Disney+ UK Acquires Australian Original Series “The Great White”
Disney has picked up the rights to the Australian legal drama series, “The Great White”, for Disney+ in the United Kingdom.
“The Great White” follows a brilliant but disgraced barrister, Alan Armstrong, who finds himself representing a dog on death row in a case that sends him on an unexpected path toward becoming, as the synopsis puts it, “a much better human being.” Framed as a feel-good drama with heart and humour, the series pairs a distinctly offbeat legal premise with a heavyweight creative package.
It stars Hugo Weaving (“Captain America: The First Avenger”), Eamon Farren (The Witcher”), Arlo Green (“M3GAN”), Miranda Otto (“The Lord of the Rings”), Sacha Horler (“Peter Rabbit”), Brigid Zengeni (“The Artful Dodger”), James Majoos (“Heartbreak High”), Emily Barclay (“Babyteeth”) and Dinasha Perera.
According to Variety, this new series has been created by Samantha Lang and Ange Betzien, who have written with Nick Coyle and Andrew Anastasios. Samantha and Ange are executive producers along with Liz Watts, Emile Sherman, Iain Canning, Helen Gregory and Weaving. McClelland and Simon Gillis serve as co-executive producers, with Angela Littlejohn producing and Libby Sharpe co-producing. Rachel Okine is executive producer for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
This six-episode series is currently in production in Sydney and is due to wrap filming in August. It is being sold internationally by Mediawan Rights, whose CEO, Sally Habbershaw, said in a statement regarding the deal with Disney+ in the UK.
“We are very pleased to be handling the international sales of ‘The Great White’ and to support a project of such scale, vision and international potential. The alchemy of See-Saw’s outstanding creative track record, Hugo Weaving’s lead casting and a brilliantly original feel-good concept created the momentum that led to the acquisition in the U.K”.
The show is set to debut in 2027 on ABC in Australia and on Disney+ in the UK. Expect other international outlets to be announced at a later date.
Roger’s Take: It’s great to see the UK team building out the original content heading to Disney+. While I’d prefer that this were an original production for Disney+ globally, at least it gives British subscribers something new to watch next year.
Are you going to be checking out “The Great White”? Let me know on social media!
