''Mystic'' is an

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

teen drama New Zealand television series produced by Libertine Pictures and Slim film+television for

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

TVNZ , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...

and the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

. Created by Amy Shindler and Beth Chalmers, it is based on ''

Pony Club Secrets ''Pony Club Secrets'' is a series of junior and intermediate reader children's books published by HarperCollins in the United Kingdom. The series was created by author and journalist Stacy Gregg, and is loosely based on her experiences as a yo ...

'', Stacy Gregg's series of pony novels, the first of which is ''Mystic and the Midnight Ride'' (2007). Set on the fictional peninsula of Kauri Point,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, ''Mystic'' tells the story of Issie Brown and her new-found friendships with the town's teen horse riders, and their efforts to save Kauri Point from an industrial development that threatens it. It stars Macey Chipping. The series premiered on

and

BBC iPlayer BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile phones and tablets, personal computers and smart televisions. iPlayer services del ...

in the UK on 14 July 2020. After the first season had aired, ''Mystic'' was renewed for second and third seasons.

Cast and characters

* Macey Chipping as Issie Brown. Having just moved from London to Kauri Point, she struggles to make friends and misses her old home. However, a chance encounter with wild ponies Blaze and Mystic convinces her to stay. *

Laura Patch Laura Patch (born 21 June 1980) is a British comedy actor, best known for playing several characters in the Channel 4 series ''Star Stories'' alongside Kevin Bishop. TV * 2002: ''Lexx'', playing Piccalina Sternflanks in Series 4, Episode 14 "P ...

as Amanda Brown, Issie's mother. *

Cathy Downes Catherine Patricia Downes (born 1951) is a New Zealand theatre director, actor, dramaturg and playwright. Of Māori descent, she affiliates to Ngāi Tahu. Downes wrote a one-woman play ''The Case of Katherine Mansfield'', which she has perfor ...

as Mitch, Amanda's mother and Issie's grandmother. * Phil Brown as Sam Tucker, father of Natasha Tucker. *

Kirk Torrance Kirk Torrance is an actor and playwright from New Zealand, best known for his role as Wayne Judd in '' Outrageous Fortune''. He is also a former Commonwealth Games swimmer. Career His debut play ''Strata'' (2003) won Best New Playwright at the ...

as Tom Avery * Jonny Brugh as Kenny Burford, mayor of Kauri Point. * Antonia Robinson as Natasha Tucker, one of Kauri Point's teen riders. * Max Crean as Dan Townley, one of Kauri Point's teen riders. * Jacqueline Joe as Caroline Burford, one of Kauri Point's teen riders. * Joshua Tan as Caleb Burford, one of Kauri Point's teen riders. * Harriet Walton as Stella Tarrant, one of Kauri Point's teen riders. * Romy Mukerjee as Anisha *

Milo Cawthorne Milo Cawthorne (born 13 January 1989) is a New Zealand actor who played Ziggy Grover from the television series ''Power Rangers RPM''. Career Cawthorne began acting as a teenager with a role on the TV show ''P.E.T. Detectives''. After gradua ...

as Adam * Katlyn Wong as Corinne * Anais Shand as Dora * Kelson Henderson as Jake * Carrie Green as Miriama *

Alison Bruce Alison Bruce (born 1962) is a New Zealand television and film actress, who starred in the 1999 feature ''Magik and Rose''. She also appeared in the teen series ''Being Eve'', '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' and had a recurring role as Simula in '' ...

as Julia * Xander Manktelow as Hamish Tarrant * Madeleine Adams as Bianca, Dulmoth Park Rider * Annise Boothroyd as Nicole, Dulmoth Park Rider

Production

On 2 October 2018,

NZ on Air NZ On Air (NZOA; mi, Irirangi te Motu), formally the Broadcasting Commission, is an autonomous Crown entity and commission of the New Zealand Government responsible for funding support for broadcasting and creative works. The commission oper ...

announced their decision to fund 13 28-minute episodes of ''Mystic'' for up to $1,000,000. Gilly Poole, Suzanne Crowley and Tina Cleary were the series' casting directors. On 10 March 2020, it was announced that Macey Chipping and

would play Issie Brown and her mother respectively, alongside a New Zealand cast of Phil Brown, Jacqueline Joe,

, Cathy Downes, Jonny Brugh, Antonia Robinson, Max Crean, Josh Tan and Harriet Walton. The series was scheduled to start filming in New Zealand in January 2020, and on 10 March 2020, it was revealed that filming had begun in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. Filming halted when New Zealand went into lockdown in response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, and on 5 April 2020, the BBC reported that Chipping had temporarily returned to the UK. Eight episodes from the first season were completed pre-COVID, with the other five completed during the pandemic. After the first series had completed airing, ''Mystic'' was renewed for second and third seasons. In February 2022, it was announced by

Up TV UP TV (stylized as UPtv; formerly GMC TV and originally Gospel Music Channel) is an American basic cable television network that was founded to have a focus on gospel music. It has expanded into family-friendly original movies, series, and special ...

that the show would premiere as part of the original programming catalog of its streaming service platform Up Faith & Family in April, followed by its linear debut 2 months later on June 2, 2022, airing after ''

Heartland Heartland or Heartlands may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution * Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States * Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization i ...

''.

Episodes

Series 1 (2020–2021)

Series 2 (2021)

Series 3 (2022)

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 11440422
''Mystic''
on

2020 British television series debuts 2020s British children's television series 2020s British drama television series British fantasy television series 2020s British LGBT-related drama television series 2020 New Zealand television series debuts 2020s New Zealand television series CBBC shows New Zealand children's television series New Zealand drama television series New Zealand fantasy television series New Zealand LGBT-related television shows Television productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic Television shows about psychic powers Television series about families Television series about teenagers