EXCLUSIVE: New Zealand-produced drama series A Remarkable Place to Die is getting a second and expanded season. The show is produced out of the Remarkable Studios facility and the Season 2 news dropped as Kiwi Prime Minister Christopher Luxon paid a visit to the department store turned film and TV studio.
Screentime NZ produces A Remarkable Place to Die in co-production with ZDF and Real Film Berlin and in association with Banijay Rights. Screentime NZ is also behind Remarkable Studio, which opened last year, as first reported by Deadline.
Used as the backdrop to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, Queenstown/ Tāhuna’s landscape is familiar to filmmakers, but Remarkable Studio is its first dedicated studio. It was used for the Season 1 shoot of A Remarkable Place to Die. The new Season of the show will run to six feature-length episode and guarantee a pipeline of work at the studio through 2027. Season 1 was four episodes.
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The crime drama is an international co-production for ZDF (Germany), Acorn TV (U.S.), Nine Network (Australia), and TVNZ (New Zealand). It follows a determined detective, Anais Mallory (Chelsie Preston-Crayford), as she unravels complex cases while secretly investigating a homicide. The Season 2 cast includes returners Matt Whelan, Roimata Fox, Dahnu Graham and Michala Banas, alongside new faces Luke Arnold and JJ Fong. Roger Corser and Antonia Prebble will guest star.
The producers said Season 2 will see the series deepens its cultural lens, including an episode exploring Māori customs and language, helmed by Ngāi Tahu director Peter Burger and written by Dahnu Graham.
Screentime NZ is part of Banijay and its boss Philly de Lacey was the driving force behind the new studio and also created A Remarkable Place to Die, with John Banas.
“I want to say also thank you Philly for your drive because what we’re seeing here is a building of a screen sector down in Queenstown, and it’s happening on the back of you making this production a reality,” the Prime Minister said as he visited Remarkable Studio and the set of A Remarkable Place to Die. “We think there is a lot of opportunity as a government to bring people here.
“To go out and sell products from New Zealand to the world in the way that you are, using incredibly talented, highly creative people is a really challenging thing. You’ve got to make things work commercially but you’ve got to make sure the product that you’re producing at the end is loved by customers, so you can do it all over again, and you are.”
“This renewal is more than continuing a great international co-production, it’s about building a sustainable industry in Queenstown/Tāhuna, showcasing our culture to the world, and creating opportunities for local talent,” added de Lacey. “This production showcases New Zealand’s stunning scenery, sense of humor, and vibrant character, bringing major investment in the local economy, through high regional spend and new employment opportunities.”
Season 2 of of A Remarkable Place to Die will premiere in 2026. Banijay Rights handles international sales.