Jane Campion Mini-Series in the Works

SYDNEY: Top of the Lake is a new drama directed by Oscar-winner Jane Campion and co-produced by BBC Two, UKTV in Australia and New Zealand and Sundance Channel in the U.S., with Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss signed on for a lead role.

The six-part mini-series, commissioned for BBC Two and set to begin production in February 2012, stars award-winning talent Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men, On the Road), Holly Hunter (The Piano), Peter Mullan (War Horse, Trainspotting) and David Wenham (The Lord of the Rings, Australia). Campion (The Piano, Portrait of a Lady) directs alongside Australian director Garth Davis. The project is produced by Academy Award-winners Emile Sherman and Iain Canning (The King’s Speech, Shame) of See-Saw Films, and Philippa Campbell (Black Sheep) of Escapade Pictures. BBC Worldwide will distribute the series internationally.

Top of the Lake, set in the remote mountains of New Zealand, follows the disappearance of a pregnant 12-year-old girl, who was last seen standing chest deep in a frozen lake. It will be filmed in Queenstown, New Zealand and broadcasted in early 2013.

Campion said, “I am in love with the intense beauty of southern-most New Zealand and am excited to be setting a story in this end of the world paradise. To be able to tell the story over six hours gives me and my brilliant team a chance to make something truly absorbing and memorable.”

Sherman and Canning commented, "We are so thrilled to be working with Jane Campion and the incredibly talented collaborators who have come on board this unique series. To have Jane turn her creative energy to longer form drama is further proof of how exciting television has become, a key medium for sophisticated and original storytelling.”

They added, “We are also thrilled to be working for the first time with BBC Two, who commissioned development of the series, as well as with UKTV, Sundance Channel and BBC Worldwide, all of whom have unequivocally embraced Jane’s vision.”

Ben Stephenson, the controller of BBC drama commissioning, stated, “Jane Campion is a storyteller like no other. We are delighted to bring to screen an unforgettable landscape and characters who are unique, original and yet utterly recognizable—this is a story which will touch us all.”