ABC1 goes Old School with drama

Australian public broadcaster ABC1 has commissioned an eight-part drama series in which a retired cop and retired criminal work together to solve cases.

Old School will star Bryan Brown (Beautiful Kate, Gorillas in the Mist) and Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, The Tudors) as the veteran pair, who pool together in a bid to solve crimes and make some much-needed cash while the world progresses around them.

Matchbox Pictures (The Slap, The Straits) will produce the show, which Paul Oliver and Steve Wright created. Helen Panckhurst is producing, with Tony Ayers and Penny Chapman executive producing.

Production begins in June on locations in southeast Sydney.

“This fabulous show is witty, tough, smart, and full of great characters. We’re really thrilled to have Bryan Brown and Sam Neill heading such a wonderful cast, and to be working with Matchbox Pictures again after such successful collaborations on series including The Slap and The Straits,” said ABC’s head of fiction Carole Sklan.

“Old School was born from my short film Lennie Cahill Shoots Through, and is a love
letter to Sydney, its shady corners, its unique characters and its rich history of cops, crims and all those in between,” added creator Oliver.

Matchbox owner NBCUniversal International has international distribution rights.