Suffer Little Children" | John Laing | Matthew J. Saville and Rachel Lang | 1 April 2013 | N/A |
| 10 | "Handsome Devil" | Michael Duignan | Fiona Samuel and Rachel Lang | 8 April 2013 | N/A |
| 11 | "This Night Has Opened My Eyes" | Michael Duignan | Jan Prettejohns | 15 April 2013 | N/A |
| 12 | "Girl Afraid" | Mark Beesley | Kate McDermott | 22 April 2013 | N/A |
| 13 | "Hand in Glove" | Mark Beesley | Rachel Lang | 29 April 2013 | 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 | |
| Rialto Channel New Zealand Film Awards Television Award | NZ On Air Best Television Feature or Drama Series | The Almighty Johnsons | Nominated | ||
| 2014 | New York Festivals Bronze World Medal | Drama | Rachel Lang, James Griffin, Chris Bailey and John Barnett | Won |
DVD release
| Title | Set details | DVD release dates | Special features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Region 4 | |||
| The Blue Rose |
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1 May 2013 |
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