Following on from their collaboration on Netflix’s Boy Swallows Universe, actress Phoebe Tonkin will both play the lead role in and executive produce crime drama The Dark Lake with Brouhaha Entertainment.
The series will be based on the debut novel of the same name by Sarah Bailey, which won the 2018 Davitt Award for Best Crime Debut and the 2018 Ned Kelly Award for Best First Crime.
The Dark Lake follows troubled detective Gemma Woodstock, who is forced to confront the secrets of her past when assigned to the murder of her high school nemesis in her small and tight-knit hometown.
Through law enforcement, Gemma anchors herself to the dichotomy of right and wrong, in an effort to redeem her own deeply compromised decisions.
There are two further books in the series, Into the Night, set in the alleyways of Melbourne, and Where the Dead Go, based in a small coastal hinterland community, with Bailey also working on a third.
The author will work closely with Brouhaha in adapting the novel for the screen, with screenwriter Becca Johnstone, who has worked on upcoming features Addition and Ascent, also attached.
Tonkin will star as Gemma, a character Brouhaha producer Troy Lum said the company has been waiting years to find the right actress for.
“She is feisty, complex and brilliant and has a loyal fanbase of readers. Phoebe’s performance in Boy Swallows Universe blew us away and we knew we finally had an actress who could do Gemma justice,” he said.
Tonkin said she was excited to once again work with Lum and Andrew Mason to adapt the book series.
“I had such a wonderful collaborative experience on Boy Swallows Universe, and I’m excited to continue this creative relationship with The Dark Lake,” she said.
Boy Swallows Universe was the first TV series for Lum and Mason, who were partners in Hopscotch Features before launching Brouhaha in 2021 with UK producer Gabrielle Tana. Based across Sydney and London, the company’s recent projects also include Kate Winslet-starrer Lee and NZ-Australian co-production The Convert, both of which premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival.
When Brouhaha first launched, Lum told IF the company’s focus was on “Australian content that we feel has universal appeal and the ability to cross borders internationally”, and “working with the highest-graded Australian talent we can get our hands on.”