#SmallScreenScenes @Carmichelle AMC NETWORKS’ STREAMING SERVICE SUNDANCE NOW ACQUIRES U.S. RIGHTS TO NEW AUSTRALIAN DRAMA

Series stars Laura Carmichael (Downton Abbey), Jessica de Gouw (The Crown) and Michael Dorman (Patriot);

Based on the novel by Michael Robotham

AMC Networks’ U.S. streaming service Sundance Now acquires U.S. rights to six-part Australian drama series The Secrets She Keepsfrom international distributor DCD Rights. Based on the novel by Michael Robotham, the Lingo Pictures Production is written by Sarah Walker (All Saints, Home and Away, A Place to Call Home) and Jonathan Gavin (Offspring, A Beautiful Lie)and stars Laura Carmichael (Downton Abbey, Marcella, The Spanish Princess), Jessica de Gouw (The Crown, Arrow, Vienna Blood), and Michael Dorman (Patriot, For All Mankind, The Invisible Man). Akin to The Girl on the Train and Big Little Lies, the contemporary domestic noir thriller will make its exclusive U.S. premiere on Sundance Now in Summer 2020.

The series follows two women who have a chance encounter in a supermarket in an affluent Sydney suburb. They are the same age, both heavily pregnant and due at the same time. Meghan (de Gouw) is a glamorous online ‘influencer’ on the rise with an ambitious television sports reporter husband Jack (Dorman). Agatha (Carmichael) is a loner, barely subsisting above the poverty line as a shelf stacker in a supermarket; while the father of her child, Hayden, a sailor on active duty, remains oblivious to her condition. Both women have secrets. And both will risk everything to conceal the truth. But their worlds are about to collide in one shocking act that cannot be undone.

Shannon Cooper, VP of Programming, Sundance Now, said, “Sundance Now is excited to work with our friends at DCD Rights on another high-quality drama series. With its suspenseful, dark and twisty script and a stellar cast led by Laura Carmichael and Jessica de Gouw, The Secrets She Keeps is sure to be another can’t-miss drama for our subscribers.”

Nicky Davies Williams, CEO at DCD Rights, said, “The combination of a stellar creative team, outstanding performances from leading talent and a truthful adaptation of a bestselling novel, has led to the exceptional drama that is The Secrets She Keeps. We are extremely proud that the series will get the US exposure it deserves through Sundance Now and know that it won’t disappoint US audiences.”

Lingo Pictures’ Helen Bowden, said: “Sundance Now has some of the best curated content in the US, so we are thrilled that North American audiences will soon be able to watch the series on such a respected platform. This is a universal story so I’m delighted that it will screen in the US as well as in the UK, France, Australia and other major territories. It’s a show we’re very proud of.”

Michael Robotham’s book of the same name has been published in 14 countries around the world and has been translated into 12 languages. Iconic novelist Stephen King noted, ‘Two terrific female characters, both with secrets. Add Michael Robotham’s clean prose and whipcrack pacing. The result? A book you won’t be able to put down, although you may occasionally want to hide your eyes.’

The Secrets She Keeps is a Lingo Pictures Production for Network Ten with production funding from Screen Australia in association with Create NSW.