New to ThreeNow in September

Top free-to-stream drama is no longer the sole preserve of TVNZ+, with WBD announcing a slew of promising newcomers for ThreeNow in September.

Leading the charge is Blue Lights (September 7), a Belfast-based drama following three rookie recruits as they navigate the challenges of their roles in the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

The trio faces divided communities, criminal gangs and internal doubts about their career choices.

“This thrilling cop drama is one of TV’s best shows,” was The Guardian’s verdict. “Gripping, nuanced, almost unbearably tense.”

Radio Times said it “somehow manages to break new ground for police dramas” while The Telegraph declared: “A rare gem among TV’s never ending barrage of police procedurals, this has characters you’ll actually care about – and a sense of realism.”

Equally anticipated is Maryland (September 26), which stars co-creator Suranne Jones and Eve Best (Nurse Jackie) as estranged sisters who bond in the face of tragic family events.

The Guardian dubbed it a “joyful and incredibly affecting drama about two sisters forced to confront their mother’s mysterious death and double life” and The Times “an intriguing mystery fuelled by sibling rivalry”:

Credit to the writer Anne-Marie O’Connor for creating (along with Jones) something that doesn’t need tired violent tropes for its energy and plot, but uses the simpler, perennial themes of sibling rivalry, secret yearnings and unfulfilled potential.

“Maryland might not be Agatha Christie, but you’d be hard pressed to find a more sensitive and honest portrayal of sisterhood, grief and family,” said the Evening Standard.

One Night (September 28) is a Paramount+ Australian commission.

It stars Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who), Yael Stone (Orange is the New Black) and Nicole Da Silva (Wentworth) in a thriller about a novice novelist’s overnight success derailing her life when it pushes her friendships to the brink because of a dark secret she’s exploited.

The six-part drama was written by The Slap’s Emily Ballou and will stream here a month after its September 1 P+ premiere.

ThreeNow also will stream ahead of its Three premiere the 2022 movie Muru, which was inspired by the 2007 Tūhoe raids, as well as a four-part companion documentary series, Into the Valley.

Other September highlights include season two of The Newsreader, which will stream on ThreeNow ahead of its Eden premiere, as will S4 of Celebrity Googlebox, the return of House Rules NZ, and S1 of The Traitors UK (September 4).