Stan Sets ‘McLeod’s Daughters’ Revival, Rachel Griffiths-Starrer ‘Slander’ & Angourie Rice’s ‘Pride & Prejudice’ Reimagining

EXCLUSIVE: Australia‘s Stan is remaking iconic rural series McLeod’s Daughters and has greenlit shows starring Rachel Griffiths, Angourie Rice and Anna Friel.

The revival of Nine Network’s McLeod’s Daughters comes 25 years after the original, an early 2000s drama about sisters who take over a cattle ranch in South Australia.

A lot has happened since Australia last visited Drovers Run, but what hasn’t changed is the landscape and the uplifting spirit of the strong, resilient women navigating life on the land alongside the challenges of finding love and connection in the modern world, logline reads. Building on the world created by Posie Graeme-Evans over 224 episodes, the Stan Original McLeod’s Daughters will be produced by BBC Studios-backed Werner Film Productions.

At its upfronts, Stan also revealed Slander, which has been co-created by and will star Griffiths and is described as a “razor-sharp legal drama” that “dives into the high-stakes world of defamation law.” Ensemble cast includes Jessica De Gouw, Max Beesley, Roxie Mohebbi, David Berry, Doris Younane and Lincoln Younes.

Stan is working with Screen Australia on the Blackfella Films-produced show, which Griffiths co-created with Marieke Hardy. Anne Renton is the director, with production starting soon in Melbourne.

For Six Feet Under and Muriel’s Wedding star Griffiths, the show marks a second recent Australian acting job following the news she has been cast in Binge’s Wentworth: Halfway Home. Nine Entertainment’s Executive Director, Entertainment Content Commissioning, Michael Healy called Slander “a sharp, contemporary drama centering on formidable, aspirational female barristers who refuse to back down.”

Meanwhile, English star Friel will return as Dr Gloria Wall in medical drama The F Ward Season 2, which follows a group of medical interns sent to the underfunded Pines Hospital in Sydney for one final chance to complete their medical training. Stan described it as the “fastest-selling Australian drama,” having been shopped to 100 international markets.

‘Pride and Prejudice’ reimagining

Another big announcement coming out of Stan’s upfronts is an adaptation of Stuck Up & Stupid, Angourie Rice and her mother Kate Rice’s buzzy BookTok novel of the same name.

Billed as “a witty, romantic reimagining of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice set against the sun-soaked Australian coast and the glittering world of Hollywood,” Stuck Up & Stupid counts CBS Studios as a co-producer and comes as Netflix’s version of the Austen classic gears up for premiere. That one stars Rice alongside Brendon Tremblay, Yvonne Strahovski, Brooke Satchwell, Julia Morris, Luke Carroll, Raff Law and Hannah Gadsby.

Elsewhere, Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook) is joining Sheridan Smith in ITV co-pro Two Birds, which is shooting in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. Weaver replaces Judy Davis, who is exiting due to scheduling conflicts. She will play the formidable Mrs Baxter.

Comedian Hamish Blake is also lining up a Stan show with Unskilled Adult, entering a world where it is never too late to learn something new – even if you have absolutely no idea what you’re doing. Each week, Blake recruits two equally under-qualified friends from the entertainment world to join his new business and tackle a challenge none of them are remotely prepared for.

Stan’s busy upfronts slate was also replete with unscripted shows including a second season of Married at First Sight spin-off MAFS: After the Dinner Party in which contestants return to dive deep into some of MAFS’ biggest shocks. There is also a Love Island Australia: Unseen. Uncut spin-off and an extension of renovation show The Block: The House Next Door.

Amanda Laing, Nine’s Managing Director of Streaming and Broadcast, said: “Stan continues to champion exceptional storytelling across every genre alongside its world-class sport offering.

“From Australia’s most loved drama in McLeod’s Daughters, to Australia’s biggest reality juggernauts in MAFS and The Block, to Australia’s most loved presenter in Hamish Blake – this is a new era in Australian content that will be a lightning rod for conversation. Our groundbreaking originals have excelled in Australia and sold across the world and we continue to acquire the biggest global hits, with thousands of hours of incredible exclusives on platform.”