In addition to its ambitious stable of original shows and films, Amazon continues to partner with other entities to corner streaming rights to properties from all over the globe. One of their latest acquisitions is Picnic at Hanging Rock, an Australian adaptation of the acclaimed novel that will co-star Game of Thrones‘ Natalie Dormer.
Joan Lindsay’s Picnic at Hanging Rock was first published in 1967, and adapted into a feature film helmed by director Peter Weir in 1975. Picnic is centered around a singular mystery: the disappearance of several female students on Valentine’s Day, 1900, during a picnic at the titular real-life location. Both the book and the upcoming drama series use this event as a launching point to explore its effects on the students and teachers of the college, as well as the local community around the school. As reported by Deadline, Natalie Dormer will play Hester Appleyard, “a woman whose dead husband instructs her daily life and whose peculiarities are surely hiding dark skeletons.”
Caroline Kusser, SVP, Sales & Distribution for FremantleMedia International in North America, said of the project:
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.
This incarnation of Picnic at Hanging Rock was written by Alice Addison (The Hunter) and Beatrix Christian, and directors for the series include Larysa Kondracki, Michael Rymer, and Amanda Brotchie. In addition to Dormer, the cast includes Lily Sullivan (Camp), Madeleine Madden (Tomorrow When The War Began), Samara Weaving (Monster Trucks), Ruby Rees (Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries), and introducing Inez Curro.
The series will premiere in the U.S. on Amazon Prime Video sometime in 2018. With a compelling mystery at its heart and a talented actress like Dormer in the mix, this one sounds imminently binge-able.
