Community is centred in heart-soaring, show Rūrangi. Set in a sleepy dairy farming corner of Aotearoa (New Zealand), this fictional small town is shaken from its slumber when Auckland-based activist and youth worker Caz Davis (remarkable newcomer Elz Carrad), a proud trans man, returns home nursing a broken heart after a decade’s radio silence. An intimate family drama unfolds between Caz and his father Gerald (Kirk Torrance in season one, then Cohen Holloway), with the latter getting to know the son he never knew he had, all while re-awakening feelings emerge between Caz and his high school boyfriend Jem (Arlo Green, then Liam Coleman).
Unafraid to wear its heart on its sleeve, Rūrangi’s abundant queer joy holds us tight even while it goes to difficult places. Homophobia, transphobia and racism may bubble up in certain corners, but allies, including Caz’s school years bestie Anahera (Awhina-Rose Ashby), stand tall. Proudly queer, she’s beginning to embrace her Māori culture and experiencing pushback.
Liam Coleman (Jem) and Elz Carrad (Caz) on location during shooting for season 2. Credit: Autonomouse
Some Australian viewers may have caught the film version of season one, which combined five episodes into a feature-length movie of the same name. Now you can view them as intended, then binge right through season two, in which returning director Max Currie is joined by filmmaker as co-showrunner. “When Briar came on board, that was one of first big conversations we had, was how we take this world and expand it,” Currie says.
Smith highlighted the potential in further exploring Anahera trying to find her place. She’s stuck in the middle of a battle between Rūrangi’s Māori community and the town’s nefarious mayor (Renee Lyons), who’s in league with a dairy magnate looking to build a housing estate on their traditional lands. “Awhina knew her character so well by season two, so she could bring up a couple of moments that she didn’t think were authentic to her character,” Smith says of the collaborative process.
Āwhina-Rose Ashby (Anahera), centre. Credit: Autonomouse
Beautiful nuance shades the character’s journeys, like Caz realising he’s not sure if he came out to his dad as gay as well as trans, Jem wondering out loud, “How can I come out if I don’t even know what to come out as,” and Anahera juggling old grudges against her family. “That’s a direct result of having trans Māori writers at the table,” Currie says. “There’s a lot of layers to our identity, and I think that’s perhaps the evolution and maturation of queer dialogue, as storytellers, because if you go back, so much of that conversation is about this external issue of society. But we’re increasingly looking inwards at that ongoing challenge of inhabiting ourselves. I really love Rurangi for these more subtle explorations and reflections of sexuality and identity, and just how complex and tricky it still is.”
Elz Carrad and Max Currie during shooting of season 2. Credit: Autonomouse
Shooting on location helped bed in the story, Currie says. “None of this is constructed on a soundstage, and there’s something when you’re there in your gumboots, standing in the mud and cow shit, that allows you to take in the whole world and absorb it through the camera.”
He also credits the collaboration between composers Lachlan Anderson and Jerome Kavanagh, combining traditional Māori instrumentation and synth music, as lending the show a bigger feel than its modest budget. “That’s a big part of the soul of the show.”
In season two, Caz’s minor celebrity emboldens other LGBTIQA+ youth to step forward, with Luka Wolfgram’s ballroom dancing Lala, Jaxon Cook’s Seth and Eden Star Perkins as the mayor’s non-binary kid Taylor all joining the fold. “For Briar and I, there are a million things on our mind on the shoot and we’re in problem-solving mode, but when it came to the premiere screening, I noticed some really beautiful new friendships.”
All trans characters are played by trans actors, with many LGBTQIA+ and Māori people throughout the cast and crew. Everyone underwent gender diversity training, and each day was led by Karakia prayer. Series co-producer and co-writer Cole Meyers, a trans man, was the set’s kindness officer, ensuring everyone was in a good place.
(L-R) Liam Coleman (Jem), Elz Carrad (Caz), Āwhina-Rose Ashby ("Anahera") and Aroha Rawson ("Whina"). Credit: Autonomouse
“There may be some triggering stuff going on in front of the camera, but when the actors know that there are all these other community members around them, holding the space, that definitely helps,” Currie says. “And that included Briar and I helping the actors who had to play phobic characters, because it’s not in their hearts, right? But the show needs it, so it’s part of our job to really give them permission to step into those queasy shoes.”
Currie also credits Coleman for nimbly stepping into Jem’s shoes in season two, after several characters had to be recast due to scheduling conflicts. “Having to take on a much-loved character after a really strong performance from Arlo Green is bloody hard, right? He doesn’t just have to turn in a great performance of his own, he also needs to somehow create the continuity of character, and Liam did it so well.”
Both Smith and Currie appear in smaller roles. “Apart from making it a little bit cheaper, it helps you get to feel what it is to be an actor, and it’s a good wake-up call, because it’s not easy,” Smith says. Currie agrees. “I just needed to carry a parcel, and I still mucked it up and needed multiple takes,” he chuckles. “But it’s also fun being directed by each other, creating trust through vulnerability, and if we’re asking our actors to do some really hard stuff in front of the camera, it’s good for us to have a taste of our own medicine.”
Briar Grace-Smith on set. Credit: Autonomouse
She’s in awe of Carrad’s performance. “He’s a very emotional actor who has the ability to really draw on and find that truth within himself and pull it out,” she says. Currie adds. “Sometimes you meet someone who’s naturally phenomenally talented. There’s a wordless scene that Briar directed with Elz that carries so much power and depth. If there’s any justice in the world, he absolutely deserves a stellar career.”
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Rūrangi - Season 1 episode 1
