Blue Murder Motel is a New Zealand murder mystery television series which debuted in 2026. The series stars New Zealand actor Michala Banas and Australian actor Brett Tucker, who previously appeared together in the Australian drama series McLeod's Daughters.
Premise Two married Australian police officers have taken early retirement and have purchased the Blue Motel in New Zealand to run as a business. A series of local murders inspire them to investigate and to help the local, inexperienced, sole-charge police officer solve the crimes.
At the end of the first episode, the advertising display for the motel is tagged by vandals, changing the displayed name from "Blue Motel" to "Blue Murder Motel". A later episode indicates that local residents now refer to it as that.
Production history In November 2024, NZ On Air announced that it had funded a new commission - Blue Murder Motel - produced by Great Southern Television, and that the production would receive up to $2,800,000 worth of funding. Filming was underway by September 2025.
In April 2026, NZ On Air announced that the series had been renewed for an eight-episode second season. Production was underway by June 2026.
Setting The series is located in the fictional seaside community of Mōwai Bay, which is described as being "somewhere near Auckland". Filming took place at Orewa on the Hibiscus Coast north of Auckland, as well as in the Bucklands Beach and Eastern Beach areas. Locations included the Edgewater Motel as the Blue Motel, and Ōrewa Beach Holiday Park as the Shady Vista Holiday Park, which was featured in episode 3.
Cast Main Michala Banas as Vanessa 'Vinny' Coleman Brett Tucker as Peter 'Cole' Coleman Jayden Daniels as Constable Jamie Haira, a recently graduated sole-charge constable Stephanie Tauevihi as Maxine, a permanent guest at the motel Jamie McDermott as Saffron, a motel employee
Guest Maaka Pohatu as Devlin (episode 1) Craig Hall as Greg (episode 2) Aidee Walker as Theresa (episode 3) Peter Elliott as Martin (episode 4) Fiona Samuel as Pam (episode 4) Angela Bloomfield as Sheree (episode 6) Sara Wiseman as Detective Annette Grainger (episode 6) Christopher Stollery as Burnsie (episodes 7 & 8) Miriama Smith as Simona (episode 7) Justine Smith as Real Ellen (episode 8)
Episodes
Broadcast The series began broadcasting on TVNZ 1 on 18 January 2026, with catch-up availability on TVNZ's streaming service TVNZ+. The series was made available for streaming on Acorn TV in the summer 2026.
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