Spy: Why has actor Jay Ryan let himself go?

Jay Ryan is filming in Auckland, rocking some 'lockdown locks' for his new role.

Fans of Beauty & the Beast heart-throb Jay Ryan, will find him looking a little more unkempt in his new role, playing the only man left alive in the world in NZ series Creamerie.

The former Go Girls' star is enjoying filming back in Auckland this week, teasing his fans, with a picture of himself on set, wearing a beard and longer hair, which the 38-year-old called his lockdown locks.

Creamerie, is a six-part series by Flat3 Productions for TVNZ 2. The series is centred around a viral plague that wiped out 99 per cent of men, three Kiwi-Asian, female dairy farmers suddenly encounter a man after eight years of abstinence.

It turns out the new feminist society isn't quite as utopian as it was hoped so, when the three women accidentally run over Ryan on a dark night, on the way back to their dairy farm, they are astounded to discover this person has a beard, and a disturbing growth between the legs.

The farmers are played by Ally Xue, Perlina Lau and JJ Fong, who are fabulously famous for making fun of Asian stereotypes and creating female empowering comedy, most especially with their web series Friday Night Bites. Fong and Xue created Creamerie.

Ally Xue, JJ Fong and Perlina Lau as they appeared in Friday Night Bites in 2016.

The TVNZ 2 platform, with the help of NZ on Air and the star power of Ryan, will take that humour and messaging to new heights. NZ on Air has funded the first series for $1.7 million-plus.

Ryan's casting is a perfect fit for a female-dominated series. He famously moved on from his popular US Beauty and the Beast series for a role on a new Canadian show Mary Kills People. Its fresh take on the subject of euthanasia, made it a break-out hit show.

Ryan credited the success to the fact that the show's creator and director, and most of its writers and creative team were women.

He became noticed for the role from his performance in Jane Campion's Top of the Lake.

Filming in his homeland after lockdown in a harsh dystopian comedy series is a nice change of gear for the actor after starring in blockbuster It Chapter Two last year alongside Oscar-winner Jessica Chastain.

Kim Crossman is also featuring in Creamerie. The actress, who most recently filmed Quarantea with Kim for Neon from Los Angeles during lockdown, endured quarantine to come home to Auckland and is also filming the second season of comedy Golden Boy.