Mystery Road

Source: Bunya Productions and All3Media International

Mystery Road

Streaming service Acorn TV has acquired North American rights to ABC Australia’s six-part drama series Mystery Road.

The deal between the service’s UK-based development division Acorn Media Enterprises (AME) and distributor All3media International also covers available secondary rights to the series for the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

Mystery Road, with Judy Davis and Aaron Pedersen starring for director Rachel Perkins, will get its North American premiere as an Acorn TV Original in August.

Produced by David Jowsey and Greer Simpkin for Bunya Productions, with Sally Riley and Ivan Sen serving as executive producers, Mystery Road is about a detective sent to a remote outback town to investigate the disappearance of two young livestock workers. The detective is paired with a tough local cop and their investigation reveals crimes and miscarriages of justice that stretch back into the town’s history.

All3media has screened the series at the Banff World Media Festival and Series Mania and has screenings scheduled for Denver’s SeriesFest, the Munich Film Festival, and the Saint-Tropez Film Festival.

Previous Acorn TV originals have included series three of BBC comedy Detectorists, ITV drama Girlfriends, series two of Irish legal drama Striking Out, Welsh thriller Keeping Faith, and Australian family comedy Sando.

Acorn recently announced its expansion into 12 Latin American countries and the straight-to-series orders of British drama London Kills and the second series of Agatha Raisin.

AME managing director Shane Murphy said: “AME and Acorn TV are thrilled to partner again with our friends at All3media International on another high-quality international production. With its remote landscape, intriguing mystery and award-winning cast led by Aaron Pedersen and Judy Davis, Mystery Road is right in line with the first-rate international dramas we’re bringing to our subscribers every month.”

All3media International CEO Louise Pedersen added: “We would like to thank Acorn TV/AME for their long-standing commitment to securing the very best television from around the world for their viewers. Mystery Road is a beautifully crafted television series which has just launched to widespread acclaim and ratings success in Australia. We are delighted by the great response from our clients around the world and will be announcing more launches in the coming months.”