New television series Vegas ready to hit New Zealand screens

A new television series filmed in Rotorua is ready to hit New Zealand screens.

A release from TVNZ said action-thriller series Vegas premiers this autumn with a cast of "incredibly talented wāhine and tāne".

Cousins actress Cian Elyse White, of Rotorua, plays wahine toa Toni Poulan, a local business owner who becomes the central suspect in a drug deal gone wrong.

In a twist of fate, a robbery is committed the same night at her tavern which sets off a chain of events for dangerous factions.

Eds Eramiha plays Kingi and Cian Elyse White plays Toni Poulan in the Vegas TV series. Photo / Supplied

This series sees White reunite with her 800 Words castmates Miriama Smith and Alex Tarrant.

Eds Eramiha (The Legend of Baron To'a) plays protagonist Kingi, the newly appointed leader for Te Toki.

His desire is to lead his people away from meth into a new life.

"Kingi's a protector but he is also very sensitive," Eramiha said.

"He knows what's right and he goes for it, he believes in himself 100 per cent and is not afraid to take a risk. He's passionate about upholding the mana of his whānau with integrity."

Rotorua's Cian Elyse White stars in action-thriller series Vegas. Photo / Supplied

Viewers will also recognise Katie Wolfe, Xavier Horan, Rena Owen, Dean O'Gorman and Te Kohe Tuhaka, who had a starring role in The Dead Lands.

An action-packed thriller which balances dark subject matter against moments of genuine comedy, Vegas shows that there is always hope, no matter the situation, and it is never too late to shift course.

This is a story of love and brotherhood, against all odds, inspiring hope, and redemption.

On the final product, producer Harriet Crampton, who alongside Michael Bennett is a series co-creator, said: "Like all good stories, at the heart of Vegas is a quest.

"Told through the lens of a gripping action series, the mission of our heroes Toni and Kingi, if they succeed in picking up the wero, is to revolutionise their town into becoming the whānau they long for."

Filmed entirely in Rotorua, the series is produced by Greenstone Television, in collaboration with 10,000 Company and the Steambox Film Collective, with the support of NZ On Air and Te Reo Tātaki.