The New Tomorrow
Sequel to The Tribe, set in countryside and forest.
The New Tomorrow is a New Zealand television series produced by Cloud 9 Screen Entertainment Group with Channel 5. It serves as a sequel to *The Tribe*, created by Raymond Thompson, and first aired on 17 September 2005 on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom. The story picks up after the final episode of *The Tribe*’s fifth series, but how much time has passed and the exact links between the two shows remain unclear.
In the show’s world, a virus has killed all adults, leaving children to fend for themselves. Most form tribes with distinct looks and beliefs, which often leads to conflict. While *The Tribe* centered on city-dwelling children, *The New Tomorrow* shifts focus to the countryside and forest, following three main tribes: The Ants, The Barbs, and The Privileged.
Main characters include Sky (Nick Fenton), a mysterious outsider who befriends The Barbs and Zora but refuses to join any tribe, with his own origins unknown even to him. Dan (Rafe Custance) starts with The Ants but resists their worship of the Mall Rats as ancestors and eventually joins The Barbs after an initiation. Omar (Trey Brown) is a protective Ant who distrusts outsiders and dislikes Dan. Flame (Cameron Wakefield) leads The Privileged as a bully, but cannot speak against his only close companions, Harmony and Shadow. Zora (Felicity Milovanovich) leads The Barbs and feels Sky seems familiar, asking if he has been there before. Jag (Joshua Rippon) prioritizes protecting The Barbs over outsiders (episodes 1–16). Harmony (Lara Custance) advises Flame but secretly doubts his leadership. Faygar (Zoë Robins) leads The Ants and serves as chief priestess of their ancestor religion. Kwarli (Thomas Steventon) of The Barbs tries to help everyone, not just his tribe. Cass (Paige Shand-Haami) is The Ants’ cook, caring and comforting. Shadow (James Shaw) leads The Warps, The Privileged’s army, and serves as Flame’s bodyguard; he has a scar over his left eye, keeps a pet rat, and later escapes after being discarded during Harmony’s coup (episodes 1–24). Gwyn (Henrietta Steventon), once a Discard, becomes a Privileged but treats Discard servants kindly. She is sent to spy on The Barbs and Ants, with the promise of staying a Priv if successful or being sent to the Forbidden Zone if not; on this mission, she finds her long-lost brother Dan.
- Network
- Channel 5 (United Kingdom)
Lore & Background
The series is set after a virus has wiped out the entire adult population, leaving children to survive in tribes. While The Tribe focused on city survivors, The New Tomorrow centers on three tribes in the countryside and forest: The Ants, The Barbs, and The Privileged. The Ants are farmers who worship the Mall Rats as ancestors, led by High Priestess Faygar, and distinguish themselves with facial markings. The Barbs are naturalistic forest dwellers led by Zora, who worship the sun, moon, and rain. The Privileged, led by Flame, live in tunnels under a dam and consider themselves superior, maintaining a slave class called The Discards and a military group called The Warps.
Reader's Guide
The New Tomorrow expands the universe of The Tribe by shifting focus from urban to rural survival, introducing new tribal dynamics and mythologies. Its significance lies in exploring how children create belief systems and social hierarchies in a post-apocalyptic world. The series introduces characters like Sky, a mysterious outsider with no memory of his origins, and Dan, who defects from The Ants to The Barbs. The show also features a fourth tribe, The Birds, introduced late in the run. The Ants' religion worships Bray (a character from The Tribe) as a good ancestor and Zoot as an evil figure, linking the two series thematically. The series ran for 26 episodes and contributed to the legacy of New Zealand-produced children's science fiction.
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