John Barnett.
Veteran Kiwi producer John Barnett (Shortland Street, Whale Rider) is teaming with Cordell Jigsaw Zapruder as a consultant producer to develop and produce drama out of Australia.
Barnett retired from NZ production house South Pacific Pictures last year.
CJZ is home to Gruen, Bondi Rescue, Go Back To Where You Came From and House of Hancock.
“John is without question one of the most experienced producers in the business in Australia and New Zealand”, said CJZ MD Nick Murray.
“He’s a brilliant storyteller and to top that off, he’s a quality human being and we are excited and honoured to be working across a range of projects with him."
John Barnett said he had "enormous respect" for the CJZ team's "personal integrity, for the business they have built, and the programmes they make."
CJZ CEO Matt Campbell described Barnett as someone who "lives to tell stories and has a wonderful nose for audience and market demand. He is a great fit for our company and we can’t wait to get started. Rarely has there been such an exciting time to be a content producer, which is reflected in CJZ’s very large and diverse production slate”.