Auckland media darlings were so impressed by the natural beauty of Queenstown, which forms the backdrop to a crime most horrid in Top of the Lake, they asked the producer if the new transtasman television series was really shot on location.
Producer Philippa Campbell (Rain, No. 2), of Auckland, seated with cast members Robyn Malcolm (Agent Anna) and Kip Chapman (The Cult), confirmed that it was.
Queenstown doubled for the fictional town ''Lake Top'' and the rugged wilds of the Wakatipu, specifically Moke Lake, renamed ''Paradise'', became the site of a women's refuge led by Academy Award-winning Holly Hunter's enigmatic character ''G.J.''
The Otago Daily Times was invited by Sydney-based BBC Worldwide Australasia to an exclusive screening, at Rialto Cinemas, Auckland, on Tuesday, of the first two episodes of the six-part series shot around the Wakatipu last winter, with many residents hired as extras.
Three-time Emmy-nominated actress Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men, On the Road) adopted a soft Kiwi accent and a world-weary air to star in this televisual heart of darkness as Detective Robin Griffin, the only person who takes seriously the mysterious disappearance of a pregnant 12-year-old girl, played by Jacqueline Joe in an impressive acting debut.
Malcolm swapped the leopard-print tops, cigarettes and fish pies of matriarch Cheryl West in Outrageous Fortune for an American twang, baseball cap and a spaced-out vibe to play Anita, a member of the women's refuge embroiled in the disappearance.
Asked about her experience of shooting in Queenstown, Malcolm said: ''Most of my ancestors are buried down there and I know that area really well, so it was just very comfortable being part of that landscape.''
Actress Sarah Valentine, who played Prue, said cast and crew were out ''on the razz'' in the resort most evenings.
''It's Queenstown, you can't be in Queenstown and not enjoy it.''
Top of the Lake had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and its European premiere at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year.
Written and created by Jane Campion and Gerard Lee, the series debuts on Sky on UKTV on March 25 at 8.30pm.
