Press release – Monday 26 August 2013
ABC TV
ABC TV's political thriller Code goes into production
CODE, ABC TV’s new six-hour political thriller begins filming today.
Produced by Playmaker Media for ABC TV, the outstanding ensemble cast includes Dan Spielman (An Accidental Soldier, Offspring), Ashley Zuckerman (The Slap, Rush), Adam Garcia (Coyote Ugly, Bootmen), David Wenham (Answered by Fire, Killing Time), Lucy Lawless (Spartacus), Aden Young (I Frankenstein, Rectify), Chelsie Preston Crayford (Mystery of a Hansom Cab, Underbelly: Razor), Adele Perovic (SLiDE), Dan Wyllie (Rake, Puberty Blues), Aaron Pedersen (Jack Irish, City Homicide), and Paul Tassone (Underbelly).
CODE was created by Shelley Birse and written by Birse, Blake Ayshford and Justin Monjo. Directed by Shawn Seet (Mystery of a Hansom Cab, SLiDE) and produced by Playmaker’s David Maher, David Taylor and Shelley Birse, it is being executive produced by the ABC’s David Ogilvy, Greer Simpkin and Carole Sklan.
CODE, a contemporary thriller stretching from the spectacular red desert of Australia’s outback to the cool corridors of power, tells the story of two very different brothers who stumble across information about a new technology - information that people in the highest political echelons will kill to keep secret. CODE will be filmed in Sydney, Canberra and Broken Hill.
Playmaker Media’s David Taylor and David Maher said, “Shelley Birse has crafted a rollercoaster thriller with a very warm and original heart. Great writing has attracted a dream cast and crew and we're proud to be producing the series for ABC TV.”
ABC TV Head of Fiction Carole Sklan said, “The extraordinary sibling relationship at the heart of Code brings great warmth and humour to this bold and original work, which examines the power of an independent voice in a world of duplicity and danger. Having such a wonderful cast speaks volumes for the strength and complexity of the storytelling.”
A Playmaker Media production for ABC TV, CODE was developed through the Scribe Initiative and is produced with the assistance of Screen Australia, Screen NSW and Screen ACT.
For more about Lucy’s role in CODE, please see the AUSXIP Lucy Lawless CODE subsite