“Nothing is what I thought. Everything is a lie.”
But the elements in Australia’s first-ever Netflix Original look all too familiar.
Still, let’s not jump to conclusions. The first teaser trailer for Tidelands, the full eight episodes surfing in to Netflix globally Dec. 14, gives a look at the fishing village of Orphelin Bay, which under the surface has a bit of a drug smuggling problem.
It’s also filled with beautiful mermaid-like people.
Cal McTeer, played by Charlotte Best, who Aussies (and UK viewers) will be familiar with from another beach-set show, Home and Away, returns to the bay after a whopping 10 years in juvenile detention and jail. Drama kicks off when the body of a fisherman washes ashore and Cal starts investigating a commune of outcasts known as the Tidelanders, half-Siren half-humans, led by Adrielle Cuthbert (Elsa Pataky of the Fast and Furious movies), who not-so-subtly hints to Cal that she has a connection to the ocean.
The bay’s coven of beautiful people is very Twilight — motorcycle chases, small town and shirtless men included. Aside from Spain’s Pataky (although she is married to Chris Hemsworth), the cast is packed with Aussies, including Aaron Jakubenko, Peter O’Brien, Madeleine Madden and Caroline Brazier.
Tidelands hits the surf Dec. 14 on Netflix worldwide.