‘A big, brave thing': Janine Morrell-Gunn on What Now's huge pivot

The Spinoff

20-06-2025

The children's television veteran shares her life in television.
A year-and-a-half ago, beloved local children's series What Now made the hugest swing of it's television tenure. After four decades as a live studio show, the series pivoted to be digital-first. YouTube became the primary platform for the show, with short videos being uploaded regularly and a pre-recorded episode packaging it all together still airing every Sunday morning on TVNZ2. 'We did a big thing and a brave thing,' says Janine Morrell-Gunn, executive producer of What Now and director of Whitebait Media. 'After 42 years on television, it's been tantamount to moving the Titanic.'
Aside from moving to a smaller studio, there's also been a refresh of the hosting dynamic. What Now is now helmed by a 'crew' mostly in their early 20s, who take turns hosting the studio show and competing in a range of challenges together. 'It has really changed the whole culture of the show, which I think is much closer to reflecting young people and how they live their lives,' says Morrell-Gunn. She admits that the new era of What Now initially spent time trying to 'out-beast Mr Beast' with the likes of dramatic helicopter stunts, but have now settled into simpler shortform quiz formats and lo-fi crew set-ups.
And having worked on everything from Spot On to The Son of a Gunn Show, Morrell-Gunn remains passionate about celebrating local kids. 'Kids seeing themselves on screen, hearing their voices and having their own humour and sensibilities showcased is so important,' she says. 'We need to keep seeing kids from all cultures accepting, playing, and enjoying each other.' And, before you ask, there's still plenty of room for gunge – the new era of What Now also comes with a fully mobile gunge tank, which is still traversing the motu gunging kids to this day. 'Whatever gunge means, it's joyful,' says Morrell-Gunn.
Speaking of joyful, we asked Morrell-Gunn to take us through some of her most treasured television memories, including what Michael Jackson had to do with Jason and Thingee's Big Adventure.
My earliest TV memory is… Watching The High Chaparral, which is a Western from way back in the day. That's how old I am – the show aired in the late 60s. The reason I remember it is because I was terrified behind this chair watching it.
The show I would rush home from school to watch is… We didn't watch TV very much after school as kids, but I do remember Romper Room which was a preschool show. They'd do a song where kids would run around the studio with these little wooden horses between their legs. I knew a girl Eden who got on the show and she took her horse and started hitting the lights in the studio. I don't know why they didn't edit in those days.
A TV moment that haunts me is… We made Jason and Thingee's Big Adventure on the weekends while we were working on other things during the week, and we had so much fun. But my haunting memory was that we included various video clips from the Son of a Gunn Show throughout, and one of them was montage with a young group of dancers who were dancing to 'Beat It'. When it was about to come out we got a message saying 'have you cleared the Michael Jackson song?' We hadn't, so we re-recorded a soundalike using session musicians. I thought we had sorted it out, except that the original version with Michael Jackson was somehow put out on the VHS. I've lost a lot of sleep about that because I could see the headlines – 'Michael Jackson sues Christchurch woman' – but we lived to tell the tale.
My earliest TV crush was… Definitely David Soul from Starsky and Hutch. He went into singing and I bought his 45 from the local record shop for 99 cents. No one who reads this will remember any of this.
My TV guilty pleasure is… I did have a big Schitt's Creek moment. So many people had said to watch it and I couldn't get through the first couple of episodes, and then suddenly those 80 episodes just went like that [Morrell-Gunn snaps her fingers]. I could not get enough of it – I'd just keep tapping on the table and say 'go again, Jason'. I remember feeling very much out of control.
My favourite TV character of all time is… Well, my husband. I've enjoyed him on everything that he's ever done. I just think he has this beautiful, real and really relatable way about him. So he is my pick.
My favourite TV show I've ever been involved in is… That's a hard one for me, because they're all your babies. 2kaha was a show we made on Saturday mornings and I loved the Māori sensibility, it had a really great energy about it. Bumble was also something special. I just love the kindness of that show, there was real joy in that and innocence to it. You never know what impact your shows ever have, but I remember getting this mail from a mum thanking me because she could put her child in front of Bumble and finally have a shower. And then there's Brain Busters – making the te reo Māori version of Brain Busters just melted my heart.
The TV project I wish I could be involved in is… I'd love to have worked on Adolescence. I think it's just stunning what they achieved. From the execution of that idea through the script, to the groundbreaking style of storytelling, to the messaging and the timeliness and the need for it in society… it was just a fabulous piece of content.
My controversial TV opinion is… This isn't controversial, but I've always been a champion for children's content. I think that we always get the thin end of the wedge, and that young people deserve the same range and diversity of local content across all genres. Children's television often feels last in a long, long line.
A show out there I won't watch, no matter how many people say I should… I don't watch any real-life murder crime series. The family love them and I'll take a look if I'm wandering through the room, but only because I'm fascinated by the technique – how slow it takes, how much is recapped, how they interview. But it's never going to have a happy ending.
The last thing I watched on television was… We just waited for that last episode of Mob Land, and loved that. Also just finished My Friends and Neighbours. And then Nine Perfect Strangers, based on the Lianne Moriarty book with Nicole Kidman. We love the dramas.