ABC TV and SundanceTV have announced that the drama series Cleverman will launch in the United States on SundanceTV on Wednesday, June 1 at 10/9c and in Australia on ABC and ABC iView on Thursday, June 2 9.30pm. The series, one of six series to be selected for the 2016 Berlin Film Festival, will also screen on BBC Three in the UK.
Set in the near future, Cleverman is a startlingly original drama rooted in Aboriginal mythology. The series depicts a deeply conflicted and anxious society, fearful of a minority group endowed with extraordinary physical traits, living among them. One young man – ‘The Cleverman’ – struggles with his own power and the responsibility to unite this divided world, but he must first overcome a deep estrangement with his older brother. The series is based on an original concept by Ryan Griffen.
Cleverman features an ensemble cast led by award-winning actor Iain Glen (Game of Thrones), Golden Globe® nominee Frances O’Connor (The Missing), Deborah Mailman (The Sapphires), Hunter Page-Lochard (The Sapphires), Rob Collins and Stef Dawson (The Hunger Games). Wayne Blair, director of the Australian box office hit The Sapphires and upcoming film Septembers of Shiraz, is lead director, with acclaimed director, writer, actress and performer Leah Purcell also directing.
The series is produced by Goalpost Pictures Australia and New Zealand’s Pukeko Pictures for ABC TV Australia in co-production with SundanceTV and Red Arrow International, with the assistance of Screen Australia, Screen NSW and the New Zealand Screen Production Grant. Red Arrow International distributes Cleverman worldwide.