A trailer has been released for big-budget action-thriller series Vegas ahead of its release this autumn.
Vegas sees a business owner thrust into New Zealand's dark underbelly after a million-dollar drug deal goes wrong on a blood-stained night, setting off a chain of events between dangerous factions.
The series, filmed entirely in Rotorua on a $6.4 million budget, is based on novel Inside the Black Horse by New Zealand author Ray Berard.
However, despite Vegas' dark subject matter, there are also moments of genuine comedy as it explores love and brotherhood against all odds, inspiring hope and redemption.
Eds Eramiha (The Legend of Baron To’a) plays Kingi, the newly appointed leader for Te Toki who hopes to lead his people away from meth into a new life.
Eramiha described Kingi as "a protector" who is also "very sensitive".
"He knows what’s right and he goes for it, he believes in himself 100 per cent and is not afraid to take a risk. He’s passionate about upholding the mana of his whānau with integrity,” he said.
Cian Elyse White (Cousins) plays Toni Poulan, a local tavern owner and mother caught up in the crossfire when competing groups decide to use her bar for a meth deal.
Rounding out the stellar cast are familiar faces Katie Wolfe (Shortland Street), Xavier Horan (Westside), Rena Owen (Once Were Warriors, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones), Dean O’Gorman (The Hobbit trilogy) and Te Kohe Tuhaka (The Dead Lands).
The series also sees White reunite with 800 Words castmates Miriama Smith and Alex Tarrant.
“Like all good stories, at the heart of Vegas is a quest. Told through the lens of a gripping action series, the mission of our hero Kingi, if he succeeds in picking up the wero, is to revolutionise his gang into becoming the whānau he longs for,” producer and co-creator Harriet Crampton said.
The series is produced by Greenstone Television in collaboration with 10,000 Company and the Steambox Film Collective, with the support of NZ On Air and Te Reo Tātaki.
Vegas will air on TVNZ2 and TVNZ OnDemand .
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