CRIME WAVES
A surfing thief goes after the bad guys in a SUN-SOAKED CRIME DRAMA
IF YOU’RE IN the mood for a fun, action-adventure show, try Alibi HD’S new crime drama Reef Break.
Filmed on Australia’s Gold Coast, it harks back to classic, escapist US crime shows of the 1970s and 1980s and follows thief and talented surfer Cat Chambers (Poppy Montgomery) as she is recruited to help law enforcement on the fictional island of Nimitz Bay.
‘Reef Break is a bit of an homage to the original Magnum PI, in my mind,’ says Montgomery. ‘It’s also a nod to all my other favourite shows and movies – Point Break, James Bond, Burn Notice…’
The main thing that distinguishes
Reef Break from its influences is that the lead character is female.
‘I’d never seen a woman get to do the surfing, driving the boats like in Miami Vice or riding the jet skis,’ says Montgomery who, having played
cops in
Without a Trace and Unforgettable, was keen to try something different.
‘I wanted to be on the other side of the law,’ she explains. ‘So my character’s a thief and a criminal.’
Episode one sees Cat in Nimitz Bay to testify against a man who tried to kill her five years previously.
While there, she’s served divorce papers by her FBI agent husband, Jake (Ray Stevenson), and recruited, alongside local cop Detective Wyatt Cole (Desmond Chiam), to help rescue a businessman’s daughter who is being held for ransom.
RULE BREAKER
It’s soon clear that Cat is someone who plays by her own rules.
‘She doesn’t apologise for not having kids, not wanting that traditional life,’ says Montgomery, who was born in Australia.
The mother-of-five admits that there’s a certain amount of wish fulfilment in playing Cat.
‘I’m playing a badass action babe and that’s really liberating. I didn’t expect it at this point in my life!’ Above all, she hopes that the series will provide some escapist fun. ‘I thought we needed something sexy and happy. The world is a dark place right now,’ she explains.
‘I want Reef
Break to be a cool, flashy,
summer show!’