Queenstown Plays Itself: Netflix New Zealand Actors and Film Locations

For decades, Queenstown has been very good at pretending to be somewhere else. Its mountains, lakes and valleys have doubled for Middle-earth, the Canadian Rockies, Kashmir and all manner of fictional worlds. Now, in a rather satisfying change, Queenstown finally gets to play itself.

Netflix is currently filming Queenstown, a new eight-part scripted drama set within the luxury ski world of the South Island resort town. According to Netflix’s official Tudum announcement, the series comes from writer and creator Chloe Stearns and stars Rufus Sewell and Frances O’Connor, with Glendyn Ivin and Roseanne Liang directing.

More importantly for the New Zealand screen industry, Queenstown is the first ANZ-commissioned Netflix series to be both set and shot in New Zealand. That distinction matters. New Zealand has hosted plenty of major Netflix and international productions before, but this time an internationally distributed series is carrying a New Zealand place name, telling a story located here and putting the country itself firmly in the frame.

The production can already be followed through its Queenstown IMDb listing and the industry-focused Queenstown IMDbPro production page. The ensemble includes Sewell, O’Connor, Alycia Debnam-Carey, New Zealand actor Te Kohe Tuhaka, Anna Baryshnikov, Jamie Ward, BeBe Orleans, Alex FitzAlan and Tatum Warren-Ngata.

The story sits beneath the polished surface of Queenstown’s luxury ski scene, where a wealthy family and the people who work for them become entangled in power, loyalty and desire. It is the kind of location-led premise where the setting is not simply scenery. Queenstown’s wealth, tourism, seasonal workforce, dramatic geography and slightly surreal collision of adventure town and luxury playground are part of the story’s DNA.

Production began on 13 July 2026 and is currently scheduled to continue into early October. What’s on Netflix reports that the production is expected to involve around 450 cast and crew jobs, including approximately 120 locals. For a regional production, those numbers are substantial, and the effect extends well beyond the names appearing on screen.

Every large production arriving in New Zealand creates work across acting, production, locations, transport, accommodation, catering, construction, costume, hair and makeup, camera, lighting and post-production. Netflix has also specifically highlighted opportunities being created for local crew, businesses and emerging talent through the production, supported by the New Zealand Film Commission and New Zealand’s Screen Production Rebate.

Queenstown, of course, did not become a film destination overnight. Experience Queenstown’s guide to the region’s screen locations reads almost like a condensed history of international location filming in New Zealand. Glenorchy and Paradise became parts of Middle-earth in The Lord of the Rings, Jane Campion transformed the area for Top of the Lake, Mission: Impossible – Fallout used the Rees Valley and surrounding ranges, while X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Sweet Tooth and The Power of the Dog are among the many other productions to have made use of the wider region.

That history is one of New Zealand’s strongest calling cards. International filmmakers may initially be attracted by landscapes that can convincingly become somewhere else, but the reason productions can actually stay and work here is the screen infrastructure behind those landscapes. Experienced crews, production services, technical expertise, performers and financial incentives all help turn an impressive location into a viable filming destination. The New Zealand Screen Production Rebate for international productions remains an important part of that equation.

There is also a bigger opportunity here for New Zealand actors. Major international productions filmed locally create access to projects that might otherwise sit thousands of kilometres away, while streaming means those performances can reach audiences almost everywhere. As we have previously explored at Collaborate, New Zealand talent is increasingly working on the global stage, and international productions choosing Aotearoa strengthen that pathway.

The same pattern can be seen across other major projects choosing to shoot here. Our recent look at When Darkness Loves Us and international filmmaking in New Zealand reflects the same wider shift: this country is increasingly valuable not simply because of what can be photographed here, but because of the people who can help make those productions happen.

For casting directors and producers, that means access to a growing pool of experienced local performers who understand professional screen environments and can work across New Zealand and international productions. Collaborate Management represents a diverse range of New Zealand actors and screen talent, from emerging performers building their first credits through to experienced actors working across film, television and streaming.

Queenstown arriving on Netflix will inevitably sell another version of New Zealand to a global audience. This time, though, Queenstown is not hiding behind another name or standing in for another country. The town, the mountains and the New Zealand screen industry are all getting to take the credit.

For producers, casting teams and creatives looking for New Zealand actors for upcoming film, television or streaming productions, explore the Collaborate Management actor roster or get in touch with Collaborate Management to discuss casting and talent requirements.