Reader call-out: What are your best memories of New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street? – The Guardian

New Zealands longest running soap opera, Shortland Street, celebrates 30 years on screen this week. The hospital drama was the height of television drama when I was a young person, the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said in 2019. Its always done the job of tracking big things happening in New Zealand society as well, and reflecting back to ourselves.

It has launched the careers of some of the countrys biggest stars: Temuera Morrison, Martin Henderson, Rose McIvor, KJ Apa, Karl Urban, to name a few. It has spawned household jokes and sayings (Youre not in Guatemala now, Dr Ropata), developed cliffhangers involving incest, murder, scuppered weddings and shocking deaths, reinvented itself time and again to stay relevant, and unquestionably become part of New Zealands cultural fabric.

We want to hear from our New Zealand readers about what place Shorty holds in your heart. Are you a superfan? What is your fondest memory, or favourite episode and why? Do you remember first watching the show, and how it has changed over the years? How would you like to see Shortland Street develop over the next 30 years?

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Reader call-out: What are your best memories of New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street? - The Guardian