The Sounds

With a travel bubble opening up shortly, you may be tempted to hop over to New Zealand for that long overdue break.

But beware the waters of Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere, which sit at the northern tip of the South Island. If Acorn TV’s new original drama The Sounds is anything to go by, they are postcard perfect to look at, but home to a murky mystery swirling around 2 visiting Canadians.

Rachelle Lefevre (Twilight, White House Down) plays Maggie Cabbott who meets up with husband Tom (Matt Whelan) as he launches a salmon farm company in a coastal town.

“This place is so charming… it’s breathtaking,” she observes.

But while Tom seemingly has the town’s business backing, some Maori locals aren’t happy with what it means to the environment.

When these two aren’t lip-locked all the time, they board a yacht (appropriately named ‘Maggie’) and sail into picturesque waters. But after Tom fails to return from a kayaking afternoon, Maggie calls local copper Jack (Matt Nable).

With the search on for Tom, writer Sarah-Kate Lynch (The Brokenwood Mysteries, 800 Words) begins to sow seeds of doubt as to an ambiguous backstory. Is this an accident, murder, suicide…. who was out to get him and why, or is Maggie complicit in the whole thing? Flashbacks, including some staged as Vancouver, are also in the mix.

The always-watchable Aussie Matt Nable (Bikie Wars, Mr. Inbetween, Barracuda) anchors this 8 part tale by again under-playing his role as the cop looking for truth. And when in doubt as to his suspicions, a good cup of NZ tea offers sufficient respite.

Also in the cast is the great John Bach (Lord of the Rings, Janet King, Jack Irish) as a family patriarch.

Acorn TV loves a good mystery yarn, even if it’s not too mentally demanding and comes with some escapist scenery. The Sounds fits the bill to a tee.

Come for the mystery, stay for the scenery.

The Sounds premieres Monday on Acorn TV.