The team of Far North, made by South Pacific Pictures, took an intriguing true story that occurred in Aotearoa’s north, and made some influential choices in their story workshopping that many may not be aware of. Far North is the (mostly) true story of how the most comically inept gang to ever join forces got half a billion dollars' worth of meth to New Zealand shores - and nearly to market.
In a conversation with the show’s executive producer and WIFT member, Kelly Martin, she shared:
We didn't know who was on the boat, so when we were breaking the story down, because we didn't know who they were, we said, let's make them women! It made for a different story, because this was not your usual men drug smugglers, which meant we got to be a bit more playful with it! And we got to cast four amazing Asian actors. And with the changing of stereotypes, and bringing in women drug smugglers, it changed so much. It changed how we made the boat look, and ultimately we were able to make more rounded characters with them.
We want to share this story because you can do this. We can take inspiration from the outside world, and then flip it upside down in the worlds we recreate. Watch Far North on Three Now