|Born||25 December 1982|
Tauranga, New Zealand
|Alma mater||Auckland University of Technology|
| Dark Tourist |
David Farrier (born 25 December 1982)is a New Zealand journalist and actor. He has worked in news and documentary, including features on New Zealand television and co-directing the internationally distributed documentary film Tickled (2016). In 2018, he created the Netflix documentary series Dark Tourist , in which he visits obscure, peculiar, or dangerous tourist spots. He has also done some acting, most notably in the Rhys Darby mockumentary series Short Poppies .
Farrier started his journalism career at 3 News, and he was Nightline 's entertainment reporter from 2006 until the program's end in 2013.In 2011, he made a 45-minute documentary for TV3 about the origins of "God Defend New Zealand", one of the two New Zealand national anthems. In 2014, he played a fictionalised version of himself in Darby's 2014 mockumentary series Short Poppies .
In 2015, he became co-host, with reporter Sam Hayes,of the TV3 show Newsworthy , which aired for one year.In a June 2015 episode of Newsworthy, Farrier interviewed the then-leader of the New Conservative Party, Colin Craig, in a sauna. Craig resigned as party leader the same month that the conversation aired, with some in the media saying the interview was one of the contributing factors to his leadership failing. This interview was also played during the 2017 defamation trial between Craig and Whale Oil Beef Hooked blogger Cameron Slater. In 2022, Farrier expressed regret for the interview because of Craig's political views, saying that it drew parallels to "what Jimmy Fallon did to Donald Trump. Fallon, ruffling Trump's hair. Me, topless, joking around with Colin. It was an image that instantly excused all that bad shit."
In November 2016, Farrier wrote an article for The Spinoff about individuals with various sexual fetishes issuing "challenges" or dares to children on YouTube, encouraging them to make seemingly innocent videos of themselves; this led to several YouTube accounts being banned.Farrier is a frequent guest contributor to The Spinoff, covering topics such as conspiracy theories, COVID-19, media, and culture.
In 2018, he was an executive producer and served as presenter on the Netflix documentary series Dark Tourist , in which he travels to various locations around the world associated with death and tragedy.
From 2013 to 2017, he co-hosted the cryptozoology-focused audio program The Cryptid Factor with comedian Rhys Darby and producer Leon 'Buttons' Kirkbeck.
In September 2020, Farrier appeared on the podcast Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard and thereafter has worked alongside the Armchair umbrella in releasing a podcast series dubbed Armchaired and Dangerous, which discusses popular conspiracy theories.
In 2022, Farrier presented an eight-part podcast for Audible titled When a Good Man Kills, which covers the story of how the boxer Tim "Doc" Anderson murdered his manager, Rick "Elvis" Parker.
In 2014, Farrier began production of the feature-length documentary Tickled , in collaboration with Dylan Reeve.The film centres on "competitive endurance tickling" and videos featuring it, as well as those producing the videos. The film explores the legal and ethical issues of making the videos and has itself been the subject of legal challenges.
The film premiered in January 2016 at the Sundance Film Festival and was shown on HBO.In 2017, Farrier did a short follow-up documentary, with previously unseen footage, entitled The Tickle King.
Farrier publishes the newsletter Webworm, which he started in 2020.The newsletter covers a range of topics and in its early years had a specific focus on conspiracy theories, such as QAnon. It has since broadened its topics of coverage: for example, in 2022, Farrier broke a story about allegations of employment and sexual abuse at Arise Church. He has also covered stories on the toymaker Zuru's defamation lawsuit of former employees.
Farrier was raised in Bethlehem, Tauranga, where he was home-schooled before attending the Christian Bethlehem College.He has written about Bethlehem College's policies on sexuality and gender, which many have labelled as homophobic and transphobic, in Webworm.
Farrier was raised by devout Baptists and describes his younger self as "a really good Christian".He initially enrolled to study medicine but soon became disinterested in the discipline and instead entered the Auckland University of Technology, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Communication Studies degree in 2005.
In 2012, during the government sitting of New Zealand's Marriage Equality Bill, Farrier came out as bisexual, identifying his relationship with Grayson Coutts, the son of yachtsman Russell Coutts; the couple have since separated.
|2007–13||Nightline||Yes||Television news program - entertainment presenter|
|2010||Campbell Live||Yes||Current affairs television program - presenter|
|2011||God Defend New Zealand||Yes||Documentary film - host|
|Coming & Going||Yes||Film - Angry Dinner Guest in Wheelchair|
|2012||3 News||Yes||Television news program - presenter|
|2014||Short Poppies||Yes||Mockumentary television series - Presenter|
|Manila: No Limitations||Yes||Documentary film - Himself|
|2015||Ghost Shark 2: Urban Jaws||Yes||Feature film - Himself|
|Newsworthy||Yes||Television news program - presenter|
|Chelsea||Yes||Television talk show - "Brexit's Aftermath & Competitive Tickling"|
|2017||The Tickle King||Yes||Yes||Documentary short|
|The Video Store||Yes||Miniseries - David (Customer)|
|2018||Dark Tourist||Yes||Yes||Yes||Documentary television series|
|2020||The Project||Yes||Current affairs television series - 1 episode|
|The George Lucas Talk Show||Yes||Improvised talk show - "Season III: Revenge of the Arli$$ith"|
Taika David Cohen, known professionally as Taika Waititi, is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. He is a recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award, and has received two nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards. His feature films Boy (2010) and Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) have each been the top-grossing New Zealand film. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world on its annual list in 2022.
Samantha Hayes is a South African-born New Zealand journalist and newsreader.
Tickled is a 2016 New Zealand documentary about "competitive endurance tickling" and videos featuring it, and the practices of those producing the videos, directed by David Farrier and Dylan Reeve. The film explores possible legal and ethical issues with certain individuals making the videos, and has itself been the subject of legal challenges. A follow-up special, The Tickle King, aired on HBO in February 2017.
Carthew Neal is an Academy nominated film, television and interactive producer.
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Kit Sebastian Connor is an English actor. His films include Get Santa (2014), Rocketman (2019), and Little Joe (2019). On television, he had a recurring role in the CBBC series Rocket's Island (2014–2015), a voice role in the BBC One and HBO series His Dark Materials. He starred as Nick Nelson in the 2022 Netflix series Heartstopper.
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Lonely is a lingerie, swimwear and clothing label based in New Zealand. It was established in 2009 by Helene Morris and Steven Ferguson, who had created the Lonely Hearts Club label in 2003. Morris began making soft-cup bras in 2009 alongside their main clothing brand, but switched focus to lingerie due to demand. Lingerie from the Lonely label has gained a cult following and is often worn by celebrities such as Kylie Jenner.
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William Desmond Te Kahika Jr, also known as Billy TK Jr, is a New Zealand Māori conspiracy theorist, blues musician and guitarist, businessman and former political candidate. During the 2020 New Zealand general election, Te Kahika attracted media coverage both as the leader of the fringe New Zealand Public Party and for his promulgation of conspiracy theories. Te Kahika and the Public Party opposed the New Zealand Government's lockdown restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Te Kahika, who lives in Whangārei, is the son of Māori musician Billy TK.
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