Eric Bana and Magda Szubanski team up for a thrilling new 13-part murder mystery podcast that promises to be a ‘visceral and terrifying journey’
Australian screen legend Eric Bana will front a thrilling new thirteen-part supernatural murder mystery podcast for Audible.
The crime drama was recorded in Melbourne – Eric’s hometown – at the end of 2020 and is due for release in mid 2021.
The podcast, titled ‘The Orchard’, promises a ‘visceral and terrifying journey with a riveting and unexpected conclusion’.
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Coming soon: Australian actor Eric Bana (pictured) and Magda Szubanski have teamed up for new thirteen-part Audible supernatural murder mystery podcast
Audiobook and audio entertainment provider Audible has described the series as ‘a supernatural murder mystery that blends a foreboding private school, a haunting conspiracy, and unnerving teenagers’.
Eric will be joined in the series by other well-known Austrian actors and actresses.
Magda Szubanski (Kath & Kim and Babe), Gary Sweet (Police Rescue and Bloom) and Olivia Deeble (Home and Away and Secret Society of Second Born Royals) have also signed on to the exciting project.
Joining the cast: Magda Szubanski (Kath & Kim and Babe – pictured), Gary Sweet (Police Rescue and Bloom) and Olivia Deeble (Home and Away and Secret Society of Second Born Royals) have also signed on to the exciting podcast project
‘It’s incredibly exciting to have Eric lead an all-star cast for The Orchard. He brings depth and authenticity to all of the characters he plays and we know he will help bring this Australian story to a global audience,’ Audible Australia’s senior director of content Ben Naparstek said.
Eric voices police detective and struggling single parent, Adam Durwood, who is assigned to investigate the body of a teenage boy found on the grounds of the exclusive Nevermoor girls school.
At the centre of the mystery is a coven of three beguiling and manipulative teenage girls who seem to know much more than they should and are slowly drawing Adam into a web he can’t see.
When Adam’s daughter, Lily, is secretly befriended by the three girls of Nevermoor things begin to unravel.
His role: Eric voices police detective and struggling single parent, Adam Durwood, who is assigned to investigate the body of a teenage boy found on the grounds of the exclusive Nevermoor girls school
The series is directed by veteran British filmmaker Bharat Nalluri, who said: ‘The Orchard is a beautifully constructed story, full of wonderful characters and a powerful mystery at the heart of it that has you hooked from the very beginning.’
Writer and producer, Mike Cowap added: ‘Over the past few years we’ve seen a huge resurgence of audio drama, a medium able to hold its own next to feature film and TV for its power to deliver an immersive and compelling storytelling experience.
‘It’s testament to the excitement around the format that we have been able to bring together a stellar cast, led by Eric, and an internationally renowned director.’
Mystery: When Adam’s daughter, Lily, (presumable voiced by Home and Away star Olivia Deeble – pictured) is secretly befriended by the three Nevermoor girls things begin to unravel
In an Audible campaign for 2019, actor and comedian Rebel Wilson acted as the self-appointed ‘Minister for Words’.
Wilson was on the fictional campaign trail to ‘Make Words Great Again’ in Australia.
In 2020, comedian Celeste Barber starred in an ad campaign for Audible in which she described how audiobooks were the ‘books that fit in with real-life’.
The Orchard is set for release on Audible in winter 2021