AMC Networks announced today that the four-part Australian rural noir crime drama Scrublands will premiere on Thursday, May 2, on Sundance Now and AMC+, with additional episodes dropping weekly on both platforms.
Based on Chris Hammer’s award-winning and bestselling crime novel by the same name, the captivating series follows a country town grappling with the aftermath of a horrible crime, still trying to come to terms with it a year on.
In an isolated and struggling country town, a charismatic and dedicated priest, Father Byron Swift (Jay Ryan, Beauty and the Beast), calmly opens fire on his congregation, killing five parishioners. One year later, investigative journalist Martin Scarsden (Luke Arnold, Black Sails) arrives in Riversend to write what should be a simple feature story on the anniversary of the tragedy.
But when Martin’s instincts kick in, and he digs beneath the surface, the previously accepted narrative begins to fall apart, and he finds himself in a life-and-death race to uncover the truth.
Martin finds the people of Riversend deeply scarred and hostile to journalists, with local bookstore owner Mandy Bond (Bella Heathcote, Pieces of Her), Constable Robbie Haus-Jones (Adam Zwar, Top of the Lake), and widow of one of the massacre victims, Fran Landers (Victoria Thaine, Sonia & Cherry), giving him short shrift. But each has a past with Byron Swift they have kept hidden…
Scrublands, a Sundance Now Original Series, is directed by Greg McLean (Wolf Creek) and written by Felicity Packard (Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries), who also serve as a producer, Kelsey Munro (Bump), and Jock Serong.
The show’s executive producers are Michael Healy and Andy Ryan for 9Network and Cailah Scobie and Amanda Duthie for Stan. The producers are Ian Collie and Rob Gibson for Easy Tiger and David Redman.
Scrublands is an Easy Tiger production presented by Stan in association with 9Network, Vicscreen, and Abacus Media Rights, which handles international distribution.
Mirko Parlevliet has been reporting on the entertainment industry since 1998 and founded Vital Thrills in 2018 to cover the latest news on streaming, movies, TV, and video games.