TV series One Lane Bridge, Under the Vines wrap filming in Central Otago this week

Two major television productions are wrapping up in Central Otago this week, as the opening of the trans-Tasman travel bubble sees tourists returning to the once-thriving hub. 

Television shows One Lane Bridge and Under the Vines provided a timely boost for the local economy.

Queenstown was a heaving tourist town when the first season of Kiwi crime drama One Lane Bridge was shot.

“It's a lot quieter, way quieter. The biggest thing I think I've noticed is maybe Fergburger, the line isn't that long," actor Dominic Ona-Ariki told Seven Sharp.

The show follows a South Auckland cop, played by Ona-Ariki, who is called down to Queenstown to help solve a murder - while also being haunted by images of the dead.

"Without a doubt, Covid's been huge. In Queenstown, the impact here is enormous and you can really feel it," producer Lisa Chatfield added.

Chatfield has taken over the reins for season two of the hit series.

"We have found the town incredibly open and welcoming and really generous, actually, in terms of connecting with us and giving us the space to do what we needed to do." 

The show is one of two major Kiwi television series wrapping up production this week, with romantic comedy Under the Vines also winding down.

The television series, which sees two cityslickers inherit a Kiwi vineyard, was filmed near Alexandra thanks to its leading lady and executive producer, Rebecca Gibney.

“When this show was first brought to me, it was actually written for Australia and I said, ‘is there any way we can shoot it in New Zealand?’” Gibney explained.

Producer Carmen Leonard said the crew came down for the series to “contribute to the local industry so we made a choice to get on as many people as we possibly can”.

The crew is split 50:50 between local and overseas crew, much like One Lane Bridge, despite the shows' genres being worlds apart.

The shows have helped boost the town’s coffers through some usual – and not-so-usual – ways.

"Just recently, we were filming in a location that had roadworks immediately outside so effectively a road of national significance was coming up against a project of reasonable significance," Chatfield said. 

"Recording the sound, it's really important that we have quiet but it meant that at short notice, we needed to source hay bales, we had to find sound baffling blankets, our art department had to build a sound barrier to make it work."

Film Office coordinator Kahli Scott has the job of enticing more film and television crews to Otago and Southland.

She said while there’s “nothing confirmed that I can share at the moment”, she said they're "currently servicing around five to 10 significant inquiries to the Film Office right now".

Television productions are especially sought-after as they tend to hang around longer and film on location, rather than in studios.

The first series of One Lane Bridge screened during last year’s nationwide lockdown.

“We kind of got the audience because everyone's stuck inside,” Ona-Ariki said.