City Life(1996)

City Life was a New Zealand soap opera that aired on TVNZ from 1996 to 1998, positioning itself as the country's answer to Melrose Place. The series followed ten single residents navigating romance and drama in an upmarket Auckland apartment building. Starring Claudia Black, Lisa Chappell, Laurie Foell, and Oliver Driver, with a guest appearance by Kevin Smith, City Life opened with a controversial scene: Damon, the building's owner, shares a drunken kiss with his ex-lover Ryan the night before his wedding. Damon is killed by a car en route to the ceremony, leaving his apartment to his friends—but his jilted fiancée contests his will, sparking a conflict that drives the show's first five episodes. Originally developed as Wellington-set drama titled 96 Oriental Parade, the project was relocated to Auckland and reimagined as City Life.