New Zealand on Air will contribute $3.9 million towards the next series of the Underbelly television crime drama, which will tell the story of 1970s Mr Asia drug syndicate.
It is also backing Rage, a Tom Scott-penned drama about the 1981 Springbok Tour, with $2.8m in funding and Billy, a biopic of comedian Billy T James with $2.46m.
The money comes from the $15.1m television Platinum Fund, created last year to stimulate new high-quality local programmes.
The fourth series of Underbelly, called Underbelly NZ: The land of the long green cloud, and scripted by expat John Banas, would be New Zealand-based and cover the Marty Johnstone story, said NZ On Air chief executive Jane Wrightson.
"It was a dramatic part of New Zealand's history -- in some ways the end of innocence for us and our police force," she said.
The Mr Asia drug ring trafficked heroin into New Zealand, Australia and Britain in the 1970s and 1980s. Gang leaders Terry Clark, Johnstone and others entered criminal folklore for the violence and the amount of money they made.
Clark was convicted of Johnstone's 1979 murder in England.
The Springbok Tour was an important story of change in our nation and Rage would "tell the tale" from both from the police and the protestors' point of view, Ms Wrightson said.
NZ On Air has also funded four Platinum documentary projects. Descent from Disaster, with $1.23m in funding, will review notable incidents in New Zealand history from the perspective of the descendents of those involved.
The Story, with $1.1m, will look at some of New Zealand's important institutions associated with health, welfare, education, and law and order.
Wild Coasts, with $794,000, will allow renowned wildlife photographer Craig Potton to provide another perspective on some of our special places and The Hunt For The Pink and White Terraces, with $130,000 in funding, will cover a current geological investigation.
