The Sounds is a mystery thriller set in the Marlborough Sounds area of New Zealand. It’s an 8 part series streaming on Acorn TV. Two episodes were released September 3rd, with the others coming one a week on Mondays.
The Sounds stars Rachelle Lefevre and Matt Whelan as the married couple Maggie and Tom. They want to leave Canada and Tom’s oppressive family. They are in the process of setting up an environmentally friendly salmon farm in Marlborough Sounds.
Setting a series in one of the most beautiful places on the planet was definitely a great idea. I loved just looking at it. I visited New Zealand years ago and enjoyed seeing that area so much. The camera loves the setting as much as I do and gives us frequent visual treats.
I’ve seen all 8 episodes ahead of their release, but I’ll keep this review spoiler free. The suspense will keep you engaged.
We enter the story with Maggie. She’s just arriving in the small town where her husband Tom has been getting the salmon farm going for quite a while. They are very happy to see each other. They spend the night on their yacht anchored in a sound.
Tom goes kayaking in the early morning and doesn’t come back. Maggie calls for help and a search begins.
The police, lead by Jack (Matt Nable), search several days until a storm stops the search. Tom is still missing when the search ends.
The small town is full of interesting characters who contribute to the mystery and suspense of this twist filled drama. Long held secrets complicate the search for Tom and add to the suspense.
The chief’s daughter Zoe (Anna-Maree Thomas) is an important character.
Tom’s business partner Stuart (Peter Elliott) and his messy, troublesome, alcoholic wife Annette (Sara Wiseman) play big parts, too.
I rather liked Kath (Tandi Wright), who used to be a journalist but now runs a bed and breakfast.
When Tom’s family hear that he’s disappeared, no one comes. Instead they send the company accountant Esther (Emily Piggford) to find out what’s happened. Esther stays at Kath’s B&B and the two develop a sort of friendship. Emily Piggford is wonderful in this as an emotionally stunted number cruncher who is afraid of water.
A few indigenous people lived in the town. The first one we meet is Pania (Vanessa Rare).
The series was created by created and written by Sarah-Kate Lynch. Rachelle Lefevre did an admirable job leading this big cast as the story worked its way through surprises and secrets. Although the series reached a conclusion, I feel like the way is open for a 2nd season with some of these characters.
Take a look at the trailer.
What do you think? Are you going to be watching this one?
Thanks so much for the heads up! This is right up my alley and I will definitely be watching! I haven’t watched much tv lately, just OD’d in the spring I guess, so am looking forward to immersing in a new show,
I hope you enjoy it.
I want to point out that I appreciate that you lately have been telling us right away where we can stream the shows you review. In the past I had to read all the way through to find that it was on a service that I did not have. This one looks very promising and I will definitely watch. Thanks for all your informative reviews!!
Thanks for the comment. Sometimes I completely forget to mention where it can be seen and boy do I hear about it!
so far, so good.
Ah, good to know.