After teasing (gently) about the proposed Kiwi version of The Apprentice, it's time to give props to a much-hyped new show which is earning genuine plaudits.
Like me, you may have had your interest piqued by their cool teaser trailers on the box which left me wondering, 'Since when did religions start to advertise for punters?'
The Cult, which begins tonight on TV2 at 8.30pm, heralds a new era of New Zealand television making - following the ambitious path paved by the likes of Outrageous Fortune, but branching off in a completely new direction.
Curious? You should be! Billed as a "high-concept thriller", it features the cream of Aotearoa's acting talent with a groundbreaking and original script the likes of which has rarely been seen in NZ drama.
The brand new series follows the residents of a secretive community, Two Gardens, and their liberators' efforts to get them out before it's too late.
Years ago, twenty-somethings Jenni (Bodelle de Ronde), Andy (Kip Chapman), and brothers Ryan (Gareth Reeves) and Nathan (Dwayne Cameron), disappeared without warning and leaving no trace. Now, suddenly and mysteriously, their families have been alerted to their existence in a secret, isolated cult, hidden deep in the New Zealand bush.
Two Gardens, founded and lead by the charismatic Edward North (Latham Gaines), is a rogue offshoot of Momentum, a 20,000-strong international organisation, which offers its members spiritual fulfilment and 'family' in a world of disaffection and despair.
In a run down house near Two Gardens, the families, all strangers before now, plot to rescue their loved ones from Two Gardens, fearing that they're in grave danger.
They are the Liberators: Michael (Renato Bartolomei), a successful but jaded lawyer, Gina (Kate Elliot), a Sydney receptionist, Daniel (Simon London), a UK stock broker, Frances (Rachel Nash) and Harris Seger (Andy Grainger), a married couple from England who have brought Hugo (Will Wallace) an ex-SAS bodyguard, and Annabelle (Sara Wiseman), a doctor from Auckland.
But reclaiming the people they've lost to this cult isn't going to be easy, and it soon becomes very clear to the families that Edward North will hold on to his followers no matter what.
Can the families rescue their loved ones before it's too late? And who really are the brainwashed ones?
And don't forget, if you can't watch it tonight you can catch the full episode free online 12 hours after the show has aired on TV2 - go to tvnz.co.nz and click the 'ondemand' button.
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