A life-changing cystic fibrosis diagnosis at the age of 20 taught Kiwi writer and artist Matt Haworth that life doesn’t always go to plan. But rather than let his challenges define him, the talented animator has turned his experiences into something positive.
As the creator of new animated kids’ TV show Be With Zee, which has a strong mindfulness focus, Matt, 34, has designed a series to help little ones navigate the kind of big emotions he has experienced himself.
“When I got my diagnosis, I’d just graduated from my animation course at uni,” he recalls. “I had my life all mapped out, so it put a big spanner in the works.”
Processing his future
Confronted with daunting information about life expectancy and the uncertainty of living with a chronic condition, Matt struggled to process what the diagnosis meant for his future.
“I was feeling anxious and knew I didn’t have the tools to help navigate such a big life change. Then I did a meditation and mindfulness course, and was able to get
my mind in a better place. My physical health and social life improved too, even with the looming anxiety in the back of my mind.”
During this period, Matt began teaching art to kids after school and realised they were having the same kinds of worries about the future.
“Whatever our age or worries, we often feel them very intensely but don’t always have the skills to deal with or talk about them.”
Channelling life lessons
As Matt’s career blossomed, the Aucklander had an idea to combine his creative work with channelling the lessons he’d learnt around mindfulness into a show for preschool kids. Then the pandemic arrived.
“My anxiety was heightened again as there was lots of news coverage focused on health risks and vulnerable people. At the same time, I saw parents struggling to keep their young children entertained at home. I decided to create something calming and low stimulating for young kids and their parents, different from the often-noisy series aimed at preschoolers.”
Matt’s creation Zee is a cuddly blue forest creature who, in the show’s 52 short episodes, has expeditions and experiences emotions with the support of Matua, a nurturing caregiver figure.
“I wanted to create the cutest protagonist possible, and add some calming and mindfulness lessons around the adventures, so it feels casual and conversational.
“It’s charming, sweet and funny, and hopefully gives children and their parents real-life coping skills in the process.”
More health challenges
But even as the idea started its journey towards the screen in 2021, Matt continued to face more health challenges.
Soon after he and his partner Tash, 31, got engaged in 2024, Matt was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
“I won the unlucky lottery!” he grins, adding that the second diagnosis came at a pivotal time when he was pitching the show overseas. “I remember sitting in Zoom meetings with executives from TV networks all over North America and could feel my glucose crashing. It brought back all those feelings of uncertainty.”
However, Matt says his diagnosis has helped to reinforce to him what the show is about.
“It’s a reminder life always throws things at us and we need good tools to help us roll with them.”
There have also been exciting milestones for Matt and Tash, who got married in 2025, bought their first house together and had their baby Riley through IVF six months ago.
“We started IVF the first week of production on Be With Zee!” Matt recalls. “It was pretty amazing that Tash’s pregnancy lined up with the production weeks of the show. Then we needed to move from our small apartment into our house, all while making a giant TV show.”
“We feel very blessed and privileged”
Matt loves the way Riley has brought a natural sense of mindfulness to their lives.
“With a newborn, you can’t help but be present,” he smiles. “Riley’s such a happy, healthy wee fellow. We feel very blessed and privileged.”
After originally writing the show for his younger self, now he’s a dad, Riley is his audience. “It’s shifted from being something I wish I had seen growing up to now being for my son.”
As well as streaming on TVNZ+, Be With Zee will be screened in Canada, with foreign language versions being dubbed in French, Spanish and German. Matt’s proud to be working with an award-winning international production team to bring Kiwi storytelling to kids and their caregivers around the world. He believes it may be the first time te reo Ma¯ori has been kept in an overseas cartoon.
“I’ve just been listening to auditions for the Spanish voices and it was so cool hearing words like ‘puku’ being said in a Spanish accent!”
After five years of hard work, Matt is excited his “hopeful and optimistic characters” are finally going out into the world.
He enthuses, “I hope the show is a positive force, just like it’s been on my life.”
Be With Zee is now streaming on TVNZ+.
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