Asher Keddie will be joined by the likes of Matt Day, Jonathan LaPaglia, Tina Bursill, Emma Lung, and Maria Angelico in Binge dramedy Strife, which has begun filming in Sydney.
Produced by Made Up Stories, in partnership with Fifth Season, the series stars Keddie as Evelyn Jones, a ‘modern imperfect woman’ that goes from lounge room blogger to a force within women’s media.
Her journey takes place against the background of a dynamic and ever-changing publishing world at a time when digital media was still fresh on the scene.
The cast also includes Rhys Mitchell, Olivia Junkeer, BeBe Bettencourt, Bryony Skillington, Lucy Ansell, Darcy Tadich, and Willow Speers.
Inspired by Mia Freedman’s memoir, Work, Strife, Balance, the story was written and adapted for screen by Sarah Scheller, with Stuart Bowen to direct the episodes.
Made Up Stories’ Bruna Papandrea, Jodi Matterson, and Steve Hutensky are executive producing alongside Scheller, Keddie, Freedman, and Alison Hurbert-Burns for Binge. Lana Greenhalgh is the commissioning editor, while the late Brian Walsh was a commissioner and executive producer.
The series has received major production investment from Screen Australia with financial and post, digital and visual effects support from Screen NSW. Fifth Season is handling international distribution.
In a statement, Papandrea, Matterson, and Hutensky said it had been “so much fun” adapting Freedman’s book.
“We cannot wait for audiences to fall in love with Strife and with these characters, brought to life by an incredible cast led by Asher,” they said.
Hurbert-Burns said the series, which was announced as part of the Foxtel Group’s 2023 upfronts last October, was a “strong, character-driven Australian story”.
“We are so excited for the cameras to start rolling on Strife, a series that is led by an incredible collection of creatives, including the formidable line-up of women helmed by Bruna, Jodi, Asher and Mia,” she said.
Strife will premiere on Binge later this year and also be available on Foxtel.