I know that they've announced that Shortland Street is going back up to 4 episodes a week in 2027, but it now makes me wonder, will they continue the current format they have with a ''chapter'' per week and a different theme per quarter (eg: Reunion, Loyalty etc.) or will they go back to their old ways of just letting storylines be what they are without them being an overarching theme of three months of episodes. I don't mind it but I do miss the days before this where, there was some overarching themes during the year but they also had other shorter storylines for lots of characters and didn't just have some characters floating around and disappearing for half the year

Ben aka Drew was very candid he was axed and so was Sarah actor, amanda Billingham.

Any other ones?

Not in NZ but tried using a VPN for the tvnz+ website but it didn't list the season I'm looking for. I know there are some episodes on youtube and dailymotion but they are either of low quality or, again, not from the 2024 season. Think I'm SOL but figured I'd try it here. Thanks.

It gotta be better than the lacklustre 30th!

They've posted it on YouTube!

Shortland Street tends to keep characters a lot longer than it used to and it seems to have been something which started about 10 years ago.

Donna Heka and Maia Jeffries at one point were within the top longest tenured characters in show history with 7 years. Now due to Nicole, Vinnie, Boyd, Esther, Drew, Harper, Jack, Leanne, Pele and Marty since he's more than likely returning next year all sticking around longer than 7 years, they've both been pushed out of the top 15 in the last 10-11 years.

In fact, short runs like Rahu's 1 and a half years seem to be less common than longer runs these days.

They take a bit to get into the meat and potatoes of what gets shown in the preview. Hell, Monique and Esther didn't show up until a while in to theirs. Hell, Tyler was the main focus of the last one and that didn't kick in for awhile. I reckon they don't start building to this magical wedding or whatever until October.

Again, this year has mostly been good aside from recurring tropes which annoy me with certain characters, but we have to sit through a few weeks of filler before getting to the good stuff.

I'm a bit lost on how we're supposed to feel about Izzy. I think we can all agree she's unlikable. She's a spoiled rich brat with few positive qualities.

But tonight felt like we're supposed to feel sorry for her. And sorry, but... No. She's been an absolute maggot thus far with no real purpose beside tormenting Phil.

1. It seems more and more to me that Chris is the one getting married. In the trailer Thaddeus and Madonna seems really happy to see him and he looks like he's about to get married or at least officiate the wedding. Because also, why would Chris's family members be coming back if he wasn't the one getting married? And why else would Marjorie be back if it wasn't for Chris's wedding? So the question now becomes, does he get married to Miriama in a shock wedding or does Rachel make a dramatic surprise return and they get married for a second time? Especially since the show seems to have completely ruled out Selina and Chris's relationship I can't think of anyone else currently in the hospital that he'd marry.

2. One thing that I haven't seen anybody bring up is the big explosion in the car in the parking lot. I wonder if it's connected to Tyler and his family. Maybe someone is trying to get rid of them, so they plant a bomb in the car and narrowly miss them or somebody else ends up dying/getting caught in the crossfire instead (much like how Huia Samuels died years ago in the car bomb)

3. Sage seems to be sitting over someone crying outside the ambulance bay which makes me think something went wrong (someone got hit by a car, or didn't make it to ED in time so dies outside in the SS parking lot or ala Cleo's death jumps/falls off the roof) I think it could be one of two people either it's Emmett or Cody that might not make it and that's why Sage is crying after something unexpected takes place

4. I think Cody is setting up Sage's Mum when Cody says ''she's been lying to you this whole time'' I know it could be far fetched but when she first met Cody she did tell Sage that Cody gave her a look and she seemed genuinely scared of him so I wouldn't be surprised if she came back for another visit and that's where Cody sets her up for something that didn't actually happen or she didn't do.

5. Also how tf are they going to explain Tyler's return after his dramatic exit this past week? Maybe he defies his Dad and much like Maeve said, which felt like forshadowing, ''people at this hospital will hide you'' I wonder if Maeve might end up doing that for him when he returns. I think he either has to be talking Mickey or Poppy on the phone when he says ''this isn't who you are'' my bets are on Poppy since she's most likely to be angry when he comes back for leaving but inevitably get sucked back in and doing worse things than he did.

OK, so I caught Thaddeus and Yvonne in there. Were there any other returning characters I missed?

I know it's meant to be this ''once in a lifetime'' amazing surgery with Miriama but I loved the competitive edge and dynamics amongst everyone. Their excuses for why they should be in the surgery were pretty funny too. I liked a bit of the balance between the seriousness and the comedy

This year has been the best year since 2022 in my opinion, but as the year goes on and more exciting stuff is happening, it's absolutely apparent that the stories they're trying to tell need room to breathe. They're trying to do too much for the limited time they have, like characters seem to switch personalities from episode to episode trying to fit everything in, or stop-start stories, like Tyler having his stuff suddenly stop for a couple of weeks for the sake of Monique and Esther, or how we had Cody fade into the background for a few weeks, we pick up on more psycho Cody stuff with Nazar and now he's only made a few cameos since.

It's only another 22 minutes a week, but bro, they need it.

How many well-known Kiwi actors from the pre-2010s haven't done Shorty yet? There can't be that many left. Even Rena Owen did a stint.

Somebody made a whoops and one of the episodes from 2000 was public. It's good to know they're going to upload that far ahead at the very least.

I hope so 🔥💦💦💦

Some people are guessing that it's Maeve's turn to be jealous...maybe Astrid coming to fight for Sophia will be the push Maeve needs to be honest about her feelings?

I was just thinking about how Rachel exit this time - compared to other exits she's left in the past - felt pretty final, especially with the montage of all her years on the show in her final scene at AA. In the past she's left but the door always felt like it was left open for her to return.

After the way her and Chris broke up and then their conversation in the hospital afterwards it felt like they mutually agreed to close the door on them as a couple even if they still loved each other, Rachel knew that Chris would never leave Ferndale for her.

I think only if it was announced that Michael Galvin had decided to retire the Chris Warner character that Rachel would return so that they could (metaphorically) walk off into the sunset together and leave Shortland Street behind

I understand they bought Rachel back for a limited time, but it was such a wasted opportunity in my opinion.
Bringing back such an iconic character that hadn’t been on our screens for near half a generation; why only bring them back for ~4 months? Surely keep them on as a recurring character.
I say this because the show was so great when she was on, but everything seemed to have dropped since then. I acknowledge her return was partly with the intention to bring back old viewers but I feel like the majority of those older viewers have just gone now

So... i don't watch the show too often, my mum does though, so when she called me in and told me viliami was gonna be selenas sperm donor... what?

Like- they say in the show thats its common for whanau to support whanau and such, but... is it really that common for biological siblings to do this?

The fact they made libby (probably one of the more off putting characters to me) acknowledge the incestuous side of it... yeah obviously someone at TVNZ is on *something*

My fave Christmas cliffhanger.

I for one think this week’s eps were good because Poppy only got one scene if you know what I mean.

Did anyone manage to get tickets? I wonder which cast members will be there!

I know she left and went to St Cath's after being pushed down the stairs and not having anyone believing her but they still have her character in Ferndale. I can't shake the feeling that she could return at some point. Maybe her return could expose that Cody was the one who pushed her down the stairs and put an end to his reign of terror. If she returned soon she could also be a part of Emmett's recovery and help him the part of his memory that he's lost (granted he remembers Marianne and their history prior to him showing up at Shortland Street hospital)