A mini-series written and directed by Jane Campion for BBC Two is to be filmed in New Zealand.
Top of the Lake will star Elisabeth Moss, Holly Hunter and David Wenham.
UKTV Australia says the six-hour series will be set in mountains in the South Island.
It will follow the disappearance of a pregnant 12-year-old girl called Tui who was last seen standing in a frozen lake.
It will be co-produced by BBC Two, UKTV in Australia and New Zealand and the Sundance Channel in the United States and is due to be screened in early 2013.