Dollhouse Pictures to adapt Bri Lee’s The Work for television – Dollhouse Pictures has secured the screen option to Bri Lee’s bestselling novel The Work. The Australian company is developing the story as a television series, with Hannah Lehmann creating the adaptation.
The announcement brings a contemporary Australian novel with an international canvas into television development. Its mix of romance, ambition and the commercial art world gives the project room to move between New York, Brisbane and Sydney. Screen Australia is supporting development, although a broadcaster, cast and release date have not yet been announced.
What The Work is about
The Work follows Lally, an ambitious New York gallerist, and Patrick, a junior antiques appraiser in Sydney. Their immediate connection develops into a turbulent long-distance relationship as each tries to build a career in a world where taste, money and status are closely linked.
The story asks what people are willing to trade for professional success and whether a relationship can survive when desire and ambition pull in different directions. Lee’s novel was published by Allen & Unwin and became an instant Australian bestseller.
Hannah Lehmann creates the television adaptation
Lehmann created the series and will bring the novel to the screen. Bri Lee and Dollhouse Pictures producer Jessica Carrera are executive producers.
Carrera said the novel’s examination of power and privilege made it a compelling television prospect.
“I’ve always admired Bri Lee’s writing and her willingness to question power, privilege and the institutions that shape us. What excites me about The Work is its seductive world, where everything has a value and the rules are constantly shifting. At its heart is a complicated relationship that asks what if the person you desire most is also the person who costs you the most. Hannah Lehmann brings a sharp and assured voice to the adaptation.”
Jessica Carrera, executive producer
Lee said the production team understood the tone and cinematic potential she imagined while writing the book.
“I am so excited that The Work has found a production and writing team that are committed to making this show properly gutsy, hella sexy, and seriously funny. This novel was always so cinematic in my head, and Dollhouse Productions are going to take the words off the page and build a magnetic, can’t-look-away spectacle. Hannah is a genius who understands these characters’ deepest fears and desires.”
Bri Lee, author and executive producer
The team behind the project
Dollhouse Pictures was co-founded by Rose Byrne, Krew Boylan, Shannon Murphy and Carrera. The company focuses on female-led stories across film, television and animation. Its debut feature, Seriously Red, starred Boylan and Byrne and received support from Dolly Parton.
Lehmann created and directed three seasons of Snapchat series Two Sides, which built an audience of more than 1.2 million subscribers. Her work has received recognition from the Australian Directors’ Guild, the Webbys and the Streamys, as well as an NAACP nomination.
Lee is also the author of Eggshell Skull, Beauty and Who Gets to Be Smart. Her debut novel The Work was longlisted for an Indie Book Award, and her latest novel is Seed.
For more TV Central production news, head here. Learn more about Australian screen development at Screen Australia.
