Season 6 • Episode 8
LatestOne last job, a funeral and then a wake; the end is nigh.
The story of legendary safe cracker and career criminal Ted West and his firecracker of a wife, Rita. Combining real events and the rich folklore of the West family and associates, this is rollicking history, and a tempestuous romance, set at a time of great social upheaval.
Acting
Prebble's Rita dominates every scene she's in—feral, funny, heartbreaking.
Production
Auckland's 70s-90s transformation feels lived-in, not costume-shop.
Writing
Griffin and Lang balance folklore bombast with genuine emotional stakes.
Creators
Rachel Lang, James Griffin
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Westside is essentially New Zealand's answer to Peaky Blinders, but with more sheep and less pretension—it's based loosely on real Auckland criminal families that dominated the underworld from the 70s through 90s.
Antonia Prebble and David de Lautour had previously worked together on The Tribe as teenagers; their casting here as volatile adult lovers added meta-textual tension to Ted and Rita's chemistry.
NZ
