EXCLUSIVE: Fresh off the back of her BAFTA nomination, Sheridan Smith is teaming with two Australian stars on an ITV-Stan mystery thriller from the producer behind Mr Bates vs the Post Office.
Smith will star in Two Birds opposite Stephen Peacocke (The Newsreader) and Judy Davis (Nitram).
Two Birds centers on British Police Constable Izzie Cornwell (Smith), who arrives in the small fictional town of Dugdale having been recently widowed and intent on a fresh start in Australia. Izzie is assigned to investigate a murder alongside her new boss Matt (Peacocke). When the victim is revealed to be part of a notorious local crime family, led by the formidable Mrs Baxter (Davis), the stakes intensify.
The show is written by Helen FitzGerald (The Cry) and directed by BAFTA nominee James Griffiths (The Ballad of Wallis Island).
Two Birds is the latest show bringing together UK broadcaster ITV and Australia’s Stan. The pair also made Rupert Murdoch drama The Hack, which was similarly produced by Mr Bates vs the Post Office producer Patrick Spence and his Anonymous Content-backed outfit AC Chapter One. ITV Studios, meanwhile, is selling a cold case drama for Stan starring Mia Wasikowska.
Smith, who has featured in many an ITV drama, was yesterday nominated at the BAFTA TV Awards for I Fought The Law, a show about the fight to repeal the notorious double jeopardy law. She will go up against the likes of Erin Doherty (A Thousand Blows), Jodie Whittaker (Toxic Town) and Aimee Lou Wood (Film Club). Smith previously won for 2013’s Mrs Biggs.
“I’m thrilled to be playing the irresistibly complex Izzie Cornwell who is in search of new beginnings in Australia,” said Smith. “Helen FitzGerald has created a dream role for me, as Izzie, through no fault of her own, becomes embroiled in a web of secrets and lies.”
Megan Palinkas (Heartbreak High) will write an episode and Corrie Chen (Good Cop/Bad Cop) will direct three episodes. Griffiths, FitzGerald and Luke Speed also serve as executive producers, alongside Andy Ryan and Donna Chang for Stan Australia. The series will executive produced by Spence through AC Chapter One and produced by Martha Coleman (Scrublands: Silver) through Third Act Stories. Filming will begin this Spring in Perth and Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, and will be the first to film in Perth Film Studios. The series is being supported by Screenwest via the Government of Western Australia’s Production Attraction Incentive, designed to attract high profile, market driven footloose screen productions to Western Australia. Two Birds is produced in association with and distributed internationally by ITV Studios.
