'A Remarkable Place to Die's Trailer Is Remarkably Beautiful

We're a quarter of the way through the 21st century, and 2025 looks like it's about to become a cultural tipping point in most significant areas of Western life. One of those places is the entertainment landscape: Paramount+ will be sold to Skydance, Netflix just yanked cable's last lifeline out of its hands, and Starz will bundle with everybody. However, one of the most interesting things is how Acorn TV and BritBox will handle this critical year. BritBox, now owned wholly by the BBC, is planning its biggest year ever. Acorn TV, meanwhile, looks to try to define itself by going all in on programming from around the Commonwealth, like New Zeland's A Remarkable Place to Die.

Not that Acorn TV isn't bringing over shows from the U.K. as well; A Remarkable Place to Die is actually one of two significant debuts the day it premieres. The other is the U.K. series Best Interests, with stars Americans are familiar with, Michael Sheen and Sharon Horgan. But Best Interests is arriving as a binge, with all four episodes at once, making it far less likely to catch on over time, the way that A Remarkable Place to Die is being allowed to, with a four-week run of one new episode every Monday.

The series also fits in with much of Acorn TV's successful programming from the Oceania region. It stars Rebecca Gibney, an actor fans will recognize from other New Zealand-set series on the streaming service. Moreover, it's a police procedural, which allows it to become a running serial rather than a single story. And despite the bloodshed and death, the trailer promises that whatever else there might be about A Remarkable Place to Die, it is set in a remarkably beautiful area. 

Here's the series synopsis via Acorn TV:

A Remarkable Place To Die follows smart and determined homicide detective Anaís Mallory as she returns to her hometown of Queenstown, New Zealand, assuming the role of lead detective and hoping to unravel the truth behind the deaths of her father and sister. Mallory has a stellar policing career underway after a secondment to Sydney; however, she is forced to confront her strained relationship with her mother and the ghosts of her past, including her ex-fiancé Luke Staunton, who is now married to her ex-best friend, Maja. 

With a new case to solve every episode, it rapidly becomes apparent that plenty is hidden beyond the breathtaking scenery of the tourist town. Secrets linger, and danger is never too far away. As bodies start piling up around the once-safe place, Mallory and her team are thrust into a series of intriguing cases that bring into focus the tragedies that have beset her family. Plagued by the suspicion that her ex-fiancé might somehow be involved in their deaths, Mallory also realizes that her mother may know more than she is willing to reveal.

Chelsie Preston Crawford stars as Anais Mallory; she is joined by a cast that includes Rebecca Gibney (Halifax) as Veronica Mallory, Anais' mother; Charles Jazz Terrier (Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries) as Luke Staunton and Indiana Evans (Secrets & Lies) as Maja Staunton. The rest of the ensemble includes Roimata Fox (The Brokenwood Mysteries) as Sgt Hoana Rata, Matt Whelan (The Gone) as DS Simon Delaney, Lynette Forday (Under the Vines) as DI Sharon Li Feng, and Dahnu Graham (Sweet Tooth) as PC Jarrod Renner.

The supporting cast includes Alex Tarrant (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), Michala Banas (Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries), Mike Edward (Ash vs Evil Dead), Nathalie Boltt (Riverdale), and Tara Canton (After the Party).

Philly de Lacey is the creator of the series A Remarkable Place to Die with writer John Banas, the latter of whom worked on the original Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries as a writer with actor Dahnu Graham also credited with writing on episodes. Directors Peter Burger (The Gone), Caroline Bell-Booth (My Life Is Murder), Josh Frizzell (Friends Like Her), and Charlie Haskell (The Gulf) split helming duties with one episode each. De Lacey also serves as executive producer alongside Henning Kamm and Sibylle Stellbrink.

A Remarkable Place to Die will premiere exclusively on Acorn TV on Monday, February 17, 2025, and will stream with weekly episodes on Mondays through March 10.