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meets with Joe and Evelyn for a family dinner. Resuming his search for the copycat, Joe narrows his suspects down to DSS Robert
Calhoun and DS Brian Travers. Agreeing to help Joe, Melissa investigates the prostitute's death by questioning the motel owner Wendy who last saw her alive. Joe later finds that his pet fish have seemingly been killed by the "rescue" cat Karma. When the veterinary calls to inform him that the cat's owners have been found, Joe claims Karma was run over by a car. While burying his pet fish, Melissa meets up with Joe, having determined the copycat to be Calhoun. Joe spies on Calhoun but is ambushed by the detective.
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cover up her murder. With
Melissa's approval, Joe murders Calhoun. Meanwhile, Schroder and Kent question Sally about a ticket found near Wendy's remains, believing she can help identify the Christchurch Carver. Joe meets with Melissa to secure the return of his suitcase containing evidence of his identity as the Christchurch Carver. To conceal their secrets, Joe proposes to Melissa, which she accepts. Joe informs his mother Evelyn, who is happy about her son's relationship. The Police later arrange for Sally to meet with Joe in a
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murder case. He infiltrates the Walker household and discovers clues suggesting the copycat killer was a Police officer. Meanwhile, Schroder believes that
Daniella's husband abused and murdered her based on the postmortem showing multiple injuries over a period of time. Believing Schroder is the copycat killer, he decides to kill a woman named Laura with the intention of framing Schroder. However, he instead encounters a male friend, who was house-sitting Laura's home since she is on a holiday in
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lady after stealing her swipe card. With
Melissa's help, Joe kills the motel owner Wendy and steals her two pet fish to replace his deceased pets. Using a cellphone, Joe stalks Calhoun and threatens to reveal his role in Daniella Walker's murder. Joe blackmails Calhoun into meeting him at a Christchurch address with a ransom of NZ$ 50,000. The two men tussel, with Calhoun gaining the upper hand.
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second prostitute, who reveals that a person matching the copycat killer's profile is a Police employee. When she becomes suspicious, Joe ends up killing her as well. Unknown to Joe, he is being tailed by another man. The mysterious man is also followed by
Melissa, who kills him. Joe finds the remains of the mysterious man, later revealed to be Constable Sam, in the trunk of his car.
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Karl
Puschmann gave a positive review, writing that "the series does not squander this killer idea. It's unique and, due to its graphic nature and off-kilter premise, is quite an unexpected show to be made here. It's full of terrific performances, and having been shot on location around Christchurch,
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Flicks.co.nz's reviewer Katie Parker gave the series a positive review, describing it as "an unexpectedly audacious and instantly addictive series that perfectly showcases
Aotearoa's talent for taking dark subject matter to delicious new depths." Parker also described the series as a murder thriller
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Detective
Calhoun questions why Joe is following him. Joe plays dumb, causing Calhoun to release him. Sally grows concerned about Joe and visits his mother Evelyn, who has trouble remembering details due to her medication. Joe infiltrates Calhoun's flat to find information and zip ties the cleaning
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Joe dumps his car and the bodies of
Constable Sam and the second prostitute outside DC Schroder's house. SI Dominique Stevens takes over the investigation from Schroder, who remains in a support role. Joe acquires another car and meets with Evelyn's new boyfriend Walt at a petrol station, who later
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Joe manages to knock out
Detective Calhoun with a glass. Calhoun confesses to Joe and Melissa that he had been having an affair with Daniella and killed her following an argument. Melissa reveals that she has been impersonating her sister who was killed by another detective and that Calhoun helped
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with a pair of plyers. Joe convinces Sally to treat his injuries and keep them a secret. Later, Melissa blackmails Joe into finding the copycat within two days or she will finish what she started. Returning to his workplace, Joe eavesdrop on DC Schroder and DSS Rebecca Kent discussing the Walker
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previous cleaner at the police station. When a seventh woman named Daniella Walker is killed, Joe eavesdrops on a conversation between DC Carl Schroder and his fellow detectives. After learning the killer left an object behind, Joe deduces that it is a copycat. While taking an abandoned cat to a
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a positive review, describing it as "an eerie, pitch black and totally original Christchurch crime drama." He praised the performances of Cohen Holloway, Dea Doglione, and Chelsie Florence. Greive was critical of the occasional use of cliches' in the show's writing and the "deadpan" delivery of
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relationship. Melissa gives him another chance to find the copycat killer. Joe then questions two prostitutes for information about the copycat killer. When the first prostitute realizes he is the Christchurch Carver, Joe kills her and burns a car to cover his tracks. Joe has more luck with the
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police station by day, Joe Middleton lives a double life as a serial killer known as the "Christchurch Carver," targeting women. He also has a strained relationship with his mother Evelyn, who resents his perceived tardiness. By the time of the story, Joe has murdered six women and a man, the
469:-based journalist named Melissa Flowers, who is investigating the Christchurch Carver's actions. Following a bus ride, Joe takes Melissa for a walk, intending to kill her. However, she turns the tables on him and reveals she has deduced his identity as the Christchurch Carver.
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Carver. When another woman is murdered in her own home, police suspect The Carver – but Joe knows it wasn't him. He sets out to find the copycat killer. But as he searches, he finds he is also being hunted – by an adversary who is more clever and more dangerous than he
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on 27 February 2023, with filming expected to be completed by May 2023. According to Screen CanterburyNZ manager Petrina D'Rozario, the production employed 100 crew members over the 100-day production period and spend NZ$ 3.5m in the
671:. After accidentally revealing himself as the Christchurch Carver, Joe takes Sally hostage and attempts to kill himself with a pistol. However Sally intervenes, wounding Joe. Joe is taken into custody and Melissa vows to rescue him.
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Joe escapes Laura's friend, who reports his description to the Police. Continuing his search for the copycat killer, Joe rules out Schroder. He stalks DSS Robert Calhoun but rules him out as a suspect after discovering he is in a
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Holloway's narration scenes. Despite his criticisms, Greive praised the series' high production values, which he attributed to funding from central and local government film subsidies.
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By day, Joe is a cleaner at the police station, where no one notices him. But by night he has another line of work – a serial killer who's been dubbed The
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After subduing Joe, Melissa forces him to help her find the copycat killer. As a warning, Melissa crushes one of his
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it feels distinctly Kiwi." He compared the series' serial killer premise to the American crime drama
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and a NZ$ 200,000 regional production grant from ChristchurchNZ's Screen CanterburyNZ fund.
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1065:"Dark City: The Cleaner review - Kiwi stars of local thriller on 'murder-y, gory' new show"
1035:"Dark City: The Cleaner is an audacious, addictive and gleefully self-aware local thriller"
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895:"Review: Dark City is an eerie, pitch black and totally original Christchurch crime drama"
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1007:"Dark City: The Cleaner: Performances, twists mask Christchurch-set crime-drama's flaws"
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and ChristchurchNZ's Screen CanterburyNZ fund. The series debuted on 4 March 2024 on
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starring as the two man characters Joe Middleton and Melissa Flowers.
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was co-produced by John Barnett and Chloe Smith. Cohen Holloway and
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1063:Puschmann, Karl (25 March 2024).
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1096:"Watch Dark City: The Cleaner"
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