The BBC are picking up the new thriller Scrublands, based on Chris Hammer’s award-winning novel. 

The four-part drama stars Luke Arnold (Black Sails), Jay Ryan (Top of the Lake) and Bella Heathcote (The Man in the High Castle).

Here’s the premise:

Scrublands is set in an isolated country town, where a charismatic and dedicated young priest (Jay Ryan) calmly opens fire on his congregation, killing five parishioners. One year later investigative journalist Martin Scarsden (Luke Arnold) arrives in Riversend to write what should be a simple feature story on the anniversary of the tragedy. But when Martin’s instincts kick in and he digs beneath the surface, the previously accepted narrative begins to fall apart and he finds himself in a life and death race to uncover the truth.

The cast also includes Robert Taylor, Adam Zwar, Zane Ciarma, Victoria Thaine, Stacy Clausen, Genevieve Morris, and newcomer Ella Ferris.

The writers of Scrublands are Felicity Packard, Kelsey Munro and Jock Serong, the director is Greg McLean. The producers are Ian Collie, Rob Gibson, David Redman and Felicity Packard.

Sue Deeks, Head of BBC Programme Acquisition, says:

“With its enigmatic central protagonist and atmospheric depiction of rural Australia, the compelling and complex narrative of Scrublands will keep BBC viewers guessing until the very end…”

Made for Stan Australia and the Nine Network, the show comes from producer Easy Tiger (Colin from Accounts). In the UK, Scrublands will air on BBC Four and BBC iPlayer.