A trailer has finally landed for the highly anticipated sophomore season of Jane Campion’s “Top of the Lake,” and it looks like the newest installment of the murder mystery will just be as disturbing and addictive as the first. “Top of the Lake: China Girl” sees Elisabeth Moss being joined by Nicole Kidman. Both women are positively killing it this year, with Moss earning raves for Hulu’s feminist dystopian story “The Handmaid’s Tale” and Kidman for her portrayal of a woman in an abusive marriage in HBO’s “Big Little Lies.”
The new footage shows Detective Robin Griffin (Moss) meeting the daughter she gave up for adoption (Alice Englert, “Ginger & Rosa”) many years ago. Kidman plays the teen’s adopted mother. “I’d like to say thank you. Your baby has been loved by me very much,” she tells Robin. The women seem to bond over their disapproval of the girl’s boyfriend — and their objections are much more serious than his table manners. At a family dinner he announces that “the destiny of man is to enslave women.” So you can just imagine how he treats their daughter.
The spot doesn’t just focus on family drama — there’s another murder to solve. “When the body of an Asian girl washes up on Bondi Beach, there appears little hope of finding the killer, until Griffin realizes ‘China Girl’ didn’t die alone,” an official synopsis hints. The trailer reveals that the murder victim worked at a brothel, and coincidentally — or not — another familiar face has been spotted hanging out at the same establishment.
Campion created “Top of the Lake” with Gerard Lee. They co-wrote every episode of the first and second season. “Top of the Lake: China Girl” includes six episodes, three of which were helmed by Campion, who is the only woman to have ever won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Garth Davis (“Lion”) directed the rest. The series will make its world premiere this month at Cannes and will air on SundanceTV this fall. New episodes will stream on Hulu the day after they air on SundanceTV.