The sequel to Top of the Lake will be set and shot in Sydney.
Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss returns as Detective Robin Griffin, who investigates a criminal case in the Harbour City.
Jane Campion and Gerard Lee, who created the original 6-part series, are writing the scripts for Top of the Lake 2.
BBC2 commissioned a sequel after the first series, which followed Griffin as she investigated the disappearance of a pregnant 12-year-old girl in New Zealand, was nominated for eight Emmys and won the gong for best cinematography for a TV movie or miniseries.
See-Saw Films is producing and pre-production is due to start in December. Campion will direct along with another director who is yet to be confirmed.
Top of the Lake was co-directed by Garth Davis, who is in post on Lion, the true-life drama about an Indian-born man who set out to find his birth parents, starring Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara and David Wenham, produced by See-Saw and Sunstar Entertainment.
See-Saw’s Emile Sherman tells IF, “We are thrilled to be working with Jane again. She is at the top of her game. She and Gerard have created this world from the ground up.”
The first series screened here on UKTV after the ABC declined to invest in the production because it believed an Australian should play the lead.
BBC First would seem to be the natural home of the sequel but Sherman says the Australian broadcast deal is yet to be finalised.