Netflix orders ski resort drama Queenstown as first New Zealand series

Queenstown is written by Wolf Like Me’s Chloe Stearns

Global streamer Netflix has commissioned its first drama series in New Zealand, starring Rufus Sewell and set in a luxury ski resort.

Queenstown is produced by Jodi Matterson’s Sydney-based prodco Silent Firework and Runaway Unicorn, with support from the New Zealand Film Commission and the Screen Production Rebate.

As well as Sewell (The Diplomat), the eight-episode series features Frances O’Connor (Wednesday) and is set in a resort where a privileged family and the people who work for them collide in the pursuit of power, wealth and status.

Queenstown comes from writer and creator Chloe Stearns (Wolf Like Me), with Glendyn Ivin (Penguin Bloom) and Roseanne Liang (Avatar: The Last Airbender) set to direct.

Amanda Duthie, content director at Netflix Australia and New Zealand, said: “Shooting our first locally commissioned series here in New Zealand is a huge moment for us. This is a bold, propulsive story of power, class and family set against the opulent world of a luxury ski town, and we can’t wait for our members to fall in love with this series the way we have.”