Marta Dusseldorp’s Crownies character, senior crown prosecutor Janet King, will star in her own self-titled eight-hour drama series.
Janet King will be a departure from its parent show – while both shows are legal dramas, the new series will lean more towards a political-thriller than drama.
Despite heavy promotion, the Screentime-produced Crownies was not a ratings winner and was quickly pushed to a later timeslot by the ABC last year.
Screentime’s Des Monaghan said: “It was apparent to us at Screentime and to the ABC, that the audience had a great deal of affection for Janet King. In conjunction with ABC TV, we have developed an exciting legal political-thriller which allows us to welcome back the brilliant Marta Dusseldorp as crown prosecutor Janet King.”
Janet King was last seen in Crownies as she went into labour, giving birth to twins – the new series will pick up as King “returns to work after a year’s maternity leave and is flung into a shocking prosecution that involves layers of intrigue played out at the highest levels of power,” according to ABC TV head of fiction Carole Sklan.
Many characters first established on Crownies will make appearances in the new show.
ABC1 controller Brendan Dahill said: “I’m excited with this fresh new direction as I’m sure our audience will be too. So many ingredients of Crownies resonated with our audience and Screentime has successfully combined those many positive aspects with a complex and compelling legal struggle to give life to a powerful new series.”
Marta Dusseldorp will also star in the upcoming Devil’s Dust and Jack Irish series for the ABC. The series will be produced by Karl Zwicky, Jane Allen, Lisa Scott and Hilary Bonney, and be written by Greg Haddrick, Kris Mrksa and Shaun Grant. Production begins in early-2013.