“The Great White,” ABC Australia’s upcoming legal workplace drama series from See-Saw Films, has bolstered its cast with filming now underway in Sydney.
Alongside the previously announced Hugo Weaving, Eamon Farren (“Jimpa,” The Witcher”), Arlo Green (“Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant,” “M3GAN”), Miranda Otto (“Talk to Me,” “The Lord of the Rings”) and Sacha Horler (“The Dressmaker,” “Peter Rabbit”) have joined the show, as have Brigid Zengeni (“The Artful Dodger,” “Missing You”), James Majoos (“Heartbreak High”), Emily Barclay (“Babyteeth,” “Inbetween”) and Dinasha Perera.
Behind the camera, Alyssa McClelland (“Sex Education,” “My Brilliant Career”) serves as set-up director, actor and filmmaker Mia Wasikowska makes her TV directing debut and Cannes-selected Samantha Lang (“The Well,” “Carlotta”) also directs.
From ABC, Screen Australia and U.K. and Australia-based See-Saw, the Mediawan-owned and Oscar-winning powerhouse production company behind “Slow Horses,” “Apple Cider Vinegar” and “Heartstopper,” “The Great White” sees Weaving play a brilliant but disgraced barrister who is slapped with a twelve-month supervision order for professional misconduct and finds himself working out of a struggling law office. Crushed by debt and desperate to restore his reputation, he reluctantly takes on a dangerous dog case he considers far beneath him.
However, what begins as a fight to save a dog’s life draws him into the unexpected world of animal law and becomes a series of cases on behalf of animals, culminating in an audacious Supreme Court challenge to free a zoo elephant.
Hugo Weaving on set of ‘The Great White’
“The Great White” was originated and developed by Samantha Lang and created by acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Ange Betzien (“Apple Cider Vinegar”) – both executive producers. Writers are Betzien, Nick Coyle and Andrew Anastasios. ABC Australia is set to broadcast “The Great White” in Australia with Mediawan and Entourage Media handling international sales.
“This is See-Saw Films’ first collaboration with the ABC and we are thrilled to be working with them on a show that brilliantly blends sharp wit, emotional depth and compelling courtroom storytelling, delivered by an exceptional team of cast and creatives representing Australia’s finest screen talent,” said Liz Watts, See-Saw Films Head of Film and Television (AUS).
Added ABC head of scripted, Rachel Okine: “‘The Great White’ instantly caught our attention as one of the most distinctive and surprising stories we’ve ever read and the team at See-Saw has assembled the perfect powerhouse of creatives, both in front of and behind the camera, to bring it to life. Audiences can expect to laugh, to cry and to reflect.”
‘The Great White’ will air on ABC TV and ABC iview in 2027.
