The first episode of this polished, engaging drama begins with a slightly overstated sense of style and robust performances from Aaron Jeffery and Vanessa Gray as Cross and Tully, a couple of Law & Order-style detectives. Set in the glitzy, materialistic tourist mecca of the Gold Coast, The Strip is not perfect by any stretch but most of the bumps seem small and should be smoothed out within a few episodes.

The idea of the Gold Coast as a Miami-style haven of badness isn't new - indeed Nine explored it in its 1986 telemovie pilot Shark's Paradise, directed by Michael Jenkins, who later went on to direct the almost peerless Blue Murder as well as Wildside. Shawn Seet, whose directing credits include Rain Shadow and Dangerous, delivers a more contemporary sin city in this opening episode. Mercifully, James Reyne is nowhere to be seen.