Mystic (TV series)

Mystic is a British-New Zealand environmental teen drama television series produced by Libertine Pictures and Slim film+television for CBBC, TVNZ and the Seven Network.[2] It is based on Pony Club Secrets, Stacy Gregg's series of pony novels, the first of which is Mystic and the Midnight Ride (2007). Set on the fictional peninsula of Kauri Point, New Zealand, Mystic tells the story of Issie Brown and her new-found friendships with the town's teen horse riders, and their efforts to save Kauri Point from an industrial development that threatens it.[1] It stars Macey Chipping. The series premiered on CBBC and BBC iPlayer in the UK on 14 July 2020.[3]

Mystic
Genre	Thriller Drama[1] Ecofiction[2] Fantasy Teen drama
Created by	Stacy Gregg
Based on	Pony Club Secrets by Stacy Gregg[2]
Directed by	Peter Salmon Aidee Walker Michael Hurst
Starring	Macey Chipping Laura Patch Cathy Downes
Composers	David Long Stephen Gallagher
Country of origin	New Zealand
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13
Production
Executive producers	Amy Buscombe Richard Fletcher Simon Crawford-Collins Amy Shindler Beth Chalmers
Producers	Trevor Haysom Emily Anderton Hannah Prior
Cinematography	Dave Cameron Drew Sturge
Editors	Jochen Fitzherbert Gary Hunt Margot Francis
Running time	30 minutes[1]
Production companies	Libertine Pictures Slim film+television
Release
Original network	CBBC TVNZ Seven Network
Original release	14 July 2020 – present

Cast and characters

• Macey Chipping as Issie Brown. Having just moved from London to Kauri Point, she struggles to make friends and misses her old home. However, a chance encounter with wild ponies Blaze and Mystic convinces her to stay.
• Laura Patch as Amanda Brown, Issie's mother.[1]
• Cathy Downes as Mitch, Amanda's mother and Issie's grandmother.
• Phil Brown as Sam Tucker, father of Natasha Tucker.
• Kirk Torrance as Tom Avery
• Jonny Brugh as Kenny Burford,[4] mayor of Kauri Point.
• Antonia Robinson as Natasha Tucker,[4] one of Kauri Point's teen riders.[2]
• Max Crean as Dan Townley,[4] one of Kauri Point's teen riders.[2]
• Jacqueline Joe as Caroline Burford,[4] one of Kauri Point's teen riders.[2]
• Joshua Tan as Caleb Burford,[4] one of Kauri Point's teen riders.[2]
• Harriet Walton as Stella Tarrant,[4] one of Kauri Point's teen riders.[2]
• Romy Mukerjee as Anisha
• Milo Cawthorne as Adam
• Katlyn Wong as Corinne
• Anais Shand as Dora
• Kelson Henderson as Jake
• Carrie Green as Miriama[3]
• Alison Bruce as Julia[5]
• Xander Manktelow as Hamish Tarrant
• Madeleine Adams as Bianca, Dulmoth Park Rider
• Annise Boothroyd as Nicole, Dulmoth Park Rider

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	"The Outsider"	Peter Salmon	Amy Shindler & Beth Chalmers	14 July 2020
Issie, having recently moved from London to Kauri Point due to the death of her father, begins to see a horse in various places. She struggles to make sense of it when she realises that nobody else can see the horses but her. She meets Natasha, who takes her to the stables. When Issie asks the people at the stables to help her to look for the horse, Natasha accuses her of taking over, and leaves her. Issie then finds an unknown man trying to take a horse from the stables, and stops him.
2	"The Bond"	Peter Salmon	Scott Payne	21 July 2020
Issie's grandmother Mitch complains to mayor Kenny about a building project that will destroy the habitat of the bees that she keeps in her garden. Wanting to celebrate her dead father's birthday, Issie books tickets to visit London with mother Amanda, who is reluctant to go when she learns of them, but eventually agrees. Sam and Amanda go on a date, but Amanda leaves due to feeling like she is betraying her husband. Issie names the horse Blaze, and manages to bond with the horse. She learns that if she goes to London, Blaze will be euthanised, so she makes the decision to stay in Kauri Point.
3	"The Sacrifice"	Peter Salmon	Amy Shindler & Beth Chalmers	28 July 2020
With the stables preparing for a competition, they are let down by a rider so Issie fills in for them on the new riders category. Issie attempts to ride Blaze while nobody is around, which she reacts badly to. When Blaze is enclosed, Natasha accidentally lets her go, and she runs away. Issie sees visions of where she is, and takes Dan to find her. When Dan questions how she knew where to go, Issie explains that she sees mystic-like visions related to horses.
4	"The Tides"	Peter Salmon	Samuel E. Shore	4 August 2020
Issie goes to the beach to find proof that she is having visions of a horse, and Caleb follows her due to the high tides and lack of phone signal. She expresses her sadness to Caleb about being an outsider from the rest of the stables, to which he responds that he feels similarly. He then comes out as gay, and asks her to tell nobody, as he is not out to anybody else. When they return home, Caleb suggests that she finds CCTV footage of the horse. Issie searches through the camera files, and finds footage of Natasha letting Blaze go.
5	"The Revenge"	Peter Salmon	Steph Matuku	11 August 2020
Determined to expose Natasha for letting Blaze go from her pen, Issie records Natasha confessing to her actions. She sends it to Dan, to be played in front of the residents of Kauri Point. When Natasha apologises, Issie attempts to stop the recording from playing, but accidentally makes a fool of Dan. While playing with the riders, Natasha tackles Issie to the ground and the pair have a fight.
6	"The Lost Herd"	Aidee Walker	Amy Shindler & Beth Chalmers	18 August 2020
Issie has a vision of Mystic running through the forest along an old railway track and wonders if it will lead her to Blaze's herd. Issie decides to ride out on Blaze to find the tracks, and Caroline, Caleb, Dan and Natasha join her. As they pass their favourite swimming hole, they notice that it is severely polluted, and filled with dead bees. Dan misses a test due to being out with the others, and it is rearranged for a later date, which intercepts with the Cross-Country Trials.
7	"The Switch"	Aidee Walker	Stacey Gregg & Kate McDermott	25 August 2020
At the Cross-Country Trials, the riders discover that a rival team have purposely dropped down a grade in order to win. When Caroline sprains her shoulder, Natasha pretends to be her, riding in her place. Tom learns of their plan, and tells the officials, disqualifying her score, leaving it down to Issie to score well. While riding, she falls from Blaze into the water, and sees a vision of a girl lying on a beach.
8	"The Storm"	Aidee Walker	Amy Shindler & Beth Chalmers	1 September 2020
When the riders get stuck in the stables during a storm, Natasha suggests playing truth or dare, but Caleb suggests another game. They play sardines, and while searching for people, Issie asks Caleb when he will be ready to announce that he is gay. Caroline overhears the conversation, and although she accepts him, she is hurt that he did not tell her first. Natasha confides in Dan about how she feels lonely, and goes in to kiss him, but he rejects her advances.

Production

Development

On 2 October 2018, NZ on Air announced their decision to fund 13 28-minute episodes of Mystic for up to $1,000,000.[6]

Casting

Gilly Poole, Suzanne Crowley and Tina Cleary were the series' casting directors.[4] On 10 March 2020, it was announced that Macey Chipping and Laura Patch would play Issie Brown and her mother respectively, alongside a New Zealand cast of Phil Brown, Jacqueline Joe, Kirk Torrance, Cathy Downes, Jonny Brugh, Antonia Robinson, Max Crean, Josh Tan and Harriet Walton.[1][7]

Filming

The series was scheduled to start filming in New Zealand in January 2020,[2] and on 10 March 2020 it was revealed that filming had begun in Auckland, New Zealand.[7] Filming halted when New Zealand went into lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,[8] and on 5 April 2020 the BBC reported that Chipping had temporarily returned to the UK.[9]

References

1. "British actors join New Zealand cast for major new family thriller Mystic – coming to CBBC". 10 March 2020.
2. White, Peter (27 November 2019). "'Mystic': British Drama Producer Slim Film + Television Teams With Neil Cross' Libertine Pictures On Kids' Drama Adaptation".
3. "Mystic Series 1: 1. The Outsider". BBC.
4. "MYSTIC". Slim film+television.
5. "Mystic Series 1: 2. The Bond". BBC iPlayer.
6. "More paranormal activity destined for screens". NZ on Air. 2 October 2018.
7. "New TV drama Mystic kicks off filming in Auckland". NZ Herald. 10 March 2020.
8. "Hollywood productions set to quarantine big stars in New Zealand". NZ Herald. 17 May 2020.
9. "Filming postponed on new CBBC show Mystic". BBC. 5 April 2020.

External links

• Mystic at IMDb
• Mystic on CBBC