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New Zealand’s Whakaata Māori and Canada’s APTN have unveiled an international co-production partnership on “Māui & Elvis,” an adventure sci-fi comedy series for children and families spanning Aotearoa New Zealand and Canada.
The two broadcasters unveiled the deal during the World Indigenous Broadcasters Network (WIBN) Conference, held this year in Sápmi, Norway.
“Māui & Elvis” draws together creative and broadcast talent from Māori and Métis/Cree communities across the two countries. The series follows two best friends, Māori character Māui from Aotearoa and Métis character Elvis from Canada, who set out to save Māui’s grandmother after an alien bent on world destruction takes over her body. It is set primarily in New Zealand’s South Island, with additional scenes in Vancouver, and draws on the Canterbury region’s landscapes and the Kaikōura Lights phenomenon.
Te reo Māori, the Māori language, will make up at least 30% of the series’ dialogue, with the production designed to keep tikanga Māori, or Māori cultural values and practices, integral to the story.
Métis/Cree series co-producer Camille Beaudoin said the project reflects shared Indigenous values. “At its heart, ‘Māui & Elvis’ is a story that celebrates the power of friendship, culture and found family through our shared values and sense of humor,” Beaudoin said. “Our two young leads demonstrate the courage, resilience and ingenuity of their Indigenous ancestors as they protect their loved ones from an extra-terrestrial threat.”
Maria Barlow, Kaiurungi Pāpāho, or director of content and audience engagement at Whakaata Māori, said seeing te reo Māori represented on screen matters to Māori families. “We want our tamariki [children] to see themselves, hear their language and see their culture reflected in bold, imaginative and world-class storytelling,” Barlow said. “‘Māui & Elvis’ is exactly the kind of distinctive, reo-rich [rich in te reo Māori] content we want to bring to our audiences, while creating opportunities for Māori stories and talent to reach audiences internationally.”
Mike Omelus, executive director of content and programming Strategy at APTN, said the series shows what is possible when Indigenous storytellers from different nations collaborate. “What makes ‘Māui & Elvis’ so exciting is that it never asks young audiences to choose between entertainment and culture,” Omelus said. “It’s a big, funny, imaginative adventure filled with aliens, friendship and heart, but it’s also deeply grounded in Māori and Métis ways of seeing the world.”
Aotearoa series co-producer Janine Morrell-Gunn (Ngāti Kahungunu) said the goal is a series families can watch together. “Our kaupapa [purpose] is to produce a whānau [family] viewing series where te reo Māori [the Māori language], tikanga Māori [Māori cultural values and practices] and Métis culture flow naturally, the voices of our tamariki [children] and rangatahi [young people] are amplified, and our audiences are inspired and entertained,” Morrell-Gunn said.
Whakaata Māori and APTN are both members of WIBN, founded in 2008 to build collaboration among Indigenous broadcasters worldwide. Shane Taurima, chair of WIBN and chief executive of Whakaata Māori, said the partnership demonstrates the value of Indigenous broadcasters working together. “‘Māui & Elvis’ shows what that can look like in practice – Māori and Métis/Cree storytellers, producers and broadcasters bringing our languages, cultures and creativity together to create something for our children and families,” Taurima said.
Monika Ille, chief executive officer of APTN, which launched in Canada in 1999 as the first broadcaster of its kind dedicated to national Indigenous programming, said the project moves beyond content exchange into full collaboration. “‘Māui & Elvis’ represents exactly the kind of collaboration we envisioned when Indigenous broadcasters came together through the World Indigenous Broadcasters Network,” Ille said. “By partnering with Whakaata Māori, we’re connecting cultures, languages and creative talent across oceans to build something larger than any one broadcaster could achieve alone.”
The series is produced by Aotearoa New Zealand’s Whitebait Media and Canada’s Mosaic Entertainment. Lead producers Morrell-Gunn and Beaudoin first connected at the 2024 WIFT NZ/Canada Co-Production Summit.
“We are extremely grateful for the commitment from our broadcasters Whakaata Māori and APTN,” Morrell-Gunn said. “This partnership allows us to celebrate Māori and Métis lands, storytelling, humor and culture, and build a bridge between Indigenous storytellers, content makers, broadcasters and audiences across Aotearoa and Indigenous Canada.”
In New Zealand, the production draws backing from Screen Canterbury, the New Zealand Film Commission, NZ On Air and Whakaata Māori. On the Canadian side, backers include Telefilm Canada, Canadian Heritage, Creative BC, the Canadian Media Producers Association, the Canada Media Fund, the Indigenous Screen Office and APTN, with Blue Ant International attached as distributor.
Casting is underway in New Zealand and Canada, with production set to start in November 2026 ahead of a planned 2027 premiere.
English (US) ·