I really tried hard to get very enthusiastic about this show because it has some great redeeming features but ultimately it is let down by some torturous plot lines.
So the good: as an expat Kiwi who has been to Queenstown a lot, One Lane Bridge is a very faithful re-creation of life for the small established elite of this world famous alpine tourist resort town almost to the point that only NZ audiences would understand. The breathtaking scenery is a given and makes for an incredible backdrop. Life on legacy South Island high country sheep stations has become difficult as these operations are asset rich and cash poor and the ever present Chinese or foreign cash buyer is a common occurrence.
Also faithfully detailed is the hard drinking, rugby-centric, rugged outdoors lifestyle of the locals and the hard to watch homophobic incident is a demonstration of how mores from a bygone era live on in small town NZ. It is always nice to hear the full suite of kiwi slang, the accent and traditions on display (e.g. Deer and rabbit shooting). The acting across the board was solid and believable.
Having a young Maori (Cook Islander in this instance) cop come down from Auckland fitting in with very white Central Otago locals gives a good window into racial integration issues in modern NZ. What was less appealing was weaving into regular policing some Maori spiritual practices that neither did justice to how they are actually done nor to modern NZ policing. It led to a series of hard to comprehend flashbacks and the manner in which Detective Ariki Davis (Dominic Ona-Ariki) actually used his spiritual powers overlayed the whole purpose of the series (trying to determine the killer of local farmer Andrew 'Grub' Ryder - Dean O'Gorman) with surreal and awkward plot lines.
That said, it's always great to New Zealand scenery and culture on display.
