veteran actor Ciaran Hinds and Odessa Young have joined the Euphoria star Jacob Elordi in the cast of Australian premium miniseries “The narrow road to the deep north.” Production is already underway.
An adaptation of Richard Flanaghan’s Booker Prize-winning novel, the five-part series is a love story set against the backdrop of World War II. The production is by Curio Pictures and Prime Video will launch the title in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. In other territories, Distributed by Sony Pictures Televisio.north.
Flanaghan’s novel, published in 2013, chronicles a century dominated by war, with forced labor on the Thailand-Burma railway as its dramatic heart. The story is told of an Australian doctor who was taken prisoner during World War II and became an unlikely and awkward hero after the war’s end.
The series has been in development for several years and was previously announced on the Fremantle listing. Screen Australia is providing primary funding for the production, with assistance from the New South Wales Government through Screen NSW’s Made in NSW and PDV funds.
The adaptation, which uses multiple time frames, has a powerful creative team consisting of screenwriter Shaun Grant and director. Justin Kurzel. The pair previously worked together on the haunting Cannes competition film “Nitram.” Grant and Kurzel are executive producers, with Alexandra Taussig producing.
Kurzel also previously directed the Cannes competition films “Macbeth” and “Assassin’s Creed” and parts of the Apple TV+ series “Shantaram.” Grant has writing credits that include “Berlin Syndrome” and “Jasper Jones,” David Fincher’s acclaimed Netflix series “Mindhunter” and the feature film “Penguin Bloom,” starring Naomi Watts.
The series’ other key cast includes Olivia DeJonge (“Elvis”), Heather Mitchell (“Love Me,” “Upright”), Thomas Weatherall (“Heartbreak High”), Show Kasamatsu and Simon Baker (“Limbo,” “ Breath”).
“The Power of Storytelling, which began with Richard Flanagan’s seminal novel; the brilliance of the creative team, led by Shaun Grant and Justin Kurzel; and our impressive cast will make this a landmark production for Australian television and a radical story that will be embraced by audiences around the world,” said Jo Porter and Rachel Gardner of Curio Pictures.
“‘The Narrow Road to the Deep North’ promises to be a cinematic, visceral and undeniable contemporary love story that explores the power of companionship and the strength of the human spirit in the face of adversity,” said development senior Sarah Christie. Amazon MGM Studios executive.
Grainne Brunsdon, chief content officer at Screen Australia, said: “Shaun Grant and Justin Kurzel have created an epic war drama from Richard Flanagan’s novel, imbued with love and transformative power. Full of grandeur and richness, this series brings to life the horror and realities of war and imprisonment.”
