''One Lane Bridge'' is a

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 ...

crime drama television series, premiering on

TVNZ 1 TVNZ 1 ( mi, Te Reo Tātaki Tahi) is the first national television channel owned and operated by the state-owned broadcaster Television New Zealand (TVNZ). It is the oldest television broadcaster in New Zealand, starting out from 1960 as indep ...

in 2020. The series stars Dominic Ona-Ariki as Ariki Davis, a newcomer detective,

Joel Tobeck Joel Tobeck (born 2 June 1971 in Auckland, New Zealand) is an actor known for his roles in the television series ''Tangle'', ''The Doctor Blake Mysteries'', ''Xena Warrior Princess'', ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'', and '' Young Hercules'' ...

as Stephen Tremaine, his superior, and

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 Tremaine's wife, Lois. The show follows events around the latest in a mysterious chain of deaths which have occurred on a one-lane

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

near the town of Queenstown. The series is also notable for its inclusion of aspects of Māori spirituality as a core part of the plot, such as the notion of ''matakite'', roughly equivalent to divination. The series was filmed primarily in Queenstown and its surrounding area, with the eponymous bridge located over the

Dart River / Te Awa Whakatipu The Dart River (officially Dart River / Te Awa Whakatipu from ) flows through rugged forested country in the southwestern South Island of New Zealand. Partly in Mount Aspiring National Park, it flows south-west and then south for from its head ...

near the township of Glenorchy, approximately northwest of Queenstown. Other filming locations include the Queenstown waterfront and areas around the nearby town of

Arrowtown Arrowtown (Māori: ''Haehaenui'') is a historic gold mining town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. Arrowtown is located on the banks of the Arrow River approximately 7.5 km from State Highway 6. Arrowtown is located ...

. ''One Lane Bridge'' premiered in April 2020 on TVNZ 1, in the middle of New Zealand's first lockdown of 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 identi ...

. The show was met with mixed reviews, with Stuff's Malcolm Hopwood describing the characters as "tight-lipped, charmless, one-dimensional people" and

the Spinoff ''The Spinoff'' is a New Zealand online magazine and news website that was founded in 2014. It is known for current affairs coverage, political and social analysis, and cultural commentary. It earns money through commercial sponsorship and su ...

's Catherine McGregor saying that the writing of the series "fails to live up to the drama of its breathtaking location". Stuff's James Croot was more positive, describing season 1 as "an engrossing, evocative, supernatural-tinged detective drama, a Central Otago-set Kiwi answer to Scandi-Noir complete with terrific performances from a well-assembled ensemble."

Cast

* Dominic Ona-Ariki as Ariki Davis *

as Stephen Tremaine *

as Lois Tremaine * Alex Walker as Joe * Phoebe McKellar as Tilly *

Michelle Langstone Michelle Langstone (born 30 January 1979) is a New Zealand actress who has been in many films and television series over the years in both New Zealand, and in Australia. She starred as Dr. Katherine "Kat" Manx in the television series ''Power ...

as Charlotte McCrae (Seasons 1–2) * Phil Brown as Mark 'Haggis' McCrae (Seasons 1–2) * Nathalie Morris as Emma Ryder (Seasons 1–2) *

Jared Turner Jared Turner (born 12 April 1978) is a New Zealand-born Australian actor, best known for his roles as Ben Maddox in ''Go Girls'' and as Ty Johnson on the television series, '' The Almighty Johnsons''. He is also recognised on New Zealand TV scre ...

as Rob Ryder (Seasons 1–2) * Nicola Kānawa as Pounamu Edwards (Season 3) * Roxie Mohebbi as Frankie Azad (Season 3)

Episodes

Series overview

Series 1 (2020)

Series 2 (2021)

Series 3 (2022)

Production

Season 1 of ''One Lane Bridge'' was filmed over three months in late 2019 by

Great Southern Television Great Southern Television (GSTV) is a television production company primarily based in Auckland, New Zealand. The company produces television for the domestic and international markets - including factual, light entertainment, drama and document ...

, entirely on location in the Queenstown area. The series initially had a budget of NZ$7 million, which was supported through funding from

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 ...

, Australia's

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

, and

All3Media All3Media Limited is a British worldwide independent television, film and digital production and distribution company based in London, England. The All3Media group comprises more than 40 production and distribution companies from across the U ...

. Filming for season 2 took place over 10 weeks in February 2021, on a slightly smaller budget of $6 million. Queenstown mayor Jim Boult has been vocally supportive of the series, having written a letter of support to help secure funding for the production of the show's second season. In September 2021, TVNZ announced that One Lane Bridge had been renewed for a third season and pledged up to $5,945,400 for this, which it said would "build on the previous season's talent development opportunities across directing, production, and script writing for local and emerging practitioners." Season three premiered on TVNZ1 on 7 November 2022, with all episodes in the series available for streaming on TVNZ's online platform TVNZ+ at the same point.

References

External links

* * * {{TV Guide, 1030849646 2020 New Zealand television series debuts English-language television shows New Zealand drama television series Television shows set in New Zealand TVNZ 1 original programming