BBC’s NZ-set ‘psychopathic’ thriller The Ridge is a moody crime series not to miss – watch now!

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While the popularity of Scandi-noir might be waning, a new type of suspenseful crime drama is emerging from New Zealand. BBC’s psychological thriller, The Ridge, is set against the stunning and rugged backdrop of Auckland’s West Coast.

You might want to reconsider your New Zealand vacation after seeing this series, which uncovers a terrifying secret lurking in the country’s forests and along its beautiful, but sometimes dangerous, coast.

The crime thriller draws inspiration from local legends – stories of a serial killer and people who have gone to Piha beach to end their lives and never been seen again. These incidents are known as the Black Coast Vanishings, and at least six people have disappeared in or near this Auckland beach town.

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These individuals all disappeared as young adults, and their bodies have never been recovered. Quentin Godwin, nicknamed Q, left his home in Titirangi in 1992 and was never seen again. Iraena Asher, age 25, disappeared from a small town in 2004. In 2012, Cherie Vousden, a 42-year-old mother, went missing while hiking the Mercer Bay Loop trail. The same trail was where 21-year-old Kim Bambus planned to go for a run before she disappeared in 2017.

Two years after his arrival, Laurence Wu seemed confused when he asked campground staff about the beach. He was never seen again, and his death was determined to be a suicide. More recently, in 2020, 18-year-old French student Éloi Rolland vanished while walking to Piha beach to gather black sand, just before the first Covid lockdown began.

The search has taken over 2,300 police hours, and officers have followed up on more than 3,000 reported sightings.

The new show is intentionally filled with a feeling of mystery and suspense, according to Jay Ryan, the lead actor and a native of Auckland, who plays the character Ewan. He explained the reasoning behind the show’s location and setting, saying:

New Zealand’s forests hold a genuinely creepy atmosphere, rooted in local legends and mysterious stories. We’ve embraced these traditional themes to create a really compelling and thrilling plot.

New Zealand has a unique atmosphere – it can feel a bit unsettling in places, but it’s also incredibly beautiful. It’s a place where you can sense something unusual or mysterious has occurred, as long as you don’t dwell on the darker side of things.

This new six-part mystery series, set in Australia and New Zealand, is full of unusual twists. Scottish actress Lauren Lyle stars as Mia, a doctor struggling with opioid addiction and haunted by events from her past.

We first encounter her struggling with addiction and facing scrutiny after a patient dies at the hospital where she works in Scotland. This leads her to impulsively flee to New Zealand, where her sister Cassy is getting married, despite their estrangement.

Instead of finding escape, Mia enters a disturbing mystery when she hears a distressed voicemail from her sister during her flight. Upon arrival, she discovers her sister, Cassy, has tragically died in a fall from a mountain.

Everyone’s saying my sister Cassy’s death was just a terrible accident while she was climbing, but I just know something’s wrong. She wasn’t some beginner; Cassy was a really experienced climber. It feels like she was pushed, like someone actually killed her. I’m determined to find out what really happened and track down whoever is responsible.

Lauren, known for her roles in Outlander and Vigil, describes her character as someone who’s concealing a lot. She was drawn to the role because it allowed her to play a slightly villainous and cunning character, and she enjoyed the strange and unsettling nature of the story.

Sometimes, the character felt truly unsettling, even psychopathic. I really enjoyed the challenge of portraying her and the director encouraging me to take the performance to its extreme.

Still reeling from her sister’s sudden death, Mia finds herself entangled in the hidden secrets of her small town. She discovers Cassy was a passionate environmental activist who had clashed with local farmers, and that her romance with her fiancé, Ewan, wasn’t as perfect as everyone thought. As Mia investigates, she begins to believe her sister didn’t die of natural causes, but was actually murdered.

You can watch ‘The Ridge’ on BBC iPlayer right now. The first episode will also air on BBC2 tonight, Thursday, October 23rd, at 9pm.

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2025-10-23 13:53