The long-awaited crime drama The Gone, co-directed by DEGANZ member Peter Meteherangi Tikao Burger, hits the screens this Sunday on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+. The six-episode series is an Irish-New Zealand co-production, with Peter directing the first block and Irish director Hannah Quinn the second. 

Filmed in Te Aroha, the town of love transforms into the distressed Mt Affinity when a young Irish couple disappears. Detective Sergeant Diana Huia, played by Acushla-Tara Kupe (Under the Vines, Creeped Out), pairs with Irish colleague Theo Richter, played by Richard Flood (Grey’s Anatomy, Shameless), to investigate. Together, they must face the series of grim, unexplained murders and dig deeper into the past to solve this dark mystery. As Acushla-Tara Kupe said in her interview for Stuff,

It’s a detective mystery between two cultures that have a lot in common. It’s incredibly gripping up until the very last second.

The Gone had Maori as 40% of the crew and 5% of the series’ dialogue in Te Reo. Likewise, the series is also one of the biggest productions filmed in the Waikato region since The Hobbit and brought about $1 million into the town’s economy. The show has 200 local extras and features familiar faces of Manu Bennett, Vanessa Rare, and Scott Wills.

To see how Te Aroha became the gloomy, mysterious Mt Affinity, tune into TVNZ1 at 8.30 pm on Sunday, May 7 or enjoy the suspense on TVNZ+.