By Cara Nash
Fans of Top of the Lake should keep their eyes peeled for director Jane Campion and actress Elisabeth Moss who are in Sydney shooting the second season of the acclaimed series.
“I’m so excited to be back in Australia working with Jane on exploring this wonderful character. I can’t wait for audiences to see where we take Robin’s journey,” said Elisabeth Moss, who most recently visited Sydney to shoot Truth with Robert Redford and Cate Blanchett.
Joining the cast this time will be Gwendoline Christie, best known for her role in Game of Thrones, and who also starred as Captain Phasma in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
“I am so delighted to be working on Top of the Lake Season Two,” Christie said about being cast in the series. “Jane Campion has been a major creative influence throughout my life and I could not feel more privileged to be working on the next installment of her unique and enthralling drama, alongside the brilliant Elisabeth Moss.”
Christie is joined by David Dencik (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), Australian actor Ewen Leslie (Dead Europe and who is currently on screens in The Daughter) and Campion’s own daughter Alice Englert (Beautiful Creatures, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell).
Once again scripted by Campion and Gerard Lee, Top of the Lake Season Two: China Girl unfolds four years on from the explosive ending of Season One, and trades in New Zealand for Sydney. When the unidentified body of an Asian girl washes up on Bondi Beach, the case seems hopeless, until detective Robin Griffin discovers that China Girl didn’t die alone.
Following the dynamic of the first season, Campion is teaming up with a rising talent to direct the series. The Oscar-winning filmmaker co-directed the first series with Garth Davis behind the upcoming Lion, and this time round she will share directing duties with Ariel Kleiman, who made a striking debut with last year’s Partisan starring Vincent Cassel.
Top of the Lake Season Two: China Girl will premiere in Australia on BBC First on Foxtel in 2017.
one of my all time favorite series