By Anthony Frajman
Rachel Griffiths returns to TV screens in the thriller series Dead Lucky, playing an obsessed detective determined to find an armed robber who murdered one of her own.
Following a screening of show at ACMI’s Series Mania, the actress talked about the differences of working in TV compared to film, chatting with series creators Ellie Beaumont and Drew Proffitt.
Griffiths, who has appeared in US series Brothers and Sisters, and Six Feet Under, said one of the changes in television in recent years is the role of the key crew.
“The biggest thing is the role and power of the director,” the actress said.
Dead Lucky’s four episodes are all directed by David Caesar (Idiot Box, Mullet).
“I think that role has changed. I have been in other TV shows where the showrunner would like to direct, but I think we’ve moved on now.
“We’re seeing it with Big Little Lies.”
The acclaimed US series that Griffiths refers to was directed by Jean-Marc Vallee (Dallas Buyers Club) with the second series set to be directed by Andrea Arnold (American Honey, Fish Tank). Both are highly acclaimed filmmakers in their own right, directing every episode of the series, even though the showrunner is David E. Kelley.
This is an evolution of the showrunner led model that has thrived in the US, in particular.
“I think America is leading the way in terms of the power of the writer and showrunner, Australia is kind of in the middle, we’re trying to do that model, we’ve got a lot of showrunners emerging, they’re starting to emerge in the UK,” Dead Lucky’s co-creator Ellie Beaumont added.
The star of Dead Lucky and its co-creator agree that the model used on the show is the future of series.
“The next generation, they realise the showrunner model has made the best television.”
