The BBC has announced it has acquired Treasure & Dirt, an Australian crime drama adapted from a Chris Hammer novel

Starring Michael Dorman and Liv Hewson, the detective drama brings Chris Hammer’s novel to life, following a grisly murder case in the desert. Readers may recall Scrublands, a previous Chris Hammer drama. Fans of Hammer’s novels may wish to know the novel was released under the title Treasure & Dirt in Australia, and Opal Country in the UK.

What is Treasure & Dirt about and who is in it

From the press release, we learn:

Set in a dying opal town in the middle of the desert, when a miner is found beheaded and left to decompose in the depths of his own small claim, big-city homicide detective Ivan Lucic is sent to investigate. Assigned to him is rural detective Nell Buchanan, who knows how this place really works — and how it warps people. Together, they’re drawn into a labyrinth of secrets, greed, and old sins that won’t stay buried.

The cast of this six-part thriller includes Michael Dorman (Territory, For All Mankind), Liv Hewson (Yellowjackets, He Had It Coming), Sarah Peirse (The Twelve: Cape Rock Killer, Under the Vines), Thomas M Wright (Wolfram, The Stranger), Mark Mitchinson (Mystery Road, Uproar), Eamon Farren (Twin Peaks, The Witcher) and more.

We assume this will be available in the UK in 2026.