Spy: Kiwis shine in TV drama Friends Like Her filmed in Kaikōura and Auckland

Three is continuing to roll out its strong local content with the announcement of a new drama series starring Mean Mums’ Morgana O’Reilly and Vinnie Bennett from F9: The Fast Saga.

Spy can reveal the new show, Friends Like Her, has filmed for five weeks in Kaikōura and is now filming in Auckland.

Co-starring with O’Reilly and Bennett are Australian actor Tess Haubrich of Bad Mothers and Last King of the Cross fame alongside The Brokenwood Mysteries’ Jarod Rawiri.

The psychological drama, written by Sarah-Kate Lynch, explores a friendship that turns toxic when a surrogacy deal goes wrong between two best friends who are facing very different futures in Kaikōura when the town is already divided by a catastrophic earthquake.

Vinnie Bennett.

O’Reilly plays local working mum-of-three Nicole and Haubrich plays lady-who-lunches Tessa. The pair became best friends after meeting in Thailand, with Tessa choosing to settle in Kaikōura.

Bennett and Rawiri play Rob and Liam — brothers who are married to the best friends.

The supporting cast is a who’s-who of Kiwi acting A-listers, including Elizabeth Hawthorne, Vanessa Rare, James Trevena, JJ Fong and Jodie Rimmer.

Lynch took time to examine Kaikōura and the vulnerable community after the disaster, and how such events create winners and losers and splits friends and families.

The quake triggers traumatic past events, causing Nicole to make a fateful decision that will alter her friendship with Tess forever.

The cast and crew loved their time in Kaikōura, and not just the scenery of the mountains and the sea; they admired the resilience and the hospitality of the town seven years after being devastated by the 7.8 earthquake.

Last week 37-year-old O’Reilly told her Instagram followers the place had stolen their hearts.