By Jackie Shannon
BBC Worldwide North America and Amazon have come together to bring the first season of the acclaimed Australian drama, The Kettering Incident, to punters in the states, with the series set to screen exclusively on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service, where subscribers can stream or download every episode, and embark on a binge-fest that will take them deep into the heart of Tasmania.
Co-created by Tasmanian writer, Victoria Madden (Lynda La Plante’s Trial And Retribution, The Bill, Halifax FP), and producer, Vincent Sheehan (Animal Kingdom, The Hunter, The Rover), and shot entirely in Tasmania, the eight-episode series tells the story of Anna Macy (played by breakout star, Elizabeth Debicki, who made a big splash in the TV series, The Night Manager), a doctor who left the town of Kettering when she was fourteen, shortly after her best friend disappeared while they were playing in the forest. Anna returns fifteen years later to a town torn apart by clashes between environmentalists and loggers. Anna’s reappearance causes a stir. Theories and rumours persist about what really happened to the girls that night – from Anna killing her best friend to alien abduction. Then another girl disappears. Anna is drawn to discover what really happened, uncovering secrets buried deep in her mind and the heart of Kettering and its people.
“I’ve always felt a deep connection to Tasmania, and the stories of this land through literature and films,” The Kettering Incident producer, Vincent Sheehan – whose 2011 drama, The Hunter, was also shot in the island state – told FilmInk in 2015. “The Hunter took eight years to develop, and that gave me an opportunity to investigate the place on a number of levels. A lot of doors opened not just in the film industry, but also in terms of what I could see as a really unique part of Australia. The Hunter was about a lone man in the wilderness, so we were often out in remote places with a small crew and just one actor, and what I saw was the possibility of doing a long-running, ensemble-driven drama show. I met Vicki Madden, and saw in her a deep insight into the stories here. Vicki is an experienced television writer, and spent many years working in London. When she returned home, it was the perfect combination of someone who knew this world instantly, and someone who possessed a wealth of scary and very unusual stories.”
And now, American audiences can take a televisual bite out of The Apple Isle. “Following the successful launch of The Kettering Incident in Australia, we are now bringing the mystery drama exclusively to Amazon Prime Video for US audiences to enjoy,” says BBC’s Matt Forde. “Amazon is already home to two of our most beloved programs, Doctor Who and Orphan Black, and we believe that it is the perfect place for this rarefied story.”
