Hot Picks: Scrublands

T his crime drama, adapted from a novel of the same name, is set in an isolated town in the Australian outback, where a young priest opens fire on his congregation, shooting five men dead. A year later, journalist Martin Scarsden arrives in the town to write an anniversary piece about the tragedy, but when he discovers the story is not as it seems, he starts to delve deeper into the murky truth of what happened.

Set to air in Australia next year, Stan and Nine Network series Scrublands hails from Easy Tiger, which is riding a wave of global success with its quirky hit comedy Colin From Accounts. It is also behind courtroom drama The Twelve (both previous Broadcast Hot Picks) and the upcoming Paramount+ original One Night.

“We knew we were in safe hands with the creative team at Easy Tiger and a worldwide bestseller by Chris Hammer,” says Abacus Media Rights head of sales Hana Palmer, who reveals that she had her sights firmly set on Scrublands before it was even commissioned.

“We had early visibility of Scrublands, so we made an early commitment to it last year, and when Easy Tiger was close to getting the greenlight with Stan, we firmly came on board,” she adds.

Palmer says the “unpredictability” of the plot is what sets it apart in the noisy crime thriller space: “The drama has a very powerful and shocking opening, and then the story starts to unravel because things are not what they seem.

“There are lots of twists and a very unpredictable plot, which makes the series bingeable and keeps viewers guessing right until the end. Unlike many crime shows, it is very hard to see how this plot pans out.”

She notes that the series is full of “complex” and “relatable” characters, played by recognisable actors, including Luke Arnold (Home & Away; Black Sails), Jay Ryan (No Escape) and Bella Heathcote (Bloom; Pieces Of Her).

“Scrublands is very atmospheric, and brilliantly captures the hot, parched landscape of the Australian outback” 

Fans of Two Brothers’ BBC1 drama The Tourist – the BBC’s most-watched drama of 2022 – will appreciate the cinematic setting of a “deprived, dead-end town” in the middle of nowhere, Palmer believes, and Abacus has pre-sold the series to BBC4 and iPlayer, where it will play in September.

“Scrublands is very atmospheric, and brilliantly captures the hot, parched landscape of the Australian outback,” Palmer adds.

“I think much of the appeal of Australian drama is that the vast country is full of very rural communities – and the secrets you can find in those communities. It is a hotbed of intrigue.”

Abacus expects the show to have broad appeal and with two other novels in Hammer’s series – each centring on central character Scarsden – Palmer says the drama has the potential to become a series returner. 

Alongside the BBC deal, Abacus has landed a high-profile early pre-sale to streamer Sundance Now for the US and English-speaking Canada.

“We are going out very broad for streamers and broadcasters alike, with strong bingeable storytelling, strong characters and great IP,” Palmer says. “The BBC acquisition is testament to the fact that it works across both.”