New Zealand has always taken pride in that classic number 8-wire, roll-up-your-sleeves attitude, and it’s this very sense of Kiwi ingenuity and cultural identity that young animator Charlie Faulks gleefully sends up in his all-new animated zombie-apocalypse comedy series Bloke of the Apocalypse. Currently screening thanks to NZ On Air funding and on Faulks’ own YouTube platform, Bloke of the Apocalypse is the kind of show that’s proudly oddball, wildly unique and unmistakably Kiwi, and audiences looking for something completely out there are absolutely going to find it here.
At the centre of this animated spectacle is the titular Bloke, a mud-on-his-boots, hard-as-nails rural farmer and the walking embodiment of the Kiwi archetype. Alongside him is his son Oliver, a young man who’s a little more sensitive, thoughtful, and modern in his worldview. Their quiet, isolated life on the farm is turned completely upside down when the horrific Wenza virus sweeps across the nation, turning ordinary New Zealanders into ravenous zombies. Accompanied by their newly adopted lamb, Lamby, Bloke and Oliver must survive the chaos that unfolds, and in the process, they start to understand one another in deeper, more heartfelt ways.
While the emotional core of the series rests in this father-son bond and slow-burning reconciliation, Bloke of the Apocalypse is anything but sentimental in its tone. The series is an outrageous cocktail of insane humour, gore-splattered zombie chaos, and beautifully over-the-top Kiwi satire. Faulks draws on the creative DNA of shows like Courage the Cowardly Dog, Ren & Stimpy, Adventure Time and Aqua Teen Hunger Force; the result is animation that feels elastic, unpredictable, and absolutely unhinged in the best possible way. You simply never know what’s coming next, and that’s half the thrill.
The real genius of the show is how Faulks takes the classic Fred Dagg-style “Kiwi bloke” and filters him through a Gen Z lens. There’s humour, admiration, mockery and affection all at once. Bloke is both an exaggerated stereotype and a loving tribute. Watching him trudge through a zombie apocalypse with the same attitude he’d take to repairing a fence line, “ah, she’ll be right”, is comedy gold. From dealing with rabid possums, to hunting for a chocolate bar for Oliver, to going toe-to-toe with the formidable She-Bloke (played with riotous energy by Anika Moa), every episode is packed with big laughs and even bigger surprises.
What’s truly impressive is that Faulks is only 21. Armed with a $500,000 NZ On Air development grant, he’s delivered a debut series that feels bold, confident, and stylistically distinct. Bloke of the Apocalypse doesn’t just work as comedy — it works as character storytelling, as cultural satire, and as a showcase for emerging Kiwi talent. It’s the kind of project that signals the arrival of a fresh voice worth paying attention to.
Bloke of the Apocalypse is wild, wicked, heartfelt, proudly Kiwi and gloriously insane. It’s knocked the bastard off, and we’re absolutely here for it.
Bloke of the Apocalypse is streaming now. Get stuck in.
Image: NZ On Air
