Silver Spring, MD; June 19, 2018 – Acorn Media Enterprises (AME) has partnered with leading independent distributor all3media international on new ABC Australia six-part drama Mystery Road from Australia’s Bunya Productions. Multiple Emmy®, BAFTA®, and Golden Globe winner Judy Davis (Feud, Husbands and Wives, The Reagans) and Logie nominee and Australian Film Critics Association Best Actor winner Aaron Pedersen (Jack Irish, A Place to Call Home) star as detectives investigating the mysterious disappearance of two young men in a remote outback town. Acorn Media Enterprises has secured rights in North America and available secondary rights in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Mystery Road will make its North American Premiere as an Acorn TV Original on Acorn TV, North America’s most popular streaming service for British and international television, in August 2018. Acorn Media Enterprises (AME) is the UK-based development division for the Acorn TV brand of RLJ Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: RLJE).
all3media international profiled the series with an extensive calendar of festival screenings, including upcoming screenings at Denver’s SeriesFest, the Munich Film Festival, and Saint-Tropez Film Festival; and previous screenings at BANFF World Media Festival ‘Master Class Series’, MIP-TV and Series Mania.
Directed by Rachel Perkins (Redfern Now, Jasper Jones), Mystery Road is produced by David Jowsey and Greer Simpkin, alongside executive producers Sally Riley and Ivan Sen. It is a Bunya Production for ABC, Australia in association with all3media international with funding from Screen Australia’s Indigenous department, Screenwest and Lotterywest, the Western Australian Regional Film Fund supported by Royalties for Regions, Create NSW.
Set against Australia's majestic landscapes and stunning scenery, Mystery Road stars Aaron Pedersen as detective Jay Swan, who is sent to the remote outback town of Patterson for what he thinks will be a simple investigation into the disappearance of two young jackaroos (workers on a sheep or cattle station). Partnered with tough local cop Emma James (Judy Davis), their investigation will gradually unpeel the layers of the town, as Jay’s ability to hunt beneath the surface reveals crimes and miscarriages of justice that stretch back into Patterson’s history. In solving the mystery of the missing boys, Jay and Emma – and the town – will learn a hard lesson – that you have to be truthful about your past to understand your present, and to have any sort of future.
Shane Murphy, Managing Director of Acorn Media Enterprises noted, “Acorn Media Enterprises and Acorn TV are thrilled to partner again with our friends at all3media international on another high-quality international production. With its remote landscape, intriguing mystery and award-winning cast led by Aaron Pedersen and Judy Davis, Mystery Road is right in line with the first-rate international dramas we’re bringing to our subscribers every month.”
Louise Pedersen CEO at all3media international, commented, “We would like to thank Acorn TV/AME for their long-standing commitment to securing the very best television from around the world for their viewers. Mystery Road is a beautifully crafted television series which has just launched to widespread acclaim and ratings success in Australia. We are delighted by the great response from our clients around the world and will be announcing more launches in the coming months.”
This news follows Acorn TV’s recent expansion announcement into twelve Latin American countries; commission announcements for the straight-to-series order of British drama London Kills Series 1 and 2 and Agatha Raisin, Series 2 starring Ashley Jensen; as well as co-production announcements for Irish comedy Finding Joy from Amy Huberman and Aussie comedy Sando; and the licensing of hit British police procedural No Offence, Jack Irish, Season 2 starring Guy Pearce, and S4C drama Hiddenwith BBC Wales, which premieres in the U.S. on Monday, July 16. Read recent announcements at https://www.rljentertainment.com/press-room/
In 2018, Acorn TV has already featured five Originals with Series 3 of universally adored BBC comedy Detectorists starring Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones; Kay Mellor’s ITV drama Girlfriends starring Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey),Miranda Richardson, and Zoe Wanamaker (Agatha Christie’s Poirot); Irish legal drama Striking Out, Series 2 starring Amy Huberman; record-setting Welsh thriller Keeping Faith starring Eve Myles (Torchwood), and Aussie family comedy Sando.
Called “Netflix for the Anglophile” by NPR and featuring “the most robust, reliable selection of European, British, Canadian and Australian shows” by The New York Times, Acorn TV has quickly become one of the top streamers and is the greatest value in streaming at only $4.99 a month and is commercial free. Acorn TV curates the very best in international television and remains North America’s largest streaming service for international television. Acorn TV exclusively premieres several new international series and/or seasons every month from Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, and other European countries.
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About RLJ Entertainment
RLJ Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: RLJE) is a premium digital channel company serving distinct audiences primarily through its popular OTT branded channels, Acorn TV (British TV) and UMC (Urban Movie Channel), which have rapidly grown through development, acquisition, and distribution of its exclusive rights to a large library of international and British dramas, independent feature films and urban content. RLJE’s titles are also distributed in multiple formats including broadcast and pay television, theatrical and non-theatrical, DVD, Blu-ray, and a variety of digital distribution models (including EST, VOD, SVOD and AVOD) in North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Additionally, through Acorn Media Enterprises, its UK development arm, RLJE co-produces and develops new programs and owns 64% of Agatha Christie Limited. For more information, please visit RLJEntertainment.com, Acorn.tv, and UMC.tv.
About all3media international
all3media international distributes popular, award-winning TV programmes to over 1,000 broadcasters and media platforms around the world.
The company has been celebrated for producing, marketing and distributing quality, ground-breaking and pioneering shows to global audience – consistently topping the Broadcast and Televisual annual Indies Surveys and we have been awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in recognition of our growth – twice.
Our catalogue contains over 8,500 hours of content across all genres, with a focus on drama, comedy, factual, entertainment and formats. As well as Britain’s top-selling series Midsomer Murders, our lead dramas include National Treasure, The Missing, Clique, Safe House, Indian Summers, Liar and Hinterland. Our contemporary comedy slate features Fleabag and GameFace. Factual, entertainment and format bestsellers include Gogglebox, Undercover Boss, Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, The Gadget Show and The Cube.
As part of the UK’s leading multi-label studio we partner with UK and international producers – including our own studios – in developing, financing and delivering content and formats.
Acorn TV Press Contact: Chad Campbell, ccampbell@acorn.tv
all3media international: Rachel Glaister, rachel.glaister@all3media.com
