Heartland

In this long-running series, affable presenter Gary McCormick explored a different Kiwi community on each episode. McCormick (or occasionally Annie Whittle, Maggie Barry and Kerre Woodham) explores local legends and interacts with the inhabitants, including tiger slipper-fan Chloe of Wainuiomata. The popular, award-winning series connected mostly-urban Kiwis with faraway corners of the country. Heartland was inspired by an earlier collaboration between McCormick and director Bruce Morrison, 1987's Raglan by the Sea. In 1994 McCormick authored a lavishly-illustrated Heartland book.