David Jacobson is standing in the toilet of a queer nightclub, looking very much out of place. He’s been called there by three strangers, who found his name in a phone belonging to a young man named Leon, who is having a bad drug trip. As David (Vinnie Bennett) helps Leon without a word of judgment or blame, the three strangers are shocked to discover that he isn’t Leon’s boyfriend, but in fact his pastor. God moves in mysterious ways, it seems.
So begins Testify, TVNZ’s dark new drama about a rich and powerful family which run an evangelical megachurch in Auckland. It’s written by Gavin Strawhan (Black Hands, Nothing Trivial) and Paula Whetu Jones (Spinal Destination, Whina) and received $6 million in funding from NZ on Air. Starring Vinnie Bennett, Craig Hall and Ari Boyland, the series follows the battle between good and evil as that “hot pastor” David teams up with determined podcaster Dana (Stacey Hayes) to expose the church’s secrets and lies.
