Before The Insiders Guide To Happiness, there was another story to be told, this one about love: a love of life; love of self; love of children and family; love of heritage; love of god; love gone wrong; unrequited love; a love of falling in love.

The prequel to Happiness, The Insiders Guide To Love, (TV2, Nov 7, 9.30pm) explores the lives of a group of seven previously unconnected people. Each are implicated in a bizarre incident, the outcome of which forces them to examine and explore the loves in their own lives.

Image: A sad baker called Luc (Gareth Reeves) is just afloat in The Insiders Guide to LoveBefore The Insiders Guide To Happiness, there was another story to be told, this one about love: a love of life; love of self; love of children and family; love of heritage; love of god; love gone wrong; unrequited love; a love of falling in love.

The prequel to Happiness, The Insiders Guide To Love, (TV2, Nov 7, 9.30pm) explores the lives of a group of seven previously unconnected people. Each are implicated in a bizarre incident, the outcome of which forces them to examine and explore the loves in their own lives.

Image: A sad baker called Luc (Gareth Reeves) is just afloat in The Insiders Guide to LoveNicole (Kate Elliot, Fracture, Toy Love) likes fast cars and dangerous men. Her boyfriend, Brad (Ryan O'Kane) is a convicted car thief who is wary of his relationship with the dangerous Nicole.

Marty (Louis Sutherland) is a man with secrets. Marty is torn between his equal loves for Maxine (Yvette Reid), a sultry singer-songwriter, and Rachel (Serena Cotton) a Pakeha activist. Both women have mothered his children and are oblivious of each other's existence.

Luc (Gareth Reeves) is a talented and compassionate baker who has an unrequited love for his bakery assistant, Rachel (Cotton). Luc inherited the bakery from his mother; a decision that has caused consternation for his brother.

Finally, there's James (Will Hall), the affable country-boy familiar to viewers of The Insiders Guide To Happiness.

Will Hall recently won the award for 'Best Performance by an Actor' at the New Zealand Screen Awards for his role in Happiness. At the time of winning the award, Hall was finishing filming on The Insiders Guide To Love.

Hall has enjoyed exploring a different chapter of his character James' life. In the new season (a prequel to Happiness), Will has just moved to Wellington from Wanganui. "When I first read these scripts I could easily recognise the Insiders Guide world on paper, but it took me a while to get my head around all the new characters and situations."

New to the Insiders set is Kate Elliot, who is well known to New Zealand audiences thanks her roles in Xena, Hercules and Street Legal, along with feature films Fracture and Toy Love.

Kate was primarily drawn to Nicole because of her character's spontaneity. "Nicole is highly impulsive and someone who lives for the moment and is always seeking new experiences. So she gets to have lots of fun and push conventional boundaries all the time."

The Insiders Guide To Love Monday November 7, 9.30pm on TV2.

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