Obsessed with the disappearance of a 12-year-old pregnant girl near a freezing lake in New Zealand, a brave detective will find herself up against small-town secrets and a side of herself th... Read allObsessed with the disappearance of a 12-year-old pregnant girl near a freezing lake in New Zealand, a brave detective will find herself up against small-town secrets and a side of herself that was meticulously kept at bay.Obsessed with the disappearance of a 12-year-old pregnant girl near a freezing lake in New Zealand, a brave detective will find herself up against small-town secrets and a side of herself that was meticulously kept at bay.
- Won 1 Primetime Emmy
- 21 wins & 75 nominations total
Browse episodes
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJane Campion offered her The Piano (1993) star Anna Paquin the leading role of Robin Griffin, but Paquin declined due to her pregnancy.
- Alternate versionsThe miniseries is approximately 360 minutes long. In the US the show first aired on the Sundance Channel divided into 7 untitled episodes (of variable length between 49 and 53 mins each); in the UK and new Zealand, the show aired as 6 one-hour episodes. The titles of the UK episodes are: 1.1 Paradise Sold 1.2 Searchers Search 1.3 The Edge of the Universe 1.4 A Rainbow Above Us 1.5 The Dark Creator 1.6 No Goodbyes Thanks
- ConnectionsFeatured in Chelsea Lately: Episode #7.39 (2013)
Featured review
Kiwis With Attitude
Imagine the scene in the offices of the New Zealand Tourism Board.
"You know the one thing wrong with this country? Everyone here is too damn nice. It's just so boooring! Visitors aren't coming any more. We godda do something.
"Yeah, agreed, but what?"
"I bin thinking: what about a TV series showing we're really, really weird?"
"Nah, they won't buy it. They know we're too nice."
"No, wait. You remember that old film, what was it, 'Deliverance'? We'll base something on that. Bunch of inbred psychos in backofbeyondsville, throw in a bit of incest, murder, a few hippy lezzies, a detective with a troubled past but a heart of gold sorting it all out "
"You could be onto something. Might just work . (laughs) nah, they'll never commission it."
But they did.
Ingredients: a set of male characters who are either morally weak, sociopathic or with an IQ in single figures. A cast of female characters who are abused, long-suffering martyrs. Add some comic relief with a bunch of women in container homes kinda led by a kinda earth mother, mockingly characterized as living on crisps and liquorice allsorts and fantasizing about men with larger-than-average penises.
Plot: Psycho McPsychface, the patriarch of an isolated, family community, lives with his children, grandchildren (some of whom are possibly both) and a colony of feral attack dogs in the middle of nowhere. Named with leaden irony Paradise, this tranquil spot, disturbed only by the occasional pointless murder and the disappearance of a pregnant twelve-year old, is invaded by a commune of traumatized women trying to rediscover their inner souls in peace. They just happen to choose the favourite spot of a psychotic Scotsman, whose Mother is buried on the plot, and whose malice is matched only by his sentimentality – with hilarious consequences! No, not really – I don't think any of these things are funny, even in an ironic way. Which is the main reason for not liking this series, which is patronizing, callous and emotionally manipulative by turns.
But the scenery is really, really lovely. Perhaps I'll visit New Zealand with its great countryside and nice people anyway – and by the way they are mostly genuinely nice, and not a bit boring.
"You know the one thing wrong with this country? Everyone here is too damn nice. It's just so boooring! Visitors aren't coming any more. We godda do something.
"Yeah, agreed, but what?"
"I bin thinking: what about a TV series showing we're really, really weird?"
"Nah, they won't buy it. They know we're too nice."
"No, wait. You remember that old film, what was it, 'Deliverance'? We'll base something on that. Bunch of inbred psychos in backofbeyondsville, throw in a bit of incest, murder, a few hippy lezzies, a detective with a troubled past but a heart of gold sorting it all out "
"You could be onto something. Might just work . (laughs) nah, they'll never commission it."
But they did.
Ingredients: a set of male characters who are either morally weak, sociopathic or with an IQ in single figures. A cast of female characters who are abused, long-suffering martyrs. Add some comic relief with a bunch of women in container homes kinda led by a kinda earth mother, mockingly characterized as living on crisps and liquorice allsorts and fantasizing about men with larger-than-average penises.
Plot: Psycho McPsychface, the patriarch of an isolated, family community, lives with his children, grandchildren (some of whom are possibly both) and a colony of feral attack dogs in the middle of nowhere. Named with leaden irony Paradise, this tranquil spot, disturbed only by the occasional pointless murder and the disappearance of a pregnant twelve-year old, is invaded by a commune of traumatized women trying to rediscover their inner souls in peace. They just happen to choose the favourite spot of a psychotic Scotsman, whose Mother is buried on the plot, and whose malice is matched only by his sentimentality – with hilarious consequences! No, not really – I don't think any of these things are funny, even in an ironic way. Which is the main reason for not liking this series, which is patronizing, callous and emotionally manipulative by turns.
But the scenery is really, really lovely. Perhaps I'll visit New Zealand with its great countryside and nice people anyway – and by the way they are mostly genuinely nice, and not a bit boring.
helpful•156
- rallen-34923
- Jul 18, 2016
- How many seasons does Top of the Lake have?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Top of the Lake: China Girl
- Filming locations
- Queenstown, Otago, New Zealand(season 1)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content