How TV networks are planning to honour Sir Sam Neill's life and legacy

Author: Herald Reporters,
Publish Date: Tue, 14 Jul 2026, 8:59pm

New Zealand television networks are planning to honour the late actor Sir Sam Neill with revised programming and curated collections on their free-to-air and streaming services.

The Jurassic Park star died aged 78 in a private hospital in Sydney, Australia, Neill’s loved ones confirmed on social media last night.

“Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life,” his family wrote.

“More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss.”

This morning, TVNZ and Sky shared how they each planned to celebrate Neill’s distinguished career.

A spokesperson for TVNZ told the Herald it had a curated selection of Neill’s work on its streaming platform TVNZ+, which viewers can find at the top of its homepage under the banner “Remembering Sir Sam Neill”.

“This includes award-winning series, The Twelve, iconic blockbuster Jurassic Park as well as Under the Mountain, Rams and Sleeping Dogs," TVNZ said.

Meanwhile, Sky has announced a last-minute programming change to its free-to-air channel Sky Open tonight, which drops the previously scheduled episode of Traffic Cops from its 8.30pm runtime.

Instead, Sky said it would pay tribute to Neill by screening his 2024 episode of The Assembly Australia in its place.

“Australia’s most renowned interviewer, Leigh Sales, mentors autistic journalism students as they learn their craft and interview well-known personalities,” the accompanying synopsis said.

“On tonight’s episode, Aotearoa’s award-winning actor Sir Sam Neill takes the hot seat.”

A spokesperson for Sky told the Herald it didn’t have any licensed content featuring Neill that it could screen on Three or ThreeNow, but it’ll nonetheless be “acknowledging his legacy on various social platforms across Sky”.

Neill, born in Northern Ireland in 1947, moved to New Zealand with his family as a child and starred in more than 150 films and TV projects over his decades-long career.

Neill’s work in New Zealand film Sleeping Dogs (1977) – the first local film to be screened internationally – is largely credited with helping him break into the global film industry.

Aside from his more obvious legacy works, namely the Jurassic Park series and 19th-century period drama Peaky Blinders, he regularly featured across a diverse bunch of local productions during his prolific career.

In his honour, the Herald‘s Mitchell Hageman has detailed some of Neill’s most memorable performances that came to define the late actor’s career at home and abroad.