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Nine Network, MediaWorks head for ‘The Gulf’

‘The Gulf.’

The Nine Network and New Zealand broadcaster MediaWorks Three have acquired The Gulf, a six-part thriller which follows the moral disintegration of a female detective as she investigates crimes on her home patch of Waiheke Island.

Kate Elliot, Ido Drent, Jeffrey Thomas, Pana Hema-Taylor, Mark Mitchinson and newcomer Timmie Cameron star in the German-New Zealand co-production which explores the notion that even good people are capable of committing a terrible crime.

Created and scripted by Lippy Pictures’ Donna Malane and Paula Boock, the plot follows Detective Jess Savage after she loses her memory in the car crash that killed her husband and vows to bring the killer to justice. Convinced that someone is trying to kill her because of something she uncovered in a recent case, she begins investigating herself, retracing her steps over the previous weeks.

As her colleagues become increasingly uncooperative her paranoia sets in while she also starts to battle an addiction to morphine.

Screentime NZ (Straight Forward, Dear Murderer), Lippy Pictures (Jean, Field Punishment No 1), Germany’s Letterbox Filmproduktion and broadcaster ZDF are co-producing.

The directors are Charlie Haskell (Straight Forward, Tangiwai), Gaysorn Thavat (Fresh Eggs) and Rob Sarkies (This Is Not My Life, Out of the Blue).

Screentime’s parent Banijay Rights is handling global sales. Boock and Malane said: “The rushes promise a dark and dazzling Southern noir drama, showcasing the unique creative talent and natural beauty of Aotearoa New Zealand.”

Andrew Szusterman, MediaWorks chief content officer, added: “This production promises to have the hallmarks of what makes current television drama so exciting.”