ABC's mushroom murder drama leads flurry of trial TV shows
Now, with the c onviction of triple murder Erin Patterson on Monday, the floodgates have been opened, with an ABC drama, a pack of documentaries and a book all promising to get to the heart of the case that has captured international attention.
On Friday, the ABC announced the drama Toxic, describing it as 'a riveting thriller about marriage, faith and motherhood', while on Monday, the day Patterson's guilty verdict was handed down, Nine* revealed its own one-hour documentary, Murder By Mushroom, which premieres tonight. Seven, meanwhile, is promising a 'a forensic deep dive into the mind of a killer' in its Spotlight special on Sunday night.
Of the streaming services, Stan* was the first out of the gate, announcing its three-part documentary Revealed: Death Cap, featuring The Age journalists John Silvester and Marta Pascual Juanola. It will screen later this year.
On the book front, Allen and Unwin announced The Mushroom Murders, by acclaimed true-crime author and Underbelly screenwriter Greg Haddrick would be released in November. Former detective Duncan McNab has also jumped on the book bandwagon, with Recipe For Murder being published by Hachette in October. Intriguingly, acclaimed novelist Helen Garner, who wrote the award-winning true-crime books Joe Cinque's Consolation and This House of Grief, was seen attending Patterson's trial.
Announcing Toxic, the ABC's head of scripted Rachel Okine called it a 'powerful project'.
'This investigation has already captivated audiences across Australia, and we're eager to dive deeper into the complexities behind the headlines to bring this story to life with the team,' she said.
Toxic is a co-production between the ABC and respected director Tony Ayres and screenwriter Elise McCredie, the award-winning team behind the 2020 detention camp drama Stateless.
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