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Dame Harriet Walter, Dan Spielman, Chloe Brink get in the game for ‘Playing Gracie Darling’

Morgana O’Reilly and Dame Harriet Walter.

Paramount ANZ has announced new cast members for the upcoming mystery thriller series Playing Gracie Darling, with Dame Harriet Walter, Dan Spielman, and Chloe Brink joining Morgana O’Reilly, Rudi Dharmalingam, and Celia Pacquola.

Filming is underway in New South Wales’ Hawkesbury River region on the six-hour series, created and written by Miranda Nation and directed by Jonathan Brough.

O’Reilly stars as Joni, a child psychologist whose best friend Gracie Darling disappeared during a séance when they were 14 and hasn’t been seen since.

Twenty-seven years on, the local kids in a small town get their kicks with a game of ‘Playing Gracie Darling’ – but the seemingly innocent game turns sinister when another girl disappears.

Joni returns to the town where her best friend Gracie mysteriously disappeared to confront her deep fear of the unknown and find out what really happened to Gracie that fateful night.

Local sergeant Jay (Dharmalingam) partners with Joni to uncover the truth, while Gracie’s sister Ruth (Pacquola) faces a mother’s worst nightmare when her daughter vanishes under hauntingly similar circumstances.

Of the newly announced cast, Walter (Succession) plays Pattie, Spielman (New Gold Mountain) takes on the role of Peter, and Brink (Thou Shalt Not Steal) portrays Mina.

As previously reported, the series also features Anne Tenney playing Moira and Annie Maynard as Anita.

Walter described Playing Gracie Darling as a “brilliantly constructed ‘keeps-you-guessing’ script”.

“The part of Pattie is quite unlike anything I have played before,” she said.

“She is well-meaning, if a bit misguided, dabbling in the mystic world which sometimes causes her to miss what’s under her nose. But I also like that she pursues her own earthly pleasures. That is rarely portrayed or even suggested in older female characters.”

Curio’s Jo Porter and Rachel Gardner are producing the six-part series alongside Sophia Mogford for Paramount+ and Miranda Nation. Laura Nagy is an associate producer and Anya Beyersdorf is writing additional scripts. Sony Pictures Television is distributing the series internationally, with Screen Australia providing major production investment and Screen NSW offering financial support.

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