A brand new Kiwi gaming reality show called Ready Gamer Mum premiered on TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+ on Thursday 14 May, and it might be the most quietly clever local format we’ve seen in a while. Ten of New Zealand’s best young gamers have been paired up with their mums to compete for a $50,000 cash prize, but here’s the twist that makes it work: the gamers are not allowed to touch the controller. They can only coach. Mum has to actually play.
Hosted by Mai Morning Crew’s Tegan Yorwarth, the series runs for eight weeks, with new episodes dropping every Thursday at 7.30pm on TVNZ 2 and streaming free on TVNZ+. Episode one threw the teams straight into Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4, which is a brutal opener if your mum has never held a DualSense in her life.
What Ready Gamer Mum Actually Is
The format flips the usual parent-child dynamic on its head. The kids, who in many cases have spent years being told to put the controller down, are now the teachers, and the mums have to absorb everything from movement basics to combo timing under pressure. Each episode features a different game, and the mums have to learn enough to compete in a Final Round where their gamer kid is benched and can only watch from the sidelines.
In between training sessions, the teams step away from the consoles to take on what the show calls Side Quests, real-world physical challenges loosely themed around the episode’s featured game. Comedians Brynley Stent and Tony Lyall handle the commentary on those, which earn winning teams time advantages heading back into the gaming round.
Who Made It and Why It’s A Big Deal For Local Content
Ready Gamer Mum is an original New Zealand format developed by South Pacific Pictures from an idea by Tom Hutchison. SPP is the same studio behind Shortland Street, Outrageous Fortune and The Brokenwood Mysteries, so this is not some scrappy one-off, it’s a major local production house betting on gaming as a primetime reality concept. The show is represented internationally by All3 Media, which means it’s been built from the start with potential overseas format sales in mind.
Funding came through a partnership with Omnicom Media and a roster of programme partners including McDonald’s as major partner, plus Spark Game Arena, Noel Leeming, rova and Berocca. Omnicom Media’s managing director of content Angela Spain described it as a collaboration to create content “produced by Kiwi for Kiwi,” and SPP’s managing director Andrew Szusterman said the deal has “transformed the pathway to funding shows” by letting clients invest directly in local programming rather than relying purely on traditional ad spots.
It’s an interesting signal for NZ screen production. Local linear TV has been under serious pressure for years, and a show like this getting an 8-episode order with a $50k prize pool, brand integration deals, and an international distribution partner suggests TVNZ is still willing to back a genuinely new local format rather than just commissioning another renovation or cooking show.
The Games Featured On The Show
This is where Ready Gamer Mum earns its place on a gaming site rather than just a TV one. The featured titles confirmed so far are Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4, Gran Turismo 7 and Astro Bot. All three are PlayStation-friendly picks, which lines up with PlayStation NZ being involved in the surrounding marketing push, but the bigger point is that the show isn’t shying away from games with real skill ceilings.
Tony Hawk in particular is famously punishing for newcomers, and watching someone learn to ollie, grind and chain combos from absolute zero is genuinely funny television.
Astro Bot, last year’s GOTY winner, is a smart pick for accessibility, while Gran Turismo 7 sits in the middle, easy enough to drive badly, hard enough to drive well.
We don’t have the full episode-by-episode game list yet, but given the 8-week run, expect a few more announcements as the series progresses.
Meet The Ten Teams
The cast is drawn from across Aotearoa, with backgrounds ranging from competitive Counter-Strike to dairy farming. Nine teams were cast directly, and the tenth was selected through a McDonald’s wildcard search that ran in late 2025.
| Mum | Gamer | Location | Backstory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pam (55) | Ben Barnes (27) | Christchurch | Stepmother and stepson duo |
| Breeze (43) | Ayla Cherry (19) | Canterbury | Breeze met Ayla’s dad in a Counter-Strike team; Ayla now competes for prize pools up to $80k |
| Rebekah (56) | Bevan Harford (36) | Wellington | Rebekah is a mum of six and grandmother of five; Bevan is a dad of two |
| TinTin Goodwin (36) | Justis Gotty (21) | Stratford | Youngest mum on the show; Justis is the family’s “king gamer” |
| Naylor Siaki (65) | Leaton Taualapini (26) | Whangarei | Naylor grew up in Niue, moved to NZ at 16; Leaton learned to game before he could read |
| Lisa Graham (52) | Mathew Ruland (24) | Wellington | Mother of five; reputation for unplugging the internet to end gaming sessions |
| Sandra (73) | Zarni Saw (36) | — | Originally from Myanmar; retired interpreter; Zarni has been gaming since age five |
| Janelle Wilson (50) | Liam Craw (24) | — | Janelle is a cancer survivor; Liam is an athlete who studied in the US |
| Rachel (59) | Romy (18) | Whitianga | McDonald’s wildcard team; dairy farm family; Romy and his four siblings are homeschooled |
The tenth team rounds out the line-up alongside the nine listed above, and the show frames the McDonald’s wildcard entry as the one bringing the least gaming experience into the arena.
How To Watch Ready Gamer Mum
New episodes air every Thursday at 7.30pm on TVNZ 2, and the full series is available to stream for free on TVNZ+ in New Zealand. Episode one is already up on TVNZ+ if you missed the premiere, and the series will continue weekly through the eight-week run. TVNZ+ does require a free account, and the platform is geo-restricted to New Zealand, so anyone trying to watch from overseas will hit the usual region lock.
Where The Show Sits In The Wider NZ Gaming Scene
Gaming on Kiwi linear TV has historically been pretty thin on the ground. We’ve had esports broadcasts in fits and starts, and gaming content embedded inside variety shows, but a primetime local format built entirely around video games is rare. Ready Gamer Mum doesn’t pretend to be an esports show, it’s clearly a feel-good family reality format first, but the fact that it treats games like Tony Hawk and Gran Turismo as the actual content rather than background noise is a meaningful shift.
If the ratings hold across the eight-week run, there’s a real argument for SPP and TVNZ pushing harder into gaming-adjacent local content, whether that’s a second season, a younger spin-off, or something in the competitive space. The international format rights sitting with All3 Media also leaves the door open for the show to travel, which would be a genuinely good outcome for a homegrown idea.