Netflix heads to New Zealand slopes for Queenstown drama

Netflix has ordered Queenstown, an eight-episode scripted drama set in New Zealand’s luxury ski world, with Rufus Sewell, Frances O’Connor, Alycia Debnam-Carey and Te Kohe Tuhaka lined up to lead the cast, Deadline reported.

The series comes from creator, writer and executive producer Chloe Stearns, whose credits include Wolf Like Me. Deadline reported that the project was developed with producers Jodi Matterson, known for Nine Perfect Strangers and The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, and Libbie Doherty, known for Bluey.

Netflix’s official logline puts the drama under the glossy surface of Queenstown’s high-end ski scene, where a wealthy family and the people employed by them clash over power, loyalty and desire. Details of the four lead actors’ roles have not been disclosed.

Sewell’s recent credits include The Diplomat and Scoop. O’Connor has appeared in Wednesday and The Missing. Debnam-Carey’s credits include Apple Cider Vinegar and The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, while Tuhaka has appeared in Chief of War and The Convert.

Production is already in progress in Queenstown, New Zealand, according to Deadline. The series marks the first Netflix show from the streamer’s Australia and New Zealand arm to be both set and filmed in New Zealand.

Glendyn Ivin, whose credits include The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart and Penguin Bloom, will executive produce and serve as lead director. Roseanne Liang, who worked on Avatar: The Last Airbender, will also direct.

Matterson and Doherty said in a statement reported by Deadline that their aim in creating Silent Firework Group and Runaway Unicorn was to support “bold, distinctive storytelling,” adding that Queenstown fit that mission. They also praised Stearns as “an extraordinary new voice” and said they were pleased to have Ivin involved alongside the cast.

Amanda Duthie, Netflix ANZ content director, called the local commission a major step for the company in comments reported by Deadline. She described the series as “a bold, propulsive story of power, class and family” set in a luxury ski town.

Duthie also said the production is being supported by the New Zealand Film Commission and the Screen Production Rebate, and that it is creating work for local crew, businesses and emerging talent.

Executive producers on Queenstown include Stearns, Matterson, Doherty, Ivin, Jeremy Platt and Erika North. Mel Turner, Ricci Swart, Andrew Low, John Hamm and John Wynn are co-executive producers, with Axel Paton serving as co-producer. The production companies are Silent Firework and Runaway Unicorn.

Deadline reported that Sewell is represented by CAA; O’Connor by WME, Shanahan Management and The Artists Partnership; Debnam-Carey by Gersh, Management 360, United Management in Australia and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; and Tuhaka by Lion Rock Management and Brave Artists Management.

This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.