This debut series from little-known studio, Beehive, portrays an eerie pre-apocalyptic dystopia that depicts a country battling to save itself from a deadly virus ravaging the rest of the planet.
There have been several overseas adaptations which have flopped in comparison to New Zealand's roundly-praised "1pm Daily Update", most notably "Oval Eyes" from Washington-based production powerhouse White House Fiction, which was abruptly cancelled after the main protagonist was pulled from the show - widely believed to be down to a long-standing casting blunder which still baffles viewers to this day.
Airing every weekday, each episode of "1pm Daily Update" is set in one room, with minimal set-dressing. Fans of classics such as 12 Angry Men and Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight will appreciate how the confines of the set emphasise the drama that plays out.
The pilot episode aired with little fanfare, but Beehive's breakout series has had domestic audiences gripped ever since - thanks in part for deploying a risky screenplay technique whereby the cliffhangers occur at the beginning rather than the end of each episode, with each opening scene providing the latest plot turn before the audience learns how the latest twist unfurled.
It's this kind of subversion of the serial drama genre that has rightly won the show plaudits nationwide, not to mention the two main protagonists' command of the screen who were rightly recast in a surprise second season.
The fact each episode is filmed in one take is often overlooked, and is a credit to the studio's faith in its cast and production crew. Furthermore the mysterious host of characters behind the camera - who are only ever heard and not seen - has had audiences scrambling for months to figure out their identities, motives and relationships with the two lead characters, and has ignited online discussion forums to levels not seen since the ill-fated Game of Thrones finale.
Unlike that show, viewers and critics alike were happy with the conclusion of the first season of "1pm Daily Update" when it came to a close earlier this year.
Its sudden return to our screens is sure to have a nation gripped once again, but many have signalled it will be more uncomfortable viewing than the first season.
