The local surfing and acting community is buzzing with of an HBO Max series, entitled “Ke Nui Road,” filming in the epicenter of North Shore watersports.
Producer John Wells is launching “Ke Nui Road,” focusing on the North Shore surfers and lifeguards, zooming in on the relationships between an elite crew of heavy-water lifeguards and the young adults and tees they train and mentor in a junior lifeguard program.
One intent of the contemporary drama is to capture the pulse of the lifeguard profession that embraces the dangers, the beauty, and the struggles of the unpredictable currents and waves, amid the island-style spirit of aloha.
Clearly, this one will require and hire a bunch of water-experienced swimmers and surfers, plus crowds of extras if a surfing meet is part of the agenda.
To the regulars who live and love the water culture, the film’s title will immediately ring a bell of recognition. The location is the epicenter of the project; Ke Nui Road is a brand of sorts, with an element of attraction and adventure, where residents and surfers traverse. In heavy wave season, the road becomes a character of sorts, too, fighting for survival along the coast, where the Pacific Ocean can unexpectedly spill into the shoreline properties of residents, while surfers try to catch the waves, as part of the mainstream surfing tradition.
Matt Kester (“Animal Kingdom”) will be an executive producer who also will provide the script.
There’s no word on how many shows will filmed, but the camera-hungry crowd here is excited about casting that’s still under way, because series “regular” roles are likely to be filled with Hawaii actors/athletes.
As one online post advises, “Time to check in with your agent.”
Wells has numerous TV and film credits, but he is best known as a showrunner and exec producer of such series as “ER,” “Third Watch,” “The West Wing,” “Shameless,” “Animal Kingdom,” and “American Woman.” …
And that’s “Show. Biz.” …