Rachel Lefevre, Matt Whelan Starring in ‘The Sounds’ for Acorn TV, Sky NZ, CBC

By Stewart Clarke

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – AMC Networks-owned streamer Acorn TV, Kiwi pay-TV platform Sky NZ, and Canadian pubcaster are tuning into “The Sounds,” an original thriller set on New Zealand’s South Island.

The eight-parter will star Rachelle Lefevre (“Under the Dome”) and Matt Whelan (“Narcos”) as a couple who move to Marlborough Sounds to start a new life. When Tom disappears, unsettling facts about him soon come to light, and the search brings long-buried wounds to the surface.

Matt Nable (“Arrow”) will  co-star. The cast also includes Emily Piggford (“The Girlfriend Experience”), Peter Elliott (“Tarzan”), Anna-Maree Thomas (“The Brokenwood Mysteries”), and Vanessa Rare (“Last Man Standing”).

All3Media’s New Zealand production company South Pacific Pictures and Toronto-based Shaftesbury are co-producing the show, which will bow in 2020. The project was created by bestselling author Sarah-Kate Lynch, who is also the lead writer on the series. Peter Stebbings (“Wynonna Earp”) will direct.

Acorn has rights in the U.S. and U.K., and secondary rights in Australia. In Canada, CBC has broadcast rights and Acorn will have it for its SVOD service. Sky has it for New Zealand. All3Media’s distribution team will sell it throughout the rest of the world.

“Sarah-Kate Lynch has created a gripping, character-driven tale of intrigue in ‘The Sounds’ – perfect material for director Peter Stebbings,” said chief and series exec producer Christina Jennings. “This series is a thrill ride from start to finish, set in one of the most beautiful regions in the world.”