In 2007, Mills Baird stopped watching TV and created and starred in his eponymous sketch comedy series, The Millen Baird Show, for TV3, which was nominated Best Comedy at the 2009 NZ Film & TV Awards.
In 2011, he created and starred in the comedy series Auckland Daze for TVNZ about four losers trying to make it in NZ’s tiny entertainment industry. The semi-autobiographical series won Best Comedy Script at the 2012 and 2014 NZ Writers Guild Awards.
In 2017, Mills released Darryl. An Outward Bound Story for TVNZ, a show about a hopeless marathon runner trying to resuscitate his mojo at Outward Bound. The NZ Herald called it “a rare comedy gem.” Mills won Best Comedy Script at the 2017 NZ Writers Guild Awards and the 2017 NZTV Awards. The show also won Outstanding Comedy Series at the 2021 Catalyst Content Festival.
In 2018, Mills and wife, Siobhan Marshall, created the animated series, Slow Pete, for TVNZ about a slow sperm trying to reach the egg. The show was a humorous take on the couple’s rollercoaster IVF journey.
Mills and Vorn are now developing; a TV cop comedy, Naki Blues, which won the Just for Laughs Stand Up and Pitch competition in Montreal in July 2022; and their relationship TV comedy, The Cruise, for TV3.
Mills has MC’d many corporate functions for companies, including TVNZ, Air NZ, Betta Electrical and Clubs NZ. His tailored race calls have been a collective hit for punters.
Talking Points
We are always looking for something different when we pull together the entertainment component of the conference program. We contacted Millen which turned out to be master stroke. He is ext ... keep reading Clubs NZ
Millen delivered flawlessly to the brief. He was able to help our creatives script, adding comedic value and he worked extremely well with our own presenters to create a seamless delivery of humour and professionalism. Millen also read the autocue exceptionally well which was a natural talent for our journalist but not something Millen had used in his career before. He was adaptable and a fast learner. He was amenable and made himself available for scripting, meetings and rehearsals. He appeased all stakeholders and was professional yet fun for all to work with. We always conduct a satisfaction survey post the event and the results were phenomenal - with many people citing Millen as a class act.
I wish to thank you on behalf of everyone present last night for your outstanding performance during our Leadership Conference dinner. You had without doubt put a huge amount of time, research and preparation into your very entertaining performance, capturing the unique personality of the airline business. The result was a wonderful blend of humour, with the skill of a very polished performance. Your passion and enthusiasm exemplified some of the core values we promote and celebrate here at Air New Zealand, so thanks sincerely for your contribution to a really fun evening.
