Los Angeles– Picnic at Hanging Rock (6×60’) is the latest series to be added to the Amazon Prime Video US line-up following a deal with FremantleMedia International. The epic new series, starring Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Parts 1 and 2, In Darkness) as English headmistress Mrs Hester Appleyard, is a re-imagining of Joan Lindsay’s timeless Australian novel.
The Appleyard College student roles are filled with an exciting contingent of rising stars, including Lily Sullivan (Camp, Jungle) as Miranda Reid, Madeleine Madden (Tomorrow When The War Began, High Life) as Marion Quade, Samara Weaving (Monster Trucks, The Babysitter) as Irma Leopold, Ruby Rees (Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries) as Edith Horton and introducing Inez Curro as Sara Waybourne.
Picnic at Hanging Rock will plunge viewers into the mysterious disappearances of three schoolgirls and one teacher on Valentine’s Day 1900, taking the audience on a new journey into the revered Australian novel. The complex, interwoven narrative follows the subsequent investigation and the event’s far-reaching impact on the students, families and staff of Appleyard College, and on the nearby township.
Commenting on the deal, Caroline Kusser, SVP, Sales & Distribution for FremantleMedia International in North America said, “The stylish re-imagining of the provocative Picnic at Hanging Rock story will no doubt capture contemporary audiences across the US. With fantastic scripts, outstanding cast and bold editorial direction from Larysa Kondracki, Picnic at Hanging Rock is set to be a must-see series in 2018. We are thrilled to be working with Amazon Prime Video to bring this powerful drama to US screens.”
Picnic at Hanging Rock will have its world premiere on Foxtel in Australia in 2018. It is a FremantleMedia Australia production made with key production investment from Screen Australia. The series was shot in Victoria, Australia, with the significant assistance of the Victorian Government through Film Victoria.
Picnic at Hanging Rock is a FremantleMedia Australia production for Foxtel. Executive producers are FremantleMedia Australia’s Jo Porter and Anthony Ellis and Foxtel’s Penny Win, script producer and establishing writer is Beatrix Christian, Writer Alice Addison, producer Brett Popplewell, directors are Larysa Kondracki, Michael Rymer and Amanda Brotchie. For Amazon, the series will be overseen by Amazon Studios’ Head of International Series Morgan Wandell.
