Shortland Street returns to UK screens

For the first time in 15 years, New Zealand’s long-running medical drama Shortland Street will air in the United Kingdom.

Starting February 17, the show will be available on the UK streaming platform STV Player, where three new episodes will be released every Monday. The series, which began in 1992, is New Zealand’s longest-running drama, with over 8,000 episodes produced.

Shortland Street was last seen in the UK in 2010, when it had a brief run on Sky Living. Before that, it aired on ITV from 1993 to 2003. The show’s return has been greeted with excitement, including from Michael Galvin, who plays Dr. Chris Warner and is the last original cast member still on the series. Galvin said, “It’s an honour to be part of the British soap landscape alongside iconic shows like Coronation Street and Emmerdale.”

The drama, set in the fictional Auckland suburb of Ferndale, focuses on the lives of staff and patients at Shortland Street Hospital. While the show remains a cultural staple in New Zealand, it recently faced changes due to declining viewership and reduced advertising revenue. In 2025, it adopted a new format, cutting back to three episodes per week, promising “fewer, higher-impact episodes.”

TVNZ, the network behind the show, has also embraced new ways to connect with fans. Episodes now stream live on TikTok, alongside cast Q&A sessions and live reactions. Series producer Oliver Driver explained that the changes aim to keep the show fresh and competitive, saying, “We’re adapting to a changing media landscape to ensure our storytelling remains strong.”