Taika Waititi's Time Bandits doubles New Zealand for New York

Taika Waititi’s fantasy comedy series Time Bandits is doubling the city of Wellington in New Zealand for 1920s New York.

Hundreds of cast and crew have flocked to the city’s Central Business District for filming of the Apple TV+ and Paramount TV series, which stars Lisa Kudrow, Kal-El Tuck (Unseeing Evil) and Charlyne Yi (Knocked Up).

Wellington City Council has closed parts or all of Stout, Maginnity and Ballance streets over the next three nights for filming with the boutique Wellesley Hotel a key location for interior and exterior shots.

The series is also shooting in Wairarapa, a rural area in the south east corner of the North Island, east of Wellington. “It’s fantastic for the South Wairarapa – we are familiar with being a premium tourist destination, but to see large budget productions also recognising the value of our offering really lifts confidence,” said south Wairarapa mayor Alex Beijen. 

Time Bandits revolves around a boy who discovers a time portal in his bedroom and was officially described as a comedic journey through time and space with a ragtag group of thieves and their newest recruit: an 11-year-old history nerd.

Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Concords is an executive producer.

Homepage image: Time Bandits doubling Wellington for New York. Credit: Mark Mitchell