The Blue Rose Explained

Genre:	Crime drama
Composer:	Karl Steven
Country:	New Zealand
Language:	English
Num Series:	1
Num Episodes:	13
List Episodes:	Episodes
Producer:	Chris Bailey
Cinematography:	Marty Smith
Runtime:	43–45 minutes
Company:	South Pacific Pictures
Channel:	TV3

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 flushe'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 purposeand tattoosto 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

• 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		^[3]
	Rialto Channel New Zealand Film Awards Television Award	NZ On Air Best Television Feature or Drama Series	The Almighty Johnsons		^[4]
2014	New York Festivals Bronze World Medal	Drama	Rachel Lang, James Griffin, Chris Bailey and John Barnett		^[5]

External links

• • • • The Blue Rose at South Pacific Pictures

Notes and References

1. Web site: NZ On Air Television Funding Decisions . December 2011 . . 9 February 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111219135754/http://www.nzonair.govt.nz/TV/TVLatestFunding.aspx . 2011-12-19 . dead.
2. News: The Diary: Show's creators hear of drama's axing on radio . Rachel . Glucina . 11 December 2013 . . 20 December 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230417044425/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/the-diary-shows-creators-hear-of-dramas-axing-on-radio/FREPD2J4VUZKB5MT5SQNN42XTE/?c_id=1501119&objectid=11170300 . 2023-04-17 . live.
3. Web site: Nominees 2013. Monte-Carlo Television Festival. 5 May 2013.
4. Web site: NZ film award contenders revealed. The New Zealand Herald. 21 November 2013. 20 December 2013.
5. Web site: Browse by Winners. New York Festivals. 26 April 2013.
6. Region 4 DVD set:
   • Web site: The Blue Rose (3 Disc Set). Mighty Ape. 2 May 2013.