South Pacific Pictures and White Balance Pictures define "Far North" cast

Renowned actors Temuera Morrison ("Star Wars") and Robyn Malcolm ("Top of the Lake") have been announced to star in the major new drama series "Far North" (6x1). Filming is set to begin in early June in Ahipara, in the far north of New Zealand on the South Pacific Pictures and White Balance six-part premium drama series for Sundance Now (USA), Paramount + (Australia), Discovery (NZ) and All3Media International. The series is funded by Te Puna Kairangi, alongside Sundance Now, Paramount +, Discovery NZ and All3Media International.

"Far North" is the true story of how an everyday couple from the Ahipara community foiled an international crime ring’s largest ever deal in the Pacific. Morrison and Malcolm will play Far North-based couple.

Sally Habbershaw – All3Media EVP Americas called “Far North” an “important co-production between the USA and New Zealand.” “South Pacific Pictures’ thoughtful telling of a genuinely extraordinary true story that saw international crime land on the quiet shores of a small community. The production’s investment into the local region and talent is a testament to the care taken by the production team into this emotional drama.”

The series is working shoulder to shoulder with Te Rarawa, Ngāi Takoto & Te Aupōuri Iwi and the wider far north community of Aotearoa. Already, extensive work has gone into creating a training and intern program, where 10 budding film and television production ākonga (school students) will be given opportunities to learn the dynamics of television-making alongside world class professional crew. The series will film for 14 weeks in total, with seven weeks spent on location in the far north. The production’s total spend in the far north area will be significant, representing a substantial investment in an area which has been hard hit by COVID-19.

CEO of South Pacific Pictures and Executive Producer of "Far North", Kelly Martin said: “This project has been six years in the making and we are beyond thrilled to now be in the production phase. 'Far North' is an epic story based on real life events and audiences are going to be taken on an incredible journey when they watch the series. We are so proud of the extremely talented cast we have assembled and combined with the creative team, as well as the picturesque locations of the far north, it enables us to deliver something that will be very special for our broadcasting partners Sundance Now, Paramount + and Discovery NZ.”

“Far North’ is an exact delivery on Sundance Now’s promise of providing our audiences with high-quality, thought-provoking, incredibly well-acted and captivating programming. This story only gets more interesting with each new piece of discovery,” said Shannon Cooper, VP of programming at Sundance Now.

The show is executive produced by Kelly Martin for South Pacific Pictures and David White for White Balance Pictures. Chris Bailey and Nicole Horan, produce and line produce respectively. The series is researched, created written and directed by David White ("This Town"). Suli Moa ("Shortland Street") and Mingjian Cui ("Inked") are also key writers for the series.

Morrison and Malcom will lead a cast of actors including Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi ("The Panthers"), Xana Tang ("Mulan"), Fei Li ("Island of Yesterday"), Gabriel Chao Ren ("Power Rangers"), Maaka Pohatu ("Savage") and Fay Tofilau ("26:29 Supernatural Anthology Series").