‘Dead Lucky.’
Dead Lucky, Subtext Pictures’ four-part crime thriller starring Rachel Griffiths and Yoson An as mismatched cops, will screen at Series Mania Melbourne on July 22, three days before its launch on SBS.
Another highlight will be the world premiere of Back in Very Small Business, Gristmill Productions’ eigh-part comedy for the ABC which revisits the world of bombastic, shonky business owner Don Angel (Wayne Hope), created by Hope, Robyn Butler and Gary McCaffrie.
Released today, the full program features 20 TV series and three web series from around the world including the first two episodes of Patrick Melrose, a BBC First series which stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Hugo Weaving and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Based on the novels by Edward St Aubyn and adapted by author and screenwriter David Nicholls, the show tracks Melrose, a member of the British upper class, from a privileged but traumatic childhood in the South of France through severe substance abuse in his twenties in New York and, ultimately, toward recovery.
Aquí en la Tierra (Here on Earth) is a crime drama co-created by Gael García Bernal and Kyzza Terrazas, starring Garcia Bernal, which revolves around the complex crimes and major secrets of one of Mexico’s most influential families.
The Chi is a coming-of-age Showtime drama centred on a group of residents in the tough neighbourhood of Chicago’s south side who become linked by coincidence but bonded by the need for connection and redemption.
The sister event of France’s Series Mania, the second edition of the TV festival staged by ACMI and Film Victoria will run at ACMI from July 19-22.
Created and written by Subtext Pictures’ Ellie Beaumont and Drew Proffitt, Dead Lucky follows Griffiths as stubborn but brilliant Detective Grace Gibbs, who is obsessed with avenging the murder of her junior officer.
Chinese-born New Zealand actor An, who was recently cast as the romantic lead in Disney’s live-action Mulan, is Charlie Fung, a trainee detective who blames Grace for the death of his best friend. Sundance Now, AMC Networks’ premium SVOD service, has acquired the series for North America, the UK and German-speaking Europe.
The line-up includes the previously announced premieres of Deep State, the international spy thriller co-directed by Rob Connolly which will screen on SBS, and Catriona McKenzie’s Indigenous web series Wrong Kind of Black. Connolly, Griffiths, Nicholls and Weaving will take part in in-conversation sessions.
ACMI CEO and Director Katrina Sedgwick said: “Bringing together some of the finest local and international content, Series Mania Melbourne 2018 presents 16 Australian premieres and five world premieres. Series Mania Melbourne has something to offer everyone from fans to TV industry professionals alike.”