The Blue Rose

*The Blue Rose*
The Blue Rose
	DVD cover
Genre	Crime drama
Created by	Rachel Lang; James Griffin;
Directed by	Mark Beesley; Simon Bennett; Michael Duignan; John Laing;
Starring	Antonia Prebble; Siobhan Marshall; Matt Minto; Rajeev Varma; Jennifer Ludlam;
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	John Barnett; Rachel Lang; Chris Bailey;
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.^[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 quartet 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; manages a courier firm
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 boyfriend
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 (flashbacks)
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 (2013-02-04)	N/A
2	"What Difference Does It Make?"	Mark Beesley	Rachel Lang	11 February 2013 (2013-02-11)	N/A
3	"Sheila Take a Bow"	Simon Bennett	Tiffany Zehnal and Rachel Lang	18 February 2013 (2013-02-18)	N/A
4	"This Charming Man"	Simon Bennett	James Griffin	25 February 2013 (2013-02-25)	N/A
5	"Pretty Girls Make Graves"	Michael Duignan	Rachel Lang	4 March 2013 (2013-03-04)	N/A
6	"Paint a Vulgar Picture"	Michael Duignan	Kate McDermott	11 March 2013 (2013-03-11)	N/A
7	"Money Changes Everything"	Michael Duignan	James Griffin	18 March 2013 (2013-03-18)	N/A
8	"Half a Person"	John Laing	Kate McDermott	25 March 2013 (2013-03-25)	N/A
9	"Suffer Little Children"	John Laing	Matthew J. Saville and Rachel Lang	1 April 2013 (2013-04-01)	N/A
10	"Handsome Devil"	Michael Duignan	Fiona Samuel and Rachel Lang	8 April 2013 (2013-04-08)	N/A
11	"This Night Has Opened My Eyes"	Michael Duignan	Jan Prettejohns	15 April 2013 (2013-04-15)	N/A
12	"Girl Afraid"	Mark Beesley	Kate McDermott	22 April 2013 (2013-04-22)	N/A
13	"Hand in Glove"	Mark Beesley	Rachel Lang	29 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.^{[citation needed]}

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result	Ref
2013	Monte-Carlo Television Festival Golden Nymph	Drama TV Series	The Blue Rose	Nominated	^[3]
2013	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
Title	Set details	Region 4^[6]	Special features
The Blue Rose	Discs: 3 Episodes: 13	1 May 2013 (2013-05-01)	Interviews with cast Alternate endings

References

^ "NZ On Air Television Funding Decisions". NZ On Air. December 2011. Archived from the original on 19 December 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
^ Glucina, Rachel (11 December 2013). "The Diary: Show's creators hear of drama's axing on radio". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
^ "Nominees 2013". Monte-Carlo Television Festival. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
^ "NZ film award contenders revealed". The New Zealand Herald. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
^ "Browse by Winners". New York Festivals. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
^
Region 4 DVD set:
- "The Blue Rose (3 Disc Set)". Mighty Ape. Retrieved 2 May 2013.

External links

[1] "NZ On Air Television Funding Decisions". NZ On Air. December 2011. Archived from the original on 19 December 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2013.

[cancellation-2] Glucina, Rachel (11 December 2013). "The Diary: Show's creators hear of drama's axing on radio". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. 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:
"The Blue Rose (3 Disc Set)". Mighty Ape. Retrieved 2 May 2013.

[7] "The Blue Rose (3 Disc Set)". Mighty Ape. Retrieved 2 May 2013.

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