It's impossible to talk about The Strip without mentioning, well, 'the strip'. The Gold Coast setting has such a strong presence in Nine's new crime drama that it should almost get a character credit.
Aaron Jeffery, who stars as hard-hitting detective Jack Cross, agrees. "Always integral to a great TV show is the character of the landscape. It gives it a different look, a different energy, a different feel." That energy flowed behind the scenes too, he says, "We shot at an incredible pace. I never stopped being on set, basically. When I wasn't on set I was sleeping. Creatively it was probably the best experience I've ever had. There was a great energy on set; it's the first time I've felt a complete ensemble with the cast and crew - we were all one unit."
Beyond being just a pretty backdrop for the drama to take place before, the Gold Coast is an intrinsic part of the stories that unfold - especially the story of Cross. Transferring north from Melbourne in the first episode, "you meet [Cross] when he's at a pretty deep ebb in his life," Jeffery explains, "[but] he's cajoled and seduced by the Gold Coast and everything that comes with it."
What it comes with is temptation, hedonism and a new partner who doesn't always share his point of view. "Cross is a romantic with old, '50s values," he says, "and [his partner, detective Frances Tully] is almost masculine in that whenever she wants sex, she just goes out and gets it."
Don't be fooled into thinking the series is all sun, sex and surf, though. Speaking about the detectives he met with to research his character, Jeffery touches on the cost they pay for doing what they do, "they are forced to go to very dark, dangerous places and they pay a price for what they do, emotionally."
His enthusiasm for The Strip is uncontainable. "With every episode we got better and better and better. You get this intense insight into the emotions of the characters as we go through," and looking back over the finished product, he adds, "I'm really proud of it and everybody who worked on it. I think we did a great job."
"There's a great through-line involving the Russian Mafia and [Cross's] nemesis - this guy called Lazar - that kicks off in episode three, which goes right through and has a massive arc at the end of the series that's really exciting," he says, teasing upcoming episodes. "There are some great action sequences and some great fight scenes. Jack Cross... when he's upset, he's really upset. That's all I can say."
