| Back Benches | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Presented by |
|
| Country of origin | New Zealand |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 102 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Caroline Hall Bruner |
| Production locations | Backbencher pub, Wellington |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 44–50 minutes |
| Production company | TVNZ |
| Original release | |
| Network | TVNZ 7 |
| Release | 2 April 2008 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
Back Benches was a New Zealand political interview show, presented by Wallace Chapman and Damian Christie. It was primarily filmed at the Backbencher pub, across the street from Parliament Buildings in Wellington.
The show was cancelled on TVNZ 7 in July 2012 when the station was shut down, being replaced with TV ONE +1, a timeshift of TV ONE. The final three episodes were filmed at the Shepherd's Arms Hotel after an after-hours kitchen fire at the Backbencher pub rendered it unusable.[1]
In August 2012, Prime TV expressed interest in reviving the series[2] with a similar format. On 13 September 2012, it was confirmed that Prime would be bringing the show back in February 2013 by one of the show's hosts, Wallace Chapman. On 27 March 2013, the start date for the new series was confirmed as 10 April 2013 by Wallace Chapman and Damian Christie.
On 28 September 2017, it was announced by the producer Caroline Brunner on Twitter that Back Benches had aired its final show. The public agency that funds media, New Zealand On Air, did not renew funding for Back Benches.[3]
- ^ Hunt, Tom (9 June 2012). "Puppets to rise from the ashes". Fairfax Media New Zealand. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
- ^ "Prime in line to pickup Back Benches", The Dominion Post, 14 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
- ^ "Back Benches, the show where politicians debate in a rowdy pub, is dead". Stuff. Retrieved 6 January 2020.