The Block NZ

*The Block NZ*
The Block NZ
Genre	Reality
Created by	Julian Cress; David Barbour;
Based on	The Block
Presented by	Mark Richardson (2012–2022); Shannon Ryan (2012–14); Shelley Ferguson (2015–21);
Judges	See list of judges
Country of origin	New Zealand
No. of seasons	10
No. of episodes	417
Production
Producer	Aaron Dolbel
Production locations	Auckland:; Takapuna (S1); Belmont (S2); Point Chevalier (S3, S9); Sandringham/Three Kings (S4); Meadowbank (S5); Northcote (S6); Hobsonville Point (S7); Kingsland (S8); Orewa (S10);
Running time	60 – 120 minutes
Production company	Warner Bros. International Television Production
Original release
Network	Three
Release	4 July 2012 –; 9 October 2022

The Block NZ is a New Zealand reality television series based on the popular Australian series The Block. The first season premiered on Three on 4 July 2012.

The show is hosted by former New Zealand cricketer Mark Richardson and Shelley Ferguson,^[1]^{[non-primary source needed]} while Peter Wolfkamp serves as site foreman. It follows four couples as they compete against each other to completely renovate, room by room, four neighbouring houses in Auckland,^[5]^[6] and then sell them at auction. Each couple keeps any profit made on the house, and the winner receives a bonus cash sum.^[6]

The current main sponsors are paint manufacturer Resene, car manufacturer Suzuki, flooring retailer Flooring Xtra, and fast food chain Subway. Throughout seasons 1–2, car manufacturer Mazda was also a main sponsor, but for season 3, the sponsorship was awarded to car manufacturer Honda.^[7] Other previous sponsors include Bunnings, BP's Wild Bean Cafe, AMI Insurance and Pita Pit.

The series premiered in Australia on 9Go! on 12 August 2012.

The eleventh series, which was set to air in 2023, was originally postponed to 2024 due to a "challenging house market" and the dismal results of the 10th season.^[8]^[9] However in May 2024, despite the 11th season being almost ready for filming, Warner Bros. Discovery cancelled the series due to the network restructure.^[10]^[11]^[12]

Development

The show was initially announced on 24 February 2012, when a casting call went out^[13] and saw over 1,000 couples apply.^[14] The four couples selected for the first season were announced on the official Facebook page on 17 June 2012.^[15]^{[non-primary source needed]}

Hosts and judges

Timeline of hosts, judges and other personnel
Starring	Season
Starring	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Current
Mark Richardson^[1]	Host
Shelley Ferguson^[1]^[16]			Judge	Host						Judge
Jason Bonham^[17]^[18]				Judge		Judge				Judge
Peter Wolfkamp^[19]	Site foreman
Former
Shannon Ryan^[1]	Host
Victoria Bidwell^[20]	Judge
Stewart Harris^[20]	Judge
Janice Kumar-Ward^[21]		Judge
Jeremy Hansen^[21]		Judge
Mark Gascoigne^[16]			Judge
Fiona McLeod					Judge
Paul Izzard					Judge
Bernadette Morrison^[17]^[18]				Judge		Judge
Kristina Rapley							Judge
Lizzi Whaley								Judge
Chris Stevens									Judge
Ann-Louise Hyde									Judge
Lauren Mirabito									Judge

Series overview

Season		Title	Location	Episodes	Originally aired		Result
Season		Title	Location	Episodes	Season premiere	Season finale	People's Choice Award winner	Winning team	Winning profit (NZD)	Total profit
	1	2012	Takapuna, Auckland	20	4 July 2012 (2012-07-04)^[22]	6 September 2012 (2012-09-06)	Not awarded	Libby & Ben Crawford	$157,000	$237,000
	2	2013	Belmont, Auckland	31	26 August 2013 (2013-august-26)	4 November 2013 (2013-november-04)	Pete & Andy	Alice & Caleb Pearson	$181,000	$261,000
	3	2014	Point Chevalier, Auckland	49	26 August 2014 (2014-august-26)	18 November 2014 (2014-november-18)	Jo & Damo	Alex & Corban Walls	$227,000	$307,000
	4	Villa Wars	Sandringham and Three Kings, Auckland	40	29 September 2015 (2015-september-29)	6 December 2015 (2015-december-06)	Cat & Jeremy	Brooke Thompson & Mitch Davies	$190,000	$290,000
	5	Girls Vs. Boys	Meadowbank, Auckland	46	29 May 2016 (2016-may-29)	14 August 2016 (2016-august-14)	Dyls Cossey & Dylz Guitink	Sam Cable & Emmett Vallender	$380,000	$480,000
	6	Side X Side	Northcote, North Shore, Auckland	49	25 June 2017 (2017-june-25)	17 September 2017 (2017-september-17)	Andy Murdie & Nate Ross	Andy Murdie & Nate Ross	$31,000	$131,000
	7	On Point	Hobsonville, Auckland	49	8 July 2018 (2018-July-08)	30 September 2018 (2018-September-30)	Amy Moore & Stu Watts	Amy Moore & Stu Watts	$69,500	$169,500
	8	Firehouse	Kingsland, Auckland	48	17 June 2019 (2019-06-17)	8 September 2019 (2019-September-08)	Sam Whatarangi & Ethan Ordish	Lisa Ridout-Gordon & Chris "Ribz" Gordon	$50,000	$150,000
	9	2021	Point Chevalier, Auckland	48	14 June 2021^[23]	14 November 2021	Dylan & Keegan Crawford	Tim Cotton & Arthur "Arty" Gillies	$660,000	$760,000
	10	Redemption	Orewa, Auckland	37	18 July 2022	9 October 2022	Maree & James Steele	Chloe Hes & Ben Speedy	$4,000	$104,000

Profits

Season		No. of teams	No. of properties sold at auction	Winning Prize	Average auction profit	Combined auction profit¹
1	2012	4		$80,000	$58,000	$232,000
2	2013	4			$74,750	$299,000
3	2014	4			$111,250	$445,000
4	2015	4		$100,000	$158,250	$633,000
5	2016	4			$245,250	$981,000
6	2017	4			$16,250	$65,000
7	2018	4			$51,362.50	$205,450
8	2019	4	2		$50,000	$50,000
9	2021	4			$537,500	$2,150,000
10	2022	4	2		$1,025	$4,100
Overall combined profit						$5,060,450
Including Prize Money ($840,000)						$5,900,450

^1 The combined auction profit excludes the winning prize money

Returning teams

Contestants	Relationship	Original season		Returning season		Combined profit
Quinn & Ben Alexandre	Married	3	$40,000	10	$0	$40,000
Chloe Hes & Ben Speedy²	Friends	7	$11,500 & $57,000	10	$104,000^[24]	$63,500 & $109,000
Maree & James Steele	Married	3	$147,000	10	$100	$147,100
Stacy & Adam Middleton	Married	8	$0	10	$0	$0

^2 Chloe and Ben originally appeared on the same season, however in separate teams. They returned to season 10 as a team.

Season synopses

Season 1

The first season of The Block NZ premiered on 4 July 2012 and ended on 6 September 2012. It is set in the Auckland suburb of Takapuna.

House	Auction spot	Couple	Reserve	Auction Result	Profit	Total Winnings	Placing spot
1	4	Rachel & Tyson	$798,000	$798,000	$0	$0	4th
2	2	Sarah & Rich	$806,000	$870,000	$64,000	$64,000	2nd
3	1	Libby & Ben	$804,000	$961,000	$157,000	$237,000	1st
4	3	Ginny & Rhys	$794,000	$805,000	$11,000	$11,000	3rd

Season 2

The second season of The Block NZ premiered on 26 August 2013 and ended on 4 November 2013. It is set in the Auckland suburb of Belmont.

House	Auction spot	Couple	Reserve	Auction Result	Profit	Total Winnings	Placing spot
1	3	Alice & Caleb	$945,000	$1.126m	$181,000	$260,000	1st
2	4	Alisa & Koan	$948,000	$1.014m	$66,000	$66,000	2nd
3	1	Pete & Andy	$925,000	$952,000	$27,000	$27,000	3rd
4	2	Loz & Tom	$922,000	$947,000	$25,000	$25,000	4th

Season 3

The third season of The Block NZ premiered on 26 August 2014 and ended on 18 November 2014. It is set in the Auckland suburb of Point Chevalier, the first time the Block was held outside of the North Shore.

House	Auction spot	Couple	Reserve	Auction Result	Profit	Total Winnings	Placing spot
1	3	Quinn & Ben	$1.325m	$1.335m	$10,000	$10,000	4th
2	2	Maree & James	$1.325m	$1.472m	$147,000	$147,000	2nd
3	1	Alex & Corban	$1.325m	$1.552m	$227,000	$307,000	1st
4	4	Jo & Damo	$1.325m	$1.386m	$61,000	$61,000	3rd

Season 4

The fourth season of The Block NZ premiered on 29 September 2015. It is set on the boundary of the Auckland suburbs of Sandringham and Three Kings.^[25] The title for the fourth season was The Block NZ: Villa Wars.^[26]

House	Auction spot	Couple	Reserve	Auction Result	Profit	Total Winnings	Placing spot
1	3	Jamie & Hayden	$1.175m	$1.335m	$160,000	$160,000	2nd (tie)
2	2	Sarah & Minanne	$1.149m	$1.272m	$123,000	$123,000	4th
3	4	Cat & Jeremy	$1.160m	$1.320m	$160,000	$160,000	2nd (tie)
4	1	Brooke & Mitch	$1.160m	$1.350m	$190,000	$290,000	1st

Season 5

The fifth season of The Block NZ premiered on 29 May 2016 and is set in the Auckland suburb of Meadowbank.^[27] The title of this series is "Girls vs Boys", with two of the teams being made up of females and the other two made up with males.^[28] It has netted the highest combined profits of $981,000.^[29]

House	Auction spot	Couple	Reserve	Auction Result	Profit	Total Winnings	Placing spot
1	1	Niki & Tiff	$1,170,000	$1,320,000	$150,000	$150,000	4th
2	3	Dyls & Dylz	$1,190,000	$1,341,000	$151,000	$151,000	3rd
3	2	Emma & Courtney	$1,210,000	$1,510,000	$300,000	$300,000	2nd
4	4	Sam & Emmett	$1,230,000	$1,610,000	$380,000	$480,000	1st

Season 6

The sixth season premiered on 25 June 2017.^[30] It is set in the Auckland suburbs of Northcote, North Shore.^[31] The title of this series is "Side X Side", as each of the houses were large 4-storey townhouses, the largest houses in terms of floor area in The Block NZ. It had a combined profits ($65,000), and it also saw the first time a house did not meet reserve, but got the highest bid on the re-sell.^[29]

House	Auction spot	Couple	Reserve	Auction Result	Profit	Total Winnings	Placing spot
1	1	Ling & Zing	$1,299,000	$1,300,000	$1,000	$1,000	4th
2	2 & 5^[a]	Andy & Nate	$1,219,000	$1,250,000	$31,000	$131,000	1st
3	3	Julia & Ali	$1,229,000	$1,242,000	$13,000	$13,000	3rd
4	4	Stace & Yanita	$1,251,000	$1,271,000	$20,000	$20,000	2nd

Season 7

The seventh season premiered on 8 July 2018. It is set in the Auckland suburb of Hobsonville. The title of this series is "On Point".

House	Auction spot	Couple	Reserve	Auction Result	Profit	Total Winnings	Placing spot
1	2	Claire & Agni	$920,000	$950,000	$30,000	$30,000	3rd
2	1	Ben & Tom	$930,000	$987,000	$57,000	$57,000	2nd
3	4	Chlo & Em	$910,000	$921,500	$11,500	$11,500	4th
4	3	Amy & Stu	$940,000	$1,009,500	$69,500	$169,500	1st

Season 8

The eighth season premiered on 17 June 2019. It is set in the Auckland suburb of Kingsland. The title of this series is "Firehouse", as the contestants are renovating apartments in an old fire station.

Apt	Auction spot	Couple	Reserve	Auction Result	Profit	Total Winnings	Placing spot
1	3	Stacy & Adam	$1,480,000	$1,480,000 (after auction)	$0	$0	2nd
2	1	Lisa & Ribz	$1,290,000	$1,340,000	$50,000	$150,000	1st
3	2	Ethan & Sam	$1,390,000	$1,390,000	$0	$0	2nd
4	4	Sophia & Mikaere	>$1,600,000	$1,600,000 (after auction)	$0	$0	2nd

Season 9

The ninth series premiered on 14 June 2021. It is the second season to be set in the Auckland suburb of Point Chevalier. Production began in 2020 but was paused for 13 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[32]

House	Auction Spot	Team	Reserve	Auction Result	Profit	Total Winnings	Placing spot
1	4th	Connie & Rach	$2,270,000	$2,692,000	$422,000	$422,000	4th
2	3rd	Meg & Dan	$2,222,000	$2,700,000	$478,000	$478,000	3rd
3	2nd	Dylan & Keegan	$2,155,000	$2,745,000	$590,000	$590,000 + Suzuki Jimny	2nd
4	1st	Tim & Arthur	$2,165,000	$2,825,000	$660,000	$760,000	1st

Season 10

The tenth series of The Block premiered on 18 July 2022. It is set in the Auckland server of Orewa, and features contestants from previous seasons.

The series was won by Chloe & Ben, however it is the current lowest auction to date as they only went over the reserve by $4,000, then Maree & James by only $100, whilst the other two teams homes were passed in and received nothing, making only a combined profit of $4,100.^[33] After the auction, TSB New Zealand (sponsor of the series) gifted Quinn and Ben, Maree and James & Stacey and Adam with $10,000 each for the hard work and failing to achieve a profit.^[34]

House	Auction Spot	Team	Reserve	Auction Result	Profit	Total Winnings	Placing spot
1	2nd	Quinn & Ben	$1.199m	Passed in	$0	$10,000	3rd=
2	4th	Chloe & Ben	$1.141m	$1,145,000	$4000	$104,000	1st
3	3rd	Maree & James	$1.152m	$1,152,100	$100	$10,100 + a Suzuki Vitara JLX^[35]	2nd
4	1st	Stacy & Adam	$1.148m	Passed in	$0	$10,000	3rd=

Notes

^ House was passed in as the reserve was not met the first time, and then went back to auction after fourth auction was complete.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "The Block NZ's photo". Facebook. 20 May 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2014. Big news – the hosts of The Block NZ have been announced! We've got sports star turned broadcaster Mark Richardson as the show host and the gorgeous Shannon Ryan will join him as the challenge presenter. Bring It On!
^ Smithies, Grant (25 June 2017). "The Questionnaire: The Block NZ's Aaron Dolbel". Stuff. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
^ "The Block gears up for Auckland inner-city sites". New Zealand Herald. 19 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
^ "The Block 2016: The 'secret' location is out". 22 February 2016.
^ Hallahan, Marnie (31 May 2012). "Bargains on The Block". North Shore Times – via Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
^ ^a ^b "About The Block NZ". Three. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
^ Springall, Lesley. "The Block NZ – leveraged to perfection". Retrieved 21 October 2014.
^ Thomson, Lucy (30 November 2022). "House Rules NZ coming in 2023 as The Block NZ postponed due to 'challenging' housing market". Newshub. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
^ Hawkes, Colleen (30 November 2022). "The Block NZ is postponed due to 'challenging housing market'". Stuff. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
^ Hawkes, Colleen (14 May 2024). "The Block NZ cancelled as homes near completion". Stuff. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
^ Bevan, Darren (14 May 2024). "The Block NZ cancelled, won't return for new season". News Hub. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
^ Knox, David (14 May 2024). "New Zealand axes local version of The Block". TV Tonight. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
^ "TV3's The Block searching for contestants". newshub.co.nz. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
^ "The Block NZ contestants revealed". 3news.co.nz. 21 June 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
^ "The Block NZ photo". Facebook.com. 17 June 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2014. The Block has finally come NZ and we're thrilled to announce the teams! Meet Sarah & Rich from Hamilton, Libby & Ben from CHCH & AKL, Ginny & Rhys from New Plymouth and Rachel & Ty from Wellington! Who will nail it? The Block NZ, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4th July on TV3. C'Mon now!
^ ^a ^b "Meet the new Block NZ judges". Stuff. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Home".
^ ^a ^b "The Block NZ 2017: Judges revealed". Newshub.
^ "Home".
^ ^a ^b "Lights, camera... DIY". 27 May 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Q&A with The Block NZ Judges". tv3.co.nz. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
^ "The Block NZ contestants revealed". 3 News. 21 June 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
^ Hawkes, Colleen (11 June 2021). "What we really don't want to see on The Block NZ". i.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
^ divided between each other for $52,000
^ "The Block gears up for Auckland inner-city sites". New Zealand Herald. 19 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
^ "The Block NZ Villa Wars". 10 September 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
^ "CONTESTANT SEARCH: The Block NZ 2016". tv3.co.nz. TV3. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
^ "The Block NZ: Girls Vs Boys". Newshub.
^ ^a ^b "Social media lashes out at two attempts to sell winning Block house". New Zealand Herald. 17 September 2017. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
^ "The Block NZ's Mark Richardson reveals what's different about this year's show". i.stuff.co.nz. Stuff. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
^ "The Block NZ heads to the North Shore". Newshub. 11 June 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
^ Hawkes, Colleen (7 May 2020). "Coronavirus: The Block NZ postponed till 2021 due to Covid-19". i.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
^ Hawkes, Colleen (9 October 2022). "Shock on The Block NZ: Chloe and Ben win at auction amid tears and disappointment". i.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
^ Sadler, Rachel (11 October 2022). "The Block NZ: TSB giving three losing teams $10,000 each". Newshub. newshub.co.nz. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
^ as votes by the viewers

External links

Official website
The Block NZ at IMDb

[32] House was passed in as the reserve was not met the first time, and then went back to auction after fourth auction was complete.

[hosts-1] "The Block NZ's photo". Facebook. 20 May 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2014. Big news – the hosts of The Block NZ have been announced! We've got sports star turned broadcaster Mark Richardson as the show host and the gorgeous Shannon Ryan will join him as the challenge presenter. Bring It On!

[2] Smithies, Grant (25 June 2017). "The Questionnaire: The Block NZ's Aaron Dolbel". Stuff. Retrieved 25 June 2017.

[3] "The Block gears up for Auckland inner-city sites". New Zealand Herald. 19 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.

[4] "The Block 2016: The 'secret' location is out". 22 February 2016.

[:1-5] Hallahan, Marnie (31 May 2012). "Bargains on The Block". North Shore Times – via Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 31 August 2014.

[tv3.co.nz-6] "About The Block NZ". Three. Retrieved 31 August 2014.

[thinktv-7] Springall, Lesley. "The Block NZ – leveraged to perfection". Retrieved 21 October 2014.

[8] Thomson, Lucy (30 November 2022). "House Rules NZ coming in 2023 as The Block NZ postponed due to 'challenging' housing market". Newshub. Retrieved 1 December 2022.

[9] Hawkes, Colleen (30 November 2022). "The Block NZ is postponed due to 'challenging housing market'". Stuff. Retrieved 1 December 2022.

[10] Hawkes, Colleen (14 May 2024). "The Block NZ cancelled as homes near completion". Stuff. Retrieved 14 May 2024.

[11] Bevan, Darren (14 May 2024). "The Block NZ cancelled, won't return for new season". News Hub. Retrieved 14 May 2024.

[12] Knox, David (14 May 2024). "New Zealand axes local version of The Block". TV Tonight. Retrieved 14 May 2024.

[13] "TV3's The Block searching for contestants". newshub.co.nz. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2016.

[14] "The Block NZ contestants revealed". 3news.co.nz. 21 June 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2014.

[contestantsannounced-15] "The Block NZ photo". Facebook.com. 17 June 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2014. The Block has finally come NZ and we're thrilled to announce the teams! Meet Sarah & Rich from Hamilton, Libby & Ben from CHCH & AKL, Ginny & Rhys from New Plymouth and Rachel & Ty from Wellington! Who will nail it? The Block NZ, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4th July on TV3. C'Mon now!

[judges_s3-16] "Meet the new Block NZ judges". Stuff. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2014.

[S4judges-17] "Home".

[S6judges-18] "The Block NZ 2017: Judges revealed". Newshub.

[19] "Home".

[judges_s1-20] "Lights, camera... DIY". 27 May 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2014.

[judges_s2-21] "Q&A with The Block NZ Judges". tv3.co.nz. Retrieved 31 August 2014.

[contestants_revealed-22] "The Block NZ contestants revealed". 3 News. 21 June 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2014.

[23] Hawkes, Colleen (11 June 2021). "What we really don't want to see on The Block NZ". i.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 11 June 2021.

[24] vided between each other for $52,000

[25] "The Block gears up for Auckland inner-city sites". New Zealand Herald. 19 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.

[teams-26] "The Block NZ Villa Wars". 10 September 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2014.

[27] "CONTESTANT SEARCH: The Block NZ 2016". tv3.co.nz. TV3. Retrieved 3 January 2016.

[28] "The Block NZ: Girls Vs Boys". Newshub.

[:0-29] "Social media lashes out at two attempts to sell winning Block house". New Zealand Herald. 17 September 2017. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 18 September 2017.

[30] "The Block NZ's Mark Richardson reveals what's different about this year's show". i.stuff.co.nz. Stuff. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.

[31] "The Block NZ heads to the North Shore". Newshub. 11 June 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2017.

[33] Hawkes, Colleen (7 May 2020). "Coronavirus: The Block NZ postponed till 2021 due to Covid-19". i.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 27 May 2020.

[34] Hawkes, Colleen (9 October 2022). "Shock on The Block NZ: Chloe and Ben win at auction amid tears and disappointment". i.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 10 October 2022.

[35] Sadler, Rachel (11 October 2022). "The Block NZ: TSB giving three losing teams $10,000 each". Newshub. newshub.co.nz. Retrieved 20 October 2022.

[36] s votes by the viewers

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