High Country isn't just another police procedural where a jaded city cop moves to the sticks. Honestly, we’ve seen that trope a thousand times. But this Foxtel original, which landed with a massive thud of intensity in 2024, manages to feel like something else entirely. It’s cold. It’s claustrophobic despite the vast Australian Alps.
If you haven't sat down with it yet, you're missing out on Leah Purcell basically owning the screen as Detective Andrea Whitford. She's transferred to the Victorian High Country, and it's not the quiet life she expected.
What the High Country Television Show Actually Gets Right
Most crime dramas settle for "who-dunnit." This one is more of a "what-the-hell-is-happening." When Andrea arrives, she’s tasked with looking into five missing persons cases that have basically vanished into the thin, freezing air of the mountains.
The scenery is a character. That sounds like a cliché, but in High Country, the landscape is genuinely threatening. It’s a jagged, limestone-heavy world where the weather changes in minutes. Director Kevin Carlin and the cinematographers captured the Victorian Alps in a way that makes you want to put on a puffer jacket while watching. It doesn't look like the sunny, postcard Australia. It looks like a place that hides secrets well.
The show thrives because it avoids the "magic detective" trope. Andrea doesn't just have a hunch and solve everything. She’s grinding. She’s dealing with local pushback. She’s dealing with her own family dynamics—specifically her partner Sam (played by Sara Wiseman) and their daughter. It’s grounded. It’s messy.
🔗 Read more: Nirvana’s I Know You’re Right: The Brutal Truth Behind the Last Masterpiece
The Mystery of the Five Vanished
The plot kicks off when Andrea realizes that the disappearances aren't just random accidents or hikers getting lost. There is a pattern. Or at least, the absence of a pattern is the pattern.
You have the veteran actors like Ian McElhinney (who you’ll recognize from Game of Thrones) playing Sam’s father, a man with deep roots in the region. His performance adds this weight of history to the show. You get the sense that the land remembers things the current residents are trying to forget. It’s that "folk horror" vibe without actually being a horror show.
The pacing is deliberate. It’s not a Michael Bay movie. It’s a slow burn that rewards you for paying attention to the peripheral characters.
The Casting Choice That Made the Show
Leah Purcell is a powerhouse. Period.
She brings this weary authority to the role of Andie. She’s an Indigenous woman in a position of power in a town that isn't exactly welcoming. But the show doesn't hit you over the head with "social messaging" every five seconds. It just is. It’s baked into the DNA of the story. Her perspective as an outsider who is also deeply connected to the land in a spiritual and ancestral way creates a friction that fuels the investigation.
Then you have Geoff Morell and Linda Cropper. These are stalwarts of Australian TV. They don't phone it in. Every interaction feels like there’s a subtext of ten years of history that the audience is just catching the tail end of.
Why People Are Comparing it to Happy Valley and Mare of Easttown
There’s a specific sub-genre of "prestige regional crime" that has taken over streaming. Think Happy Valley or Mare of Easttown.
- Location-specific trauma: The town feels like it’s nursing a collective wound.
- A lead who isn't a superhero: Andie makes mistakes. She’s grumpy. She’s tired.
- Interconnectedness: Everyone is someone’s cousin or ex-wife.
High Country fits right into this niche. It’s about the cost of searching for the truth in a place that relies on silence to keep the peace.
The High Country Production and Real-World Roots
The show was filmed around Mansfield and the Victorian Alps. If you’ve ever been to Mount Buller or the surrounding areas, the screen version will look eerily familiar.
They used real locations to ground the supernatural-adjacent elements. While the story is fictional, the writers—including Marcia Gardner and John Ridley—spent time researching the history of the region. They looked at how isolation affects small communities. They looked at the history of the "High Country" bushmen.
It’s authentic. You can smell the eucalyptus and the damp earth.
Some viewers initially thought the show might lean into supernatural elements because of the "missing in the woods" setup. Without spoiling too much: it stays firmly in the realm of human darkness. The monsters aren't spirits; they're people with motives that are sadly all too believable.
Addressing the Backlash and Criticisms
Look, no show is perfect. Some critics felt the middle episodes dragged a bit. If you’re used to the 22-episode-a-year American procedurals where a case is solved every 42 minutes, the High Country television show might feel slow.
It’s an eight-part series. It’s designed to be sat with.
The dialogue is also very Australian. Not "shrimp on the barbie" Australian, but real, clipped, rural dialogue. Some international viewers might need subtitles for the slang, but that’s part of the charm. It doesn't apologize for its identity.
Navigating the Finale (No Spoilers)
The way the show wraps up is... polarizing.
Some people want every single loose end tied in a neat little bow. Life in the high country isn't like that. The ending provides answers to the core mystery—you won't be left hanging on the "who"—but it leaves the emotional fallout lingering.
It’s a heavy ending. It forces you to think about what "justice" actually looks like when the damage is already done.
How to Watch and What to Look For
Currently, the show is a flagship for Binge and Foxtel in Australia. Internationally, it’s been picked up in various markets (like the BBC in the UK).
✨ Don't miss: Kurt Russell Elvis Movie: Why This 1979 Biopic Still Hits Different
When you watch, keep an eye on:
- The sound design: The wind isn't just background noise. It’s used to build tension.
- The color palette: Notice how the colors get colder as Andie gets deeper into the woods.
- The background characters: A lot of the clues are hidden in plain sight during the first three episodes.
The show is a testament to the fact that Australia is producing some of the best noir content in the world right now. It stands alongside The Kettering Incident and Mystery Road as essential viewing for anyone who likes their drama with a side of frostbite.
Actionable Steps for the High Country Viewer
If you’re planning to dive into the series, don't treat it like background noise while you scroll on your phone. You’ll miss the subtle shifts in the performances.
- Watch the first two episodes back-to-back. The first episode sets the stage, but the second one is where the hook really sinks in.
- Pay attention to the landscape shots. They aren't just filler; they often indicate the scope of the search areas and the difficulty the characters face.
- Look up the history of the Victorian Alps. Knowing a bit about the actual geography and the history of the high country cattlemen adds a layer of depth to the Sam and Damien storylines.
- Check out Leah Purcell’s other work. If you like her here, watch The Drover's Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson. It gives you a sense of why she was the perfect choice for this role.
High Country is a reminder that the most dangerous things aren't always what we find in the dark—sometimes they’re exactly what we’ve been looking at in the broad daylight of a small town.