Plot Synopsis

SHORT POPPIES is a half-hour mockumentary series that pokes fun at TV shows like New Zealand's COUNTRY CALENDAR, in which a reporter explores the lives of everyday people, usually asking small-town residents about their lives and jobs. In this series created by FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS' Rhys Darby, real-life TV3 reporter David Farrier plays a fictionalized version of himself, as his character visits a small towns in New Zealand to meet a wide variety of residents, who are all played by Darby. In each of the first seven episodes, Farrier interviews a different person, including: Terry Pole, a lifeguard and leg model, who believes some of his competitors have resorted to sabotage to keep him from winning the local sexy legs competition; Steve Whittle, who runs an alien encounter support service for people like him who have been abducted by visitors from outer space; Ron Taylor, an entrepreneur, whose whale watching business is in deep trouble, with Farrier possibly becoming his reluctant accomplice to keep the business afloat; Mary Ledbetter, the local gossip and a full time agitator, who rules this small town with an iron fist, testing Farrier's patience to the limit; Bill Napier, the local park ranger, who is better at talking to trees than people; Louise Cooper, a local artist and a man eater, who immediately sets her radar on Farrier when he comes to town; and Rhod Gainer, a car enthusiast and local lawyer, who has no regard for the law and gets himself in more trouble than his clients. Then, in the final episode, Farrier returns to the town for a screening of what the network has made, and what was supposed to be a heartfelt reunion turns into a mutiny. Guest stars include Stephen Merchant (Episode 1: "Terry Pole"), Bear Grylls (Episode 5: "Bill Napier"), Sam Neill (Episode 6: "Louise Cooper"), and more. On April Fool's Day 2014 (Tuesday, April 1), TVNZ On Demand made all eight episodes available to viewers in New Zealand, and only two days later Netflix released all eight episodes in the United States on Thursday, April 3, 2014.