The show was first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May and is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously for over 8, episodes and 32 years as of December It is one of the most watched television programmes in New Zealand.
The show was originally screened as five half-hour episodes each week, and received mixed reviews on its premiere. TVNZ renewed the production in early after the show's ratings picked up, and the show has since garnered "long-term public enthusiasm".
De Nave noticed Neighbours and Home and Away had a generally straightforward Australian cast and wanted the cast of the show to be culturally diverse to reflect New Zealand society. Shortland Street ' s first episode aired on 25 May to mixed reviews. With high public interest in the show and a viewing figure of a constant ,, Shortland Street received more sets and the outdated nursing uniforms were replaced.
The show reached huge ratings in when a Serial Killer Storyline was introduced, with five characters meeting their demise. Hone Ropata for a six-week stint in Shortland Street aired its first ever minute episode on 2 August The episode featured Chris discovering he had a son with series original Alison Raynor in , and the conclusion to the three-year Kieran Mitchell storyline which saw the shows second highest ever ratings.
Shortland Street has since made the minute episode an annual feature. On 18 April , Shortland Street screened its first episode in high definition. In July , Shortland Street achieved a New Zealand first when it made its feature-length episode available to purchase via Facebook, becoming the second ever TV show in the world to use this technology. Fong to raise money for Starship Children's Health hospital. Production of Shortland Street was suspended on 24 March due to the COVID pandemic and the nationwide lockdown from 26 March to 28 April , and TVNZ 2 reduced broadcasting the show to three episodes per week to spread out the existing backlog of episodes.
